It was so nice to sit around the dinner table the other night with a bunch of friends from three different states talking about plants and the conservation issues of today.  What brought these folks together was the Plant Conservation Volunteer (PCV) Program of the Society’s Conservation Department. 

Often PCVs spend much of their time in the field monitoring rare plant populations in their small groups of twos or threes.  More recently, I noticed people coming from Maine to survey plants in Massachusetts and Vermont, just to get out with the friends they have made through the program.  At other times, they get together to tackle invasive plants during a management project.  Each of these times offers the group a chance to casually spend time together in the woods, learn about each others’ interesting lives, and learn about the native plants they love. 

At this time of year, larger groups of PCVs are joining together for a little potluck wrap-up session to share pictures and “war stories” from the 2009 field season.  As I head into a quieter time of year, I hold onto these memories to carry me through the cold winter months and can’t wait until the 2010 field season.  The first thing on my plate is to review the applications for the next crop of PCVs to be trained in February.  Consider becoming a PCV.  It’s a great way to make new friends and be more involved in the important conservation of our native flora.