Native Plant Society of New Mexico Native Plant Society of New Mexico

Meet at 6:30pm at Christ Lutheran Church, 1701 Arroyo Chamiso Rd., Santa Fe, NM.

With the rampant wildfires that recently swept through New Mexico, the demand for native seed adapted to our arid landscapes continues to increase. The Southwest Seed Partnership (SWSP) is a collaborative network made up of restoration ecologists, farmers, nurseries, land managers, scientists, and private landowners, and coordinated by the Institute for Applied Ecology (IAE). These partners have come together with the common goal of increasing the supply of native plant materials for restoration and rehabilitation in New Mexico and Arizona. 

The Native Plant Society of New Mexico was one of the first funders to support this partnership. Gwen Wion, the SWSP Coordinator, will outline the history of the partnership, its role in conservation (including success and challenges), plans for growth, and will highlight NPS NM funded projects.

Gwen is the Southwest Seed Partnership Coordinator at IAE’s Santa Fe office. She supports native seed development for partners in the Southwest. Gwen earned her BS in Ecological Restoration from Humboldt State University and her MS in Biology from the University of Northern Colorado, where her thesis focused on the implications of local adaptation for restoration seed sourcing. She has experience performing seed tests on many native taxa and has spent seven seasons conducting botany surveys in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada.