协会沿革与创始背景
俄克拉荷马州本地植物协会（Oklahoma Native Plant Society，简称 ONPS）成立于 1987 年，是一家注册 501(c)(3) 非营利组织，通讯地址位于俄克拉荷马州 Tulsa 市，可通过官网联系表提交咨询。协会以俄州州花 Gaillardia（天人菊）作为会徽标志和官方季刊刊名，宗旨是鼓励对俄州本地植物的研究、保护、繁育、欣赏与合理利用。1987 年首届州主席为 Betty Kemm，她是协会创始成员之一，也是奠基期最早推动建立地方分会的关键人物，其后担任东北分会主席长达十年（1990–1999 年）。协会创立初期即确立了地理分会的组织结构，并奠定了以年会、研讨会、野外考察和科普讲座为主的学术活动框架。1988 年，协会追授 Anne W. Long（1967 年在 Harriet G. Barclay 指导下获得植物学硕士学位的早期本地野花保护倡导者）为创始人之一，并以她的名字设立 ANNE W. LONG 奖。
组织架构与分会网络
ONPS 实行州—分会两级治理结构，由董事会（Board of Directors）、执行委员会、各专项子委员会和地方分会共同运作。现任管理层（2025–2027 任期）为：主席 Shalini Chitturi、副主席 Juliette Hulen、秘书 Carol Smith、财务 Mary Korthase、上任主席 Patrick Bell，以及 6 位跨届理事 Joe Roberts、Andrea Schultz-Farriester（2026）、Donna Horton、Jamie Rucker（2027）、Debbie Drinko、Connie Scothorn（2028）。协会在册地方分会包括俄克拉荷马城都会区的 Central Chapter（中央分会）、塔尔萨都会区及俄州东北部的 Northeast Chapter（东北分会），以及覆盖州内中北部真菌爱好者群体的 Mycology Chapter（真菌分会，原 Cross-Timbers 分会自 2021 年 12 月起暂停活动）。各分会每月定期举办室内例会与野外考察：中央分会通常于每年 8 月至次年 5 月的第一个星期四晚上 6:30 在俄克拉荷马城大学 OCU 校区 Dawson-Loeffler 楼 208 室举行；东北分会自 2026 年 1 月起改为每月例会，固定在 Tulsa Garden Center（南 Peoria 街 2435 号）的大厅 6:30 社交、7:00 讲座；真菌分会则依据天气与物种时机在 Facebook 群组发布临时户外考察。
科普教育、学术出版与年度项目
ONPS 在科普与学术两条线持续投入。其学术旗舰为《Oklahoma Native Plant Record》年刊，第 23 卷已于近期出版，可通过执行编辑 Gloria Caddell（中央俄克拉荷马大学 UCO）联系订购，往期文献亦可在 OSU 图书馆免费下载。季刊《Gaillardia》以俄州州花命名、寄送至所有有效会员，现已发行至第 41 卷（2026 年夏第 2 期）。年度活动方面，协会固定举办 Wonders of Wildflowers（WOW）野花节、Monarchs on the Mountain 帝王蝶山地活动、T.O.N.Y. Tour Our Native Yards 庭院开放之旅（2026 年 5 月 30 日在 Greater Paseo 地区举行）、Annual Members Meeting 年会（2026 年 9 月 18–19 日在 Edmond 的 Lake Arcadia Education Center 举行）以及 Fabulous Wildflower Fridays（东北分会每月第三个周五晚 5:30 在 Panera Bread 41st & Hudson 的非正式聚会）。教育奖项涵盖 Betty Kemm 服务奖（要求至少 5 年会龄并对协会有超常贡献者）、Anne W. Long 本地植物推广奖、Harriet G. Barclay 植物学奖（面向中学高年级与初中学生在州科学与工程博览会颁发）、Paul Buck 植物学奖（颁发给在俄克拉荷马科学院 OAS 年会上作本科水平植物学研究的优秀本科生）和 Iris Giving Garden 校园种植项目。协会每年还联合姊妹团体——Oklahoma Native Plant Network（ONPN，onpn.org）——发布年度首选植物清单，2026 年重点推介 Woodland Phlox（Phlox divaricata）与 Clove Currant（Ribes odoratum）。
保护修复、社区倡导与立法参与
在保护与倡导层面，ONPS 长期推动四项旗舰行动：Color Oklahoma 公路野花项目（沿俄州高速公路与收费路播撒本地野花种子）、Oklahoma Native Plant Network（本地植物繁育与销售行业联盟）、Mary Kay Oxley Nature Center 与 Red Bud Valley Nature Preserve 的联合保育，以及 T.O.N.Y. Tour Our Native Yards 庭院示范。Color Oklahoma 项目的资金来自会员捐赠和州政府发行的特色野花车牌（可在 tag agency 现场或邮寄办理），并提供配比资助计划以鼓励社区与个人加入沿路野花美化行动。2026 年协会响应美国 250 周年（America 250），与州内其他非营利组织合作，计划在俄州全部 77 个县共播种 2 磅野生花种子，项目报名表题为 Celebrate America with Wildflowers。学术协作方面，协会与 Oklahoma Biological Survey、Flora of Oklahoma Project、Oklahoma Invasive Plant Council、Oklahoma Academy of Science、The Nature Conservancy in Oklahoma 以及 Sutton Avian Research Center 等机构保持长期合作，并向 Oklahoma Audubon Council、Oklahoma Ornithological Society、The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation、OSU Cooperative Extension Service、Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation、Oklahoma Natural Areas Registry 与 Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts 等姊妹组织提供联络支持。
战略规划、合作伙伴与会员服务
ONPS 当前的战略重心为三大学术支柱：本植物区系研究与记录（依托 Oklahoma Native Plant Record 与 Gaillardia 季刊）、本地植物推广与教育（依托 Anne W. Long 奖、Harriet G. Barclay 奖、Paul Buck 奖的青少年与公众项目）、以及栖息地保护与修复（依托 Color Oklahoma 与 ONPN 行业联盟）。会员结构包括学生会员 10 美元（教师推荐可免费）、个人会员 20 美元、家庭会员 25 美元、个人终身会员 300 美元、家庭终身会员 350 美元，会员资格按自然年（1 月 1 日至 12 月 31 日）计算，会费在 501(c)(3) 框架下享受税收豁免，会员可参加免费或低收费的讲座、野外考察、室内聚会、研讨会与年会，并收到季刊。董事会会议向公众开放，通常于 2 月初、春季 WOW 期间和秋季年会期间召开；州内、外姊妹植物社团名录涵盖从 Alabama 到 Wyoming 共 50 余家美国本地植物协会与州立植物学会。持续公开合作伙伴包括 Martin Park Nature Center（OKC）、Oklahoma Wildcrafting、U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – OK Ecological Services、Southwestern Association of Naturalists、Tulsa Audubon Society、Oklahoma Wildlife Management Association 与 Oklahomans for Excellence in Science Education 等。
Founding History and Organizational Origins
The Oklahoma Native Plant Society (ONPS) was established in 1987 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to encouraging the study, protection, propagation, appreciation, and use of Oklahoma’s native plants. The Society takes its name and emblem from Gaillardia, the official state wildflower of Oklahoma. Betty Kemm, one of the founding members, served as the first State President and chaired the Northeast Chapter for a decade from 1990 to 1999; she was instrumental in introducing geographically located chapters into the Society’s structure. Anne W. Long, a 1967 master’s graduate in botany under Dr. Harriet G. Barclay and a tireless promoter of roadside wildflower plantings, was honored in 1988 with the creation of the Anne W. Long Award for Promotion of Native Plants. ONPS maintains its registered mailing address in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and welcomes correspondence through its official contact form on the website and the Society’s Facebook community page.
Governance Structure and Chapter Network
ONPS operates under a state-chapter governance model comprising a Board of Directors, executive officers, standing subcommittees, and local chapters. The current elected leadership for the 2025 to 2027 term comprises President Shalini Chitturi, Vice President Juliette Hulen, Secretary Carol Smith, Treasurer Mary Korthase, and Past-President Patrick Bell, together with six Directors at Large across the 2026, 2027, and 2028 cohorts. Two active chapters serve members across the state: the Central Chapter covering the Oklahoma City metropolitan area, which typically meets on the first Thursday evening of each month from August through May in Room 208 of the Dawson-Loeffler Building at Oklahoma City University; and the Northeast Chapter covering Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma, which shifted to a monthly cadence starting January 2026 and convenes in the Ballroom of the Tulsa Garden Center at 2435 South Peoria Avenue. The Mycology Chapter operates as a statewide informal chapter organizing impromptu field trips when weather permits.
Education, Publications, and Annual Programs
ONPS sustains two flagship publications: the peer-style annual journal Oklahoma Native Plant Record, with Volume 23 recently released and managed by Editor Gloria Caddell of the University of Central Oklahoma, and the quarterly newsletter Gaillardia mailed to all active members and now in its forty-first volume. Recurring programs include Wonders of Wildflowers (WOW) at Chandler Park in Tulsa, the Monarchs on the Mountain public festival, the T.O.N.Y. Tour Our Native Yards open-garden day, the Annual Members Meeting held at the Lake Arcadia Education Center in Edmond, and the Fabulous Wildflower Fridays informal gatherings hosted by the Northeast Chapter on the third Friday of each month at Panera Bread on 41st Street and Hudson Avenue. Five annual awards recognize service, research, and education: the Betty Kemm Service Award, the Anne W. Long Award, the Harriet G. Barclay Botany Award presented at the Oklahoma State Science and Engineering Fair, the Paul Buck Botany Award presented at the Oklahoma Academy of Science Technical Meeting, and recognition of student research in collaboration with ONPN member nurseries.
Conservation, Advocacy, and Public Engagement
Four flagship initiatives define ONPS’s conservation footprint: the Color Oklahoma roadside wildflower program that sows native seeds along state highways and turnpikes and is sustained through donations and a dedicated wildflower license plate; the Oklahoma Native Plant Network, an industry coalition of growers producing, marketing, and selling native species; the joint stewardship of Red Bud Valley Nature Preserve and the Mary Kay Oxley Nature Center; and the T.O.N.Y. Tour Our Native Yards demonstration initiative. In 2026 ONPS joined the nationwide America 250 celebration by pledging to sow two pounds of wildflower seeds across all seventy-seven Oklahoma counties under the Celebrate America with Wildflowers program. The Society collaborates with the Oklahoma Biological Survey, the Flora of Oklahoma Project, the Oklahoma Invasive Plant Council, the Oklahoma Academy of Science, The Nature Conservancy in Oklahoma, the Sutton Avian Research Center, and dozens of additional state, regional, and national partners.
Strategic Priorities, Partnerships, and Member Services
ONPS’s current strategy rests on three pillars: documenting Oklahoma’s flora through the Oklahoma Native Plant Record and the Gaillardia newsletter; promoting native plants through awards, lectures, and student research; and restoring habitat through Color Oklahoma and ONPN. Membership categories include Student Membership at ten dollars annually (free with faculty sponsorship), Individual Membership at twenty dollars, Family Membership at twenty-five dollars, Lifetime Individual Membership at three hundred dollars, and Lifetime Family Membership at three hundred fifty dollars, all valid for the calendar year and tax-deductible under the Society’s 501(c)(3) status. Members receive free or low-cost access to field trips, lectures, indoor outings, the Wildflower Workshop, the Annual Meeting, and the quarterly Gaillardia. Board meetings are open to the public and typically held in early February, during WOW in late spring, and during the Annual Meeting in the fall. ONPS maintains reciprocal links with more than fifty sister native plant societies across all fifty United States.
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