Native Plant Master™ Program

CWC Garden Anyone 21 years or older is eligible to apply to take Native Plant Master courses and special classes.

  • Learn fascinating plant facts including landscape uses of Colorado natives and other human uses.

  • Discover how noxious weeds threaten native plants and wildlife.

  • Learn how to use a key and botanical field guide to identify wild plants.

  • Interact with others who share your love of Colorado's native flora.

Training And Certification

Classes

Native Plant Master credit courses and special classes are offered at various open space parks, State parks and other public lands. A few courses have pre-requisites. Each 12-hour NPM credit course is made up of three, four-hour sessions taught on mornings in May through September. Non-credit classes on a variety of special topics are also offered and some of these classes are held indoors.

Native Plant Master credit courses are taught in the field using living examples of the native flora in Colorado. Credit course topics for the three sessions include:

  • Session 1: Plant identification with an emphasis on scientific names, families and use of a botanical key.

  • Session 2: Ecological relationships, including non-native plants.

  • Session 3: Landscape, food and other human uses.

Special classes focus on topics such as basic botany, grasses or invasive weeds. If participants can't take all three courses in one year, they may apply in future years to take courses still needed for certification.

Certification

To become certified as a Native Plant Master after completing course work, you must teach at least 20 people about Colorado plants by December 31 of the year you complete training and report the number of public educational contacts made.

After successfully completing three courses and the educational contact requirement, participants are awarded the Native Plant Master certification. Certification may be maintained by teaching at least 60 people per year about native plants and reporting at least annually on those contacts.

Enrollment

Contact Horticulture Agent Andrea Cummins at the Douglas County Extension office to receive more information about joining the program. Our office hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday.

  • Call us at: (720) 733-6930

  • E-mail us at: acummins@douglas.co.us

  • Come visit us at: 410 Fairgrounds Road
                                    Castle Rock, CO 80104