Page 18 - Flathead Beacon // 9.30.15

INFOCUS MULTIMEDIA SERIES
BY GREG LINDSTROM
Above: Andrew Beltz waters red osier dogwoods after moving them to larger pots. Below: Kate Genest trims aster flowers to collect seeds.
FROM SEED TO CENTER Andrew Beltz, Center for Native Plants
The Center for Native Plants (CNP) in Whitefish fea- tures more than 120 native flowers, shrubs and trees, and Andrew Beltz has watched most of them grow from seeds collected around the valley. “I know where I picked the seed from,” Beltz said. “It’s got a story.”
The CNP is a branch of Forestoration, Inc., the par- ent company run by partners Greg Gunderson, David Noftsinger and Beltz. Through Forestoration, the group offers natural resource consulting and contracting, cov- ering everything from wildfire and riparian restoration to trail building and design. But the promotion of native plants is always near the forefront of their projects.
“As the valley begins to develop, land is cleared, plants are lost, habitat is lost,” Beltz said. “By bringing some of that into your backyard you’re kind of helping preserve that. It helps create a sense of place.”
The CNP is continuing its transformation from a small nursery to a true center for native landscaping in the valley.
“We really do want become a center, where it’s not just coming in and buying a plant and walking away,” Beltz said. “We want to educate people.”
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SEPTEMBER 30, 2015 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
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