Guest article by Dan Songster

Jennifer Mabley was presented with the “Native Perennial Award” at the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society (OCCNPS) June 21, 2023 general meeting.

The following heartfelt words were on the Native Perennial Award presented by Dan Songster:

“Presented in honor of 15 years of giving selflessly of her time and energy in supporting the programs and goals of the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, and helping us achieve our core mission of protecting California’s native plants and their natural habitats, through science, education, stewardship, gardening, and advocacy. Jennifer’s efforts have included years as a very active Board Member and Chapter Officer. Her positive attitude, constant encouragement, and willingness to help are inspiring and contagious.

In recognition of her longtime dedication and overall support for our Chapter’s programs and goals, we, on behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire membership of the Orange County Chapter of the California Native Plant Society, enthusiastically offer Jennifer Mabley our heartfelt gratitude, and honor her with the 2023 Native Perennial Award for Outstanding Chapter Service.”

Background

Jennifer did not come to OCCNPS through the normal channels, (such as through an interest in conservation or botany), but instead as a volunteer with a business background. She signed on to help after seeing a request for volunteers in a 2008 newsletter posted by OCCNPS newsletter editor Sarah Jayne.

Jennifer grew up in Napa, where her family built a home on an acre where the front yard “belonged” to her mom, who planted a non-thirsty garden because they had well water, not unlimited city water. She remembers, “I played hide and seek among ceanothus, flannel bush, and Catalina ironwood trees. We also ate miner’s lettuce that popped up when conditions were right, and California poppies were everywhere. In our neighborhood there was a mature live oak woodland where all the neighborhood kids climbed whenever we had a chance, especially in summertime.”

Jennifer became known as the person who would help OCCNPS with the “nuts and bolts” type of things that may not always be the most enjoyable part of a board member’s duties but are needed to keep the chapter moving forward. She served in several capacities where attention to detail, consistency, and trustworthiness were essential.

At board meetings, Jennifer often had a view of issues being discussed that were “outside the box.” She offered different ways of looking at things that meant fresh viewpoints and sometimes an interesting method for getting things done. She remembers, “Solving various obstacles during the process was fun too. No matter how much one plans, there are always some snarls to unravel. That’s part of the fun!” Seldom did we face any challenge where Jennifer did not see a way to accomplish what we wanted.

Jennifer served several important years as OCCNPS treasurer. Besides keeping the chapter’s insurance and financial records straight, it also meant taking care of book sales at our general meetings.

She recalls “I am proud of having been treasurer during the time that capturing a credit card sale entailed punching all the sales info into a hand-held phone after the event was over. I shudder to recall those long nights after everyone else was asleep, still punching in those digits until all sales were captured. So glad no one has to do that now!”

Business Savvy

Outreach events of all types have been her favorite activities, but they are not as simple to set up as they may seem. As Brad Jenkins notes, “Decisions are made to create or attend an event. Simple, right? – No. ‘Uh oh, we need a sales permit for a new location.’ We all look the other way, but Jennifer raises her hand to file for it. ‘Uh oh, insurance requirements are getting more complicated.’ Again we all stall, but Jennifer raises her hand to handle it. ‘We need to staff for how many hours?!!!’ Jennifer says, ‘I got this.’

Successful teams need a variety of skills, and it turns out those needs go beyond botany, gardening, and ecosystems. That is where Jennifer has been so valuable to our achievements.”

Volunteer Wrangler

A person of many talents, it may be her ability to connect with people that sets her apart. As OCCNPS’ volunteer coordinator or “wrangler,” Jennifer credits her ten years with the Girl Scouts with helping her know how to communicate with folks.

For well over a decade, she has made sure that each of our plant sales had all the assistance they needed. Years ago, we held plant sales at UC Irvine’s Arboretum, where set-up took an entire Friday. Later, Tree of Life Nursery offered their location, and Jennifer arranged for people to help with everything from plant sales, landscape advice, parking lot patrol, as well as helping members load their new plants into their vehicles.  

Jennifer has helped coordinate and staff multiple days at the Green Scene at Fullerton Arboretum, the four-day South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show, worked on several of the Garden Tour committees, and helped as a committee member of the Growing Natives Symposia, starting with the first symposium in 2009 at Golden West College, and followed by the next two symposia held at Saddleback College.

Jennifer said, “It was fun working behind the scenes to decide on topics, select and encourage the speakers, develop the symposium materials, engage the attendees, and finally to see them appreciate the work that went into the presentations.”

She also helped with the last two Chapter Council meetings that OCCNPS hosted, first in 2019 and again this spring. Chapter Council meetings are two-day events with CNPS leaders from around the state attending and participating. It takes a lot of work to put these on and her ability to see where there was a need for staffing, hospitality, and planning was important and appreciated.

Wildflower Book Sales

When the long-awaited book Wildflowers of Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains by Bob Allen and Fred Roberts emerged in the summer of 2013, Jennifer was on the Launch Committee, making sure that during the first summer of the release we had several exceptional events and promotions for this important book. She recalls “Those summer events were lots of fun, putting that book into the hands of eager customers all over Orange County. It was the satisfying conclusion of a quest to get the book published which had involved OCCNPS for several years.” She still works in sales for the Wildflowers book, accepting online orders for OCCNPS, packaging, and shipping them to people all over California and beyond.

We are very fortunate to have people like Jennifer who put their best efforts into consistently helping OCCNPS accomplish its many goals, often over a long period of time. Sometimes these efforts are easily visible to our members, but frequently the efforts are behind the scenes. Whether large or small, everything done to advance our mission with native plants is important and should be recognized. On behalf of the board and membership of OCCNPS, we express our deepest appreciation to the tireless, insightful, and capable work of Jennifer Mabley.