(bright music) - The Utah Native Plant Society has been promoting conservation and education for nearly 50 years, encouraging the use of native plants in landscaping and restoration.

Here with more details is Vice President, Parker Lloyd.

Hi Parker.

- Hi Laura.

Thanks for having me.

- Yeah, congratulations on being the newest vice president.

- Oh yeah, yes, of course.

Thank you.

- And how long have you been at the organization?

- So I've been a member of the Utah Native Plant Society for about three years, but I've been serving on the board... This is my second year on the board actually.

- [Laura] So it's been around for 50 years, - Just about, yeah.

and I honestly have not known very much about it.

Can you tell us about the organization?

- Yeah, so we are an organization made up of professionals, botanists, biologists, academics, and also just hobbyist gardeners all working together to kind of promote and encourage intentional ways for people to experience nature in the wilderness.

We are a 501c3 registered nonprofit organization dedicated to the appreciation, conservation, and responsible use of native plants here in Utah and in the Intermountain West.

- [Laura] So how do you spread the word?

What is the work that you do?

- Yeah, so we do... We do a lot of different... We do a lot of different programs to kind of foster that public recognition.

My personal favorite is our grant and aid program where we provide research money to students and professionals to kind of gain more knowledge about native plants.

But we also have our quarterly publication, the Sego Lily.

We do educational campaigns on social media, and especially public educational events.

- Wow, so if I'm, you know, interested in native plants, I, you know, wanna maybe re-landscape my yard, how do I get involved and learn from you?

- Yeah, absolutely.

So our website is unps.org.

We also have our Instagram and our Facebook groups at Utah Native Plant Society.

This is a great place to start networking with experts and people that you know have been in your position.

And it's a great, you know, first step to get involved in native plants.

- [Laura] Wow, that's wonderful.

Well, thank you so much for the work you do, and thanks for telling us about it.

- Absolutely.

Thanks for having me.

- If you would like to learn more about the Utah Native Plant Society, simply visit their website at unps.org.

That's unps.org.

I'm Laura, thanks for watching Contact.

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