Native Plant Society Set to Meet September 18

The Bergen-Passaic chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey will meet on Thursday, September 18 at 7:00pm. Admission is free.

The next meeting of the Bergen-Passaic chapter of the Native Plant Society of New Jersey (NPSNJ) will take place on Thursday, September 18, at 7:00 p.m., in the Auditorium of the Bergen Regional Medical Center, 230 E. Ridgewood Avenue, Paramus. Admission is free and all are welcome.

The speaker will be Dr. Sarahfaye Mahon, lecturer in ecology and biology at Bergen Community College, who will focus on New Jersey freshwater wetlands, with an emphasis on their ecology and human impact. Dr. Mahon earned her PhD from Louisiana State University in 2008, where her studies focused on the effects of heavy metal pollution on a salt march ecosystem. Her lifelong interest in “anything muddy and wet” makes her uniquely qualified to speak to community groups and high school science classes about the importance of wetlands and wetland plants to the local environment. Wetlands are the foundations of our water resources as well as vitally important in managing floodwater and in incubating diverse plants and animals.

NPSNJ is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to the appreciation, protection, and study of the native flora of New Jersey. Founded in 1985, the group has hundreds of members across the state organized into county and regional chapters. Members include gardeners, horticulturists, naturalists, landscape designers, students, and native plant enthusiasts from all walks of life.

Photo: Dr. Sarahfaye Mahon.