About
Mission
To educate people about the environmental necessity, economic value, and natural beauty of native plants in the Northeast.
Why Native Plants?
Plants native to the Northeast are those that naturally occur in the region. Having evolved over thousands of years, they are suited to the area’s climate, weather conditions, and soils, and are less susceptible to its pests and diseases. Once established, native plants often require little maintenance.
Native plants provide valuable sources of food and shelter for wildlife and help protect water quality by filtering stormwater pollutants and reducing soil erosion. They also provide a regional identity, a geographic “sense of place.”
Save Time. Save Money. Go Native.
History
The Native Plant Center was established in 1998 under the auspices of the Westchester Community College Foundation as the first national affiliate of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas. The following year, in 1999, Lady Bird Johnson and her daughters, Lynda Johnson Robb and Luci Baines Johnson, visited the Westchester Community College campus for the dedication of The Native Plant Center’s demonstration garden named for the First Lady.
Leadership
The Native Plant Center Steering Committee
Co-Chairs:
- Angel Morris
- Ken Uhle
Andrea Alban-Davies, Brooke Beebe, Jacquelyn Bergonzi, Jan Blaire, Bob DelTorto, Kim Eierman, Melissa Fabel, Bob Finkelstein, Barbara Fischer, Karalyn Lamb, Ursula LaMotte, Catherine Ludden, Anne Keesee Niemann, Guy Pardee, Heather Sandifer, Denise C.R. Santomero, Jessica A. Schuler, Carolyn Summers, Phillis Warden, Elizabeth S. Wattles, Lucille Werlinich, Anthony Zaino
Staff:
- Carol Capobianco, Director
- Mary Ietaka, Administrative Assistant/Events Coordinator
- Patty Butter, Garden Manager/Educator
Founders:
- Marybeth Weston Lobdell
- Marie Smith Schwartz
- Betsy May Stern
Click the following link for directions to the Native Plant Center: Visit the Native Plant Center
Contact Us
The Native Plant Center
at Westchester Community College
75 Grasslands Road
Valhalla, NY 10595
(914) 606-7870
(914) 606-6143 (Fax)
wccnativeplant@sunywcc.edu