Calling all plant lovers! Join us in Portland for an evening of botany and ecology as we explore the native plants of Oregon’s high desert in our second event of the 2023 High Desert Speaker Series. Presenters, ONDA’s Wildlands Coordinator Anne White and Stewardship Director Gena Goodman-Campbell, will draw on their decades of desert experiences to illuminate the fascinating qualities of the plants in the sagebrush ecosystem. Prepare to learn about common plant species you’ll find when exploring the desert, tips on plant identification, how ONDA collects native seeds and uses plants in restoration efforts, and the importance of native plants to desert wildlife.

With more than 1,000 species of wildflowers and numerous endemic plant species in Oregon’s desert, there’s sure to be a plant that inspires each and every person to connect with the high desert.

View the slides from Exploring the Native Plants of Oregon’s High Desert.

Check out the full 2023 High Desert Speaker Series lineup including events in Bend and online.

About the Presenters

Anne White is ONDA’s Wildlands Coordinator. In this role, she is responsible for evaluating public lands conservation opportunities and challenges throughout southeastern Oregon. A third-generation Pacific Northwesterner, born and raised in northeastern Washington on the Columbia River, Anne moved to Central Oregon as a teen. Anne earned her bachelor’s degree in social science from Oregon State University-Cascades with an emphasis on community development and leadership and has amassed an extensive knowledge of desert ecology through her years of field work.

As ONDA’s Stewardship Director, Gena Goodman-Campbell engages ONDA’s community in hands-on restoration projects that improve desert habitat in key watersheds and migration corridors. Gena has been a member of the ONDA staff since 2007, starting as our Badlands Wilderness Coordinator, and then our Public Lands Coordinator as her role grew to cover more desert terrain in Central Oregon. Growing up in Portland, Gena enjoyed exploring the wetlands and rivers around her home. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Colorado College with a focus on international conflict resolution. Drawn back home to Oregon, she joined the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG) at Central Oregon Community College to organize voter mobilization campaigns, petition drives, and wilderness hikes. Gena was elected to a four-year term on the Bend City Council in November 2018 and recently concluded serving as Mayor of Bend. When she’s not out exploring public lands, Gena enjoys drawing, cooking and chasing after her young daughter.

Thank you to WYLD for sponsoring Exploring the Native Plants of Oregon’s High Desert.

Thank you to First Interstate Bank for sponsoring the 2023 High Desert Speaker Series.