By Debra Murray reporting for Native Plant News Spring 2025
Overwhelming support for western North Carolina!
We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all our members who contributed to the year-end campaign for the NCNPS B.W. Wells Stewardship Fund! This year we saw more donors than ever before, and your combined generosity raised over $29,000. With the Society matching every donation, we are well-positioned to have a positive impact on recovery efforts in the North Carolina mountains.
NCNPS has a long history of supporting community organizations focused on native plants. Since 2017, the Society has awarded almost $50,000 in grants to 57 community organizations across North Carolina. These grants helped create native plant gardens in towns, schools, homeowners associations (HOAs), and parks, which often led to the replacement of sterile landscaping or lawns. Grant awards also supported restoration efforts, such as rescuing wild spaces from invasives, re-planting areas with native species, and managing natural areas to protect existing habitats.
Equally important, these grants support the passionate volunteers who drive these community organizations. Their projects can have ripple effects, reaching more people and encouraging a broader appreciation for the vital role native plants play in our backyards, parks, and protected areas.
Your contribution helps sustain a robust granting program and ensures the vitality of the B.W. Wells Stewardship Fund, enabling us to continue supporting the dedicated volunteers working to restore native habitats. Thanks to everyone involved in the year-end campaign: DeeDee Clarke, Greg Wilson, Barbara Tuset, Diane Laslie, and Liz Wahls, and those who shared their photos with us!
We appreciate all our donors in 2024!
We sincerely thank everyone who contributed to NCNPS in 2024, with a special thanks given to Louis Eubanks, The Mann Family Foundation, and Adele Paynter, whose steady and generous donations over the years have had a lasting impact on the Society and the granting programs. Donations can have special meaning, and some members gave to honor loved ones or to remember those that have passed. All who donated acknowledge the importance of supporting our society’s mission to promote the enjoyment and conservation of native plants and their habitats. Your generosity is greatly appreciated!
Sylvia Ahlheit
Susan Andrews
Andrew Arnott
Julia Bales
Steven Barnes
Alicia L. Berry
Catherine Bollinger
Erin Bowman
Barbara Braatz
Ken Bridle
David Bristol
Barbara Buckley
Janis Burger
Karla Busch
Mike and Nita Callahan
Sarah Charlesworth
Christina Chia
Karen Cieslewicz
DeeDee Clarke
Julia Cleaver
Jane Clunie
Susan Colman
MJ Copeland
Todd Creamer
Sue Cumbus
Kerry-Ann da Costa
Meghan Dailey
Daniel Boone Native Gardens
Bettina Darveaux
Kay Day
Mari de Moya
Sarah Dendy
Susannah Dickey
Jennifer Dotson
Beth Duff
David Eck
Eleanor Pleasants and Cecelia Gully
Susan Ennett
Louis Eubanks
Fabrex Unlimited, Inc.
Arleen Ferrara
Vernessa Foelix
Betty Forrest
Amanda Francis
Cecil Frost
Anne Geer
Penelope Glass
Leila Goodwin
Lisa Lofland Gould
Jesse Grantham
Ruth Ann Grissom
Angie Grooms
Mimi Gussow
Bonnie Harper-Lore
Evelyn Harris
Lisa Harris
Lilli Haskell
Cynthia Heinzer
Wanda Hinshaw
Gene Holder
Mary Holt
Brett Hopkins
Tony Horney
Paul Hosier
Marc Howard
Carolyn Ikenberry
Gloria Kanoy
Adele Kirk
Paula LaPoint
Diane Laslie
Mary Leonhardi
Mary Keith Lilly
Judy Lockhart
Terry Loeb
Timothy Logue
Kathy Lough
Amy Mackintosh
Mary Magrinat
Jen Mahone
Mann Family Foundation
Richard McCracken
George McDowell
Daricia McKnight
Kay McKnight
Trena McNabb
Sarah McNeely
Paul Michaels
Susan Mitchell
Julie Moore
Theresa Morr
Judy Murray
Debra Murray
Marie Noel
Ann Norris
Nancy Nye
Adrienne O’Brien
Lou O’Shea
Krystyna Ochota
Jeanne Odom
Melinda Ogburn
Bre Padgett
Madeline Parrish
Adele Paynter
Bob Pearson
Thomas Phelan
Judith Phoenix
Kim Poetzscher
Thomas Portney
Donna Provance
Raleigh Garden Club
Nancy Reed
Margot Ringenburg
Lynne Robinson
Chuck Roe
Sarah Romereim
Jane Rose
Patricia Rusch
Matthew Safford
Thomas Sanders
Marika Schoolar
Barbara Shelton
Cynthia Simonds
Barbara Smith
Hershella Smith
Elaine Smyth
Stifel Financial Corporation
David Swofford
Jane Tanner
Andrea Thunem
Lisa Tompkins
Susan Trabka
Jackie Trickel
Julia Trimble
Mary Tucker
Barbara Tuset
Liz Wahls
Lynda Waldrep
Ann Walter-Fromson
Mary Weber
Florrie Wescoat
Janet Whitworth
Ann M. Williams
Jean Wilson
Jean Woods
Debra Murray is a research scientist at Duke University studying the genetics of fungal pathogens. Before coming to Duke, she studied the evolutionary biology of insects and spent several years in the tropics. She earned her PhD at Louisiana State University in Entomology and conducted postdoctoral work at Oregon State University and Florida State University. Throughout her scientific research, she has maintained her love of natural history, recently expanded to include NC native plants. She serves as chair of the Grants and Scholarship Committee for NCNPS.