By Tom Harville reporting for Native Plant News Summer 2025
At the lodge in picturesque Morrow Mountain State Park in the Uwharrie Mountains, plant enthusiasts were warmly greeted by Terry Loeb NCNPS secretary and by board member Barbara Tuset. They were gathered for the best plant sale in the state, the best picnic,an awards ceremony, guided hikes, and annual meeting of the North Carolina Native Plant Society.
The 2025 award winners for the Native Plant Society were named at their Annual Meeting and Picnic on May 3. The meeting also featured two guided hikes by Ken Knight, former wildlife biologist, NC Wildlife Resources Commision; a plant sale, and a plant silent auction. Also applauded were notable Native Plant Society achievements from the past year, which are summarized and available on the website. Oh. And the picnic was outstanding! All in all, an excellent time was had by all.
The setup begins for the plant sale. Photos by Robert Jones
The comments below are about the 2025 award winners, compiled from nomination and support letters received by the Awards Committee.
Awards are presented annually by the NCNPS president, who this year is Ken Bridle, and Tom Harville, chair of the Awards Committee.
Bettina Darveaux
The President’s Award for Service to the Society
Bettina Darveaux has served several terms as an NCNPS board member and has been active on the executive committee for years. She manages the website’s Plant Gallery and has helped teach people how to find native plants that suit their needs. She continues to add plant photographs that need better illustration, and works with naturalists and photographers to find photos for the web page. Bettina’s organizational skills are a complement to her extensive scientific expertise in the native plant world, demonstrated by the breadth of taxonomic descriptive information in the plant database, and the Society documents both she and authors keep current.
Her board and executive committee work have been exemplified by her willingness and skill to edit, revise, and coordinate the Society’s documents for accuracy and unambiguity. Bettina is often willing to take on an in-depth assessment of a problem noted in a meeting and bring back thoughtful recommendations at the next meeting. Her work improved the by-laws, policy and procedures, strategic plan, and many other web pages for NCNPS. She also maintains an NCNPS organizational chart that includes listing vacancies.
Without her tireless work on the strategic plan, NCNPS would not have one. She helped resolve conflicts and brought clarity to strengthen the mission through the plan. This was a task that no one else wanted to do and she did it with grace and perseverance. This may be the first strategic plan for the organization and Bettina deserves most of the credit. She has helped the technology team in numerous ways, not limited to her curating and maintaining the Plant Gallery. She has helped with technical problems in various other areas. In addition, as a botanist, she answers questions and helps with taxonomy issues.
With Bettina’s willingness to serve the Society and her attention to detail, with her work mostly behind the scenes, she has made NCNPS better in many ways. Her contributions to discussions during meetings are thoughtful and helpful. She is persistent in finding ways to make the Board and the Society function better to meet the organization’s mission.
Betina Darveaux is very deserving of recognition by the North Carolina Native Plant Society for her long-term outstanding efforts to further the mission and purpose of the Society.
Debra Murray
The President’s Award for Service to the Society
As chair of the Grants & Scholarship Committee, Debra Murray has strengthened it by revising applications and obligation letters, involving committee members in decision-making, and reporting grant results on the NCNPS website. She retains committee members and values their input. She offers detailed reports to the NCNPS board, coordinates grant payments with the treasurer, and is heavily involved in the Society’s year-end fundraising campaign. She always initiates ways to improve information about the grant program on the website, publicize grant opportunities more widely, and streamline the review process.
Debra has made the NC Native Plant Society a stronger organization through statewide recognition of its three grant funds promoting native plants: The B.W. Wells Stewardship Fund for native plant gardens in communities or schools, and removal of invasive plants and restoration projects; the Tom and Bruce Shinn Fund for graduate and undergraduate students engaged in research on native plants and removal of invasive plants; and the Alice Zawadzki Land Conservation Fund for land purchases to conserve natural habitats and more.
With her professional approach and detailed execution, Debra elevates the North Carolina Native Plant Society presence statewide with educational institutions, land conservancy organizations, and community organizations.
Debra Murray is a solid example of an individual displaying efforts to further the mission and purpose of the Society.
Carol Peoples
The William Lanier Hunt Award for Environmental Education
Carol Peoples has been described as a person with an unwavering energy and a remarkable commitment to increasing understanding and use of native plants in coastal North Carolina. A founder of the Central Coastal Plain Chapter, from the beginning she was the group’s most active member and driving force. She has boundless enthusiasm for native plants and the skills to engage others. It’s her achievements in education and networking that make Carol stand out.
After the chapter’s founding, she engaged with North Carolina Sea Grant-led Coastal Landscapes Initiative (CLI) to promote sustainable coastal landscapes. Recently, Carol organized a team to create the latest CLI publication, “Greening your Space: Creating Eco-Friendly Container Gardens for Coastal North Carolina.” A native plants champion in her Town of Emerald Isle, she spoke with staff and at council meetings to suggest that elected officials start a native plant initiative to replace roadside plants with native plants, then recruited the design and installation assistance to make it happen. She was also instrumental in developing and narrating “The Power of Native Plants” video produced by the town. Changing the course of government projects is not a small feat but her dedication enabled it to happen.
Carol has advocated for native plants at farmers’ markets, with the Carteret County Cooperative Extension program, Master Gardener Volunteers, for the office grounds at the NCSU Center of Marine Sciences and Technology in Morehead City, and as a lecturer in various coastal counties. She also helped select, source, and plant containers for the Town of Beaufort Garden Club’s public locations.
Carol Peoples is very deserving of recognition by the North Carolina Native Plant Society for her outstanding efforts to further the mission and purpose of the Society.
Carolina Native Nursery, and principles Bill Jones and Shelby Jackson
The H. L Blomquist Award for Promoting Native Plants
Carolina Native Nursery, a business member of NCNPS, is located in Burnsville in the Southern Appalachian Mountains and staffed by a handful of native plant enthusiasts. It has gained recognition for its contribution to North Carolina’s native plant movement. The nursery’s motto, ‘Saving the Earth, One Plant at a Time,’ “says it all.” Established in 2003, the nursery grows close to 200 species of eastern United States native shrubs, perennials, ferns, and grasses, and specializes in local rhododendron, azalea, and Mountain Laurel grown from seed. Clients of Carolina Native Nursery include landscape architects, landscape design and installation firms, independent garden centers, commercial developers, and home gardeners who want native plants for their backyards. One of the very few native plant vendors at the NC Nursery & Landscape Association Green & Growin’ Marketplace, the nursery is also a past vendor at the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference. Carolina Native Nursery’s recent loss of inventory due to Hurricane Helene and its boots-on-the-ground recovery has been deeply felt by all native plant enthusiasts.
Bill Jones, founder and president of Carolina Native Nursery, promotes native plants in NC “like no other nursery owner.” His article for the NCNPS newsletter shed light on the NC Native Plants Act; he continues to write for Nursery Management magazine. Bill is a member of The Sierra Club, the NC Nursery & Landscape Association, the International Plant Propagators Society, the Strategic Planning Council for the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service for N.C. Agricultural and Technical University (N.C. A&T), and the Asheville Civic Center Commission. Past engagements include chair, Earth Day Charlotte Festival; Asheville Tree Commission; Charlotte Tree Commission, and board member, Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy and Asheville GreenWorks.
Shelby Singleton Jackson, a University of Tennessee horticulture alumnus, joined Carolina Native Native Nursery in 2010 and became part owner in 2014. Her focus is on client relations, plant availability and quality, and sales. She is experienced as a speaker at the Cullowhee Native Plant Conference and garden clubs, and is a horticultural researcher, landscape designer, and consultant. She is an NC Nursery & Landscape Association Certified Plant Professional and serves on the Horticulture Technology Board at Blue Ridge Community College. Past engagements include serving on the Hendersonville Tree Commission and the board of Friends of Hominy Creek Greenway, in West Asheville.
Having Carolina Native Nursery, and with the deep expertise of Bill Jones and Shelby Singleton Jackson and staff, is a great value to the region and for the NCNPS, as they help fulfill the Society’s mission through their cultivation and advocacy of native plants.
The North Carolina Native Plant Society Awards Program is presented each year and accomplishes several purposes:
- To recognize and publicly acknowledge individuals and organizations who have made significant contributions to the Society and to the cause of native plant and habitat conservation in North Carolina.
- To further the mission of the Society to promote the enjoyment and conservation of North Carolina’s native plants and their habitats through education, protection, cultivation, and advocacy.
Tom Harville is a life member and past president of the North Carolina Native Plant Society. He is chairman of the NCNPS Awards Program.