New Leadership Takes Helm of Native Plant Nursery As Interest In California Native Plants Continues to Grow

August 13, 2004 -- As an avid hang glider, John Wickham has spent a lot of time in wilderness areas. Needless to say, there are few places in the urban areas for launching or landing.
   
"It's difficult to be out in the wilderness and not develop an appreciation for nature, " said Mr. Wickham, who was recently elected board chair of the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, which, for forty years, has been devoted to promoting California native plants. "It's something else to be flying over the chaparral, then to catch bright patches of electric blue ceanothus (California lilac) in full bloom. Besides, it helps to know which plants not to crash into on landing."
   
Wickham recalls taking a trip where one of his fellow hang gliding pilots brought along a wild flower book and sat in the back of the truck identifying flowers as they drove to their launch site. He and the other gliders teased her about it. Now, he admits, he would be the one stopping the truck to peer at "grape soda" lupines, blazing stars, owl's clover, shooting stars, paper bag bush and other native wild flowers.
   
In July, Wickham was elected president of the board of the foundation. He succeeds outgoing board member, Frances Schneider Liau of Pasadena, who will continue her valued work with as chair of the Archives Committee and as president emeritus. Also elected to leadership positions were Jerry Schneider, vice president; Steve Hartman, treasurer, and Susan Shum, secretary. Also serving on the board is Melanie Symonds.   
   
A third-generation Angeleno, and resident of Eagle Rock, Wickham is a legislative analyst with the City of Los Angeles.            
   
"California's great natural heritage - native plants - are right here for people to discover," he said. "I'd like for people to come to understand and appreciate natives and, hopefully, bring them into their gardens and community.
   
"Our native plants are a source of tremendous pride for Californians," he said. "They are water-wise, which means either you're saving money in your pocket book or you are saving water for the greater good. They support healthy air and oceans because they don't need fertilizers or pesticides. They are great for drawing birds to your garden.
   
"They are a way to reconnect with the land and restore the landscape, to connect to the seasons, to the passage of time and the cycles of life."
   
Vice President Jerry Schneider has been a member of the foundation since 1972. Previously, a civil engineer with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, he returned to school and obtained a master's degree in landscape architecture from Cal Poly Pomona in 1998 to complement his long-time interest in native plants.
   
In 2002, Jerry and his wife, Gloria, completed construction of their new home in Mount Washington that incorporates many resource conserving features. Their home has both passive and active solar systems, many energy and water conservation features, and, of course, a water conserving garden which features mostly California native flora.
   
He has served as a board member on the Debs Park Advisory Board, the Mount Washington Association, and currently holds the environmental seat on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council.
   
Steve Hartman, treasurer, is a an executive vice president with the Stanley-Lawrence Company, a property management, importing, and manufacturing company. Raised in the San Fernando Valley and a resident of Sherman Oaks, he developed a deep respect for native plants and conservation as a teenager exploring the Santa Monica Mountains in Tarzana and the California desert. His garden was one of 20 across Los Angeles that was featured recently in the foundation's first annual native plant garden tour.
   
An active member of the Los Angeles/Santa Monica Mountains chapter of the California Native Plant Society, Steve has represented CNPS on the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Areas Steering Committee since 1986, and was instrumental in convincing the City of Los Angeles to create the largest (more than 7 acres) native plant landscaping project in the City's history.
   
Susan Shum, secretary, joined the board in 2003. Shum, a fundraising professional at California Hospital Medical Center Foundation in downtown Los Angeles, grew interested in native plants when she began creating a bird-friendly, drought-tolerant garden at her home in San Gabriel.
   
Melanie Symonds joined the board in 2003 as well. Growing up in Orange County next to the Upper Newport Bay Nature Preserve, and now a resident of Altadena with the Angeles National Forest as her backyard, she has come to appreciate the beauty of native plants.
   
She earned her diploma of higher education from Wimbledon School of Art in London, England, and a bachelor of fine arts from California Institute of the Arts. She is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists and The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators.
   
Melanie began drawing California native plants in 1998, after working15 years in the field of costume design. Her interest in the local flora and fauna started in childhood.
   
"California has a wealth of plant material to be found locally, since everything from mountain to desert to island habitats exist within hours of where we live," she says.
   
Theodore Payne, a horticulturalist, came to California in 1893 and fell in love with the native landscape. He dedicated the rest of his life to promoting native plants and preserving California's rich heritage. In 1903, he opened a nursery and seed business on South Broadway in downtown Los Angeles and later moved it to Los Feliz Boulevard.
   
Public gardens throughout Southern California have benefited from his planning and input, including Exposition Park, Descanso Gardens, CalTech and the Blaksley Botanic Garden in Santa Barbara, among others.
   
Prior to his passing, friends and supporters established a foundation in his name to carry on his passion for native plants. Since then, the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants, Inc. (www.theodorepayne.org) has dedicated itself to preserving and restoring California's native landscape. The foundation operates the Theodore Payne Nursery in Sun Valley, which propagates and sells native plants to the general public. In addition to the nursery, the foundation conducts classes, collects and preserves seeds of native plants and wild flowers, and hosts an annual native plant garden tour. The foundation honors the legacy of Payne, who opened his first nursery in 1903 in Los Angeles to sell California native plants and seeds.




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