- This event has passed.
CNPS 2026 Conference
Art by Lola Camacho
Join us in February 2026 as we explore our collective potential to safeguard the native plants we love and need. Lift your voice, share your knowledge, and get inspired at the next California Native Plant Society Conference!
Dates: February 5-7, 2026 (Workshops & Field Trips February 4, 2026)
Location: Riverside Convention Center RIVERSIDE, CALIFORNIA
When you save native plants, you save everything else. It takes a diverse community and many disciplines to do so.
The 2026 CNPS Conference is a gathering of the diverse people and perspectives inspiring California’s vibrant native plant movement. We welcome new and seasoned members of the community to join us as we come together to learn and share in celebration of California’s plants and our connections to them.
Conference Highlights
- Held once every three years
- Over 1,000 attendees
- Inspiring keynote speakers
- Workshops and field trips
- Over 200 presenters across four program tracks: conservation, plant science, horticulture and education
- Networking opportunities with peers, partners, and future collaborators
- Art, music, and photography celebrating California’s native plants and landscapes
- Special sessions for students and emerging professionals
Conference presenters represent a wide range of backgrounds and areas of expertise, from Indigenous and Western sciences to horticulture, education, and advocacy. Together, we’ll explore how our collective work today can lead to a better tomorrow for California’s native plants, through programming in four specific areas:
PLANT SCIENCE
Plant science provides a crucial framework for how we study and understand native plant communities and their habitats. This area offers ways to discover and share ideas, research, methods, and tools at the forefront of this dynamic field.
CONSERVATION
Conservation invites planners, data scientists, land stewards, community advocates, and more to share knowledge and ideas on the best ways to protect and steward natural landscapes and ensure their resilience to climate change.
HORTICULTURE
At the heart of people-plant connections, Horticulture is for gardeners, horticulturists, landscapers, architects, city officials, and others interested in making our cities places where people and nature thrive.
EDUCATION
An ideal track for environmental educators, naturalists, interpreters, advocates, and others working to connect people with the natural world and an ethic of conservation.