Symposia

Southern California Botanists 52nd Annual SCB Symposium

Where Cities Bloom: The Future of Urban Botany in Southern California

Saturday November 7, 2026

Location: California Botanic Garden, Forest Pavillion

‍1500 N College Avenue, Claremont CA 91711

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Schedule

8:00-9:00 am. Registration

9:00-9:10 am. Annual SCB Business Meeting

9:10-9:15 am. Opening Remarks

9:15-9:45 am. Aaron Echols, Protecting the Earth’s oldest living Oak

9:45-10:15 am. Matt Guilliams, Using phylogenomics and morphometrics to evaluate the circumscription of the Channel Islands endemic Santa Cruz Island fringepod (Thysanocarpus conchuliferus Greene; Brassicaceae)

10:15-10:35 am. BREAK

10:40-11:10 am. Darrel Jenerette, The Novel Urban Flora of Southern California’s Cities

11:10 am -11:45 am. Jon Rebman, Hidden in Plain Sight: Botanical Discoveries in San Diego’s Urban Canyons

11:45 -1:25 pm. LUNCH

1:30-2:00 pm. Noriko Smallwood, The ecological role of native-plant landscaping in residential yards to birds during the nonbreeding period

2:00-2:30 pm. Emma Kemp, No Canyon Hills: Botanical Significance, Cultural Meaning, and Collective Action in the Verdugo Mountains

2:30-3:00 pm. Lila Higgins, Biodiversity in Urban Gardens: How Community Science and Policy can create ‘Landscapes for Change’

3:00-3:20 pm. BREAK

3:20-3:50 pm. Neil Uelman, Once an Island and Now an Island in a Sea of Concrete: Flora of the Palos Verdes Peninsula (vascular and non-vascular)

3:50-4:20 pm. Jen Toy, Test Plot: Community-led Landcare in Urban Parks

4:20-4:30 pm. Closing Remarks

Evening events continue at the California Botanic Garden

5:00-6:00 pm Poster Session: Lenz Room

5:30-6:30 pm Mixer: Forest Pavilion (Open to symposium attendees)

6:30-8:30 pm Reception: Forest Pavilion (Add-on ticket required)

6:30-8:00 pm Dinner Service: Vegetarian Catering

7:30-8:30 pm Sage Against the Machine

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