A plant ecologist will describe how to introduce native plants into the garden for people bedeviled by an extended drought and eager to conserve water at a meeting of the Botany Society January 11 in Borrego Springs.

Kate Barrows, director of environmental resources for the Coachella Valley Association of Governments, says “native landscapes are a wonderful inspiration for the desert gardener” and can help slow the loss of native habitats that “are increasingly being converted to urban areas.” She will discuss the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan as a way to conserve California’s native plants.

Her presentation, “Breaking the Barrier Between Nature and Your Garden: Bring Native Plants Home,” starts at 10 a.m. in the visitor center of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, 200 Palm Canyon Drive 92004. The public is invited, and there is no admission charge. Barrows is also president of the Riverside-San Bernardino Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. The La Quinta resident has been involved in the conservation of rare plants and native ecosystems throughout her career.

Who: Kate Barrows, Director, Environmental Resources, Coachella Association of Governments
What: Breaking the Barrier Between Nature and Your Garden: Bring Native Plants Home
When: Monday, January 11, 2016; 10 AM
Where: Discovery Lab, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park® Visitor Center
Cost: Free to the public