**ARCHIVED POST **
On October 29, 
2022 Austin NPSOT held its fifth successful class of the NLCP Level 1 course. If you are unfamiliar with the curriculum, this is the introduction to native landscapes course which is offered across the state by many chapters. It highlights the benefits of native plants with the focus on plants of the local ecoregion. Level 1 is the prerequisite to the other NLCP courses, Levels 2, 3 and 4, which can then be taken in any order.
The class consisted of approximately 3.5 hours of lecture via Zoom, followed by a 2 hour plant walk at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Participants came from Austin, Mountain Home, New Braunfels, Lampasas, Georgetown and San Antonio. Kathy Trizna, Jackie O’ Keefe and Jane Tillman organized and presented the course materials. Thanks to Meg Inglis and Linda Foss, the NLCP State Coordinator, who handled registration, publicity, testing and certification.
The plant walk, as always, was the best part of the class. Cool weather and recent rains helped the plants look their best, and it was hard to focus only on the 45 native plants included in the curriculum. A big thank-you to the plant walk leaders and assistants Claire Sorenson, Kathryn Teich, Jackie Davis, Jan Hanz, Phyllis Schunck in addition to the class organizers. One plus of being involved with the plant walk has been learning where different plants are located at the Wildflower Center, and visiting them at various times to observe how they change through the seasons. Getting others excited about native plants is the payoff.
Austin NPSOT has been offering the Level 1 class since April 2017. It has offered the popular companion stand-alone class, Landscapes for Birds, since June 2019. Plans are in the works to offer the Level 2 class, Landscape Design with Native Plants, next spring or fall.
–Jane Tillman
**ARCHIVED POST**
**ARCHIVED POST LINKS & PICTURES MAY NOT WORK**
**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: sandraries
