What Is the Alberta Native Plant Council (ANPC) Website?

Updated

anpc.ab.ca is the website of the Alberta Native Plant Council, an organization that shares knowledge and supports the conservation of native plants and native plant habitat in Alberta. It is useful if you want to learn about Alberta's native flora, find native plant sources and growing guidance, access plant lists and publications, or get involved through volunteering, donating, or participating in events and projects.

What the organization does

ANPC describes its work as spanning several connected areas:

  • Outreach — sharing knowledge with the public
  • Publications and guidelines — producing reference materials on native plants
  • Stewardship — practical care for native plants and habitat
  • Advocacy — providing information on issues affecting native plant habitat
  • Research — supporting and compiling knowledge about native species
  • Funding and implementing native plant projects

Resources available on the site

The site organizes its public resources into a few main categories.

Growing and selecting native plants

  • Recommended Plant Lists by Natural Region — a resource to help with plant selection for native plant gardens, presented as a Storymap with recommendations for species best adapted to each of Alberta's natural regions
  • Growing Native Plants from Seeds
  • Native Plant Garden Challenge

Plant lists and source directories

  • Native Plant Source List — available in Excel and PDF formats
  • Alberta Wetland Plant List
  • Native Plant Suppliers and Demonstration Bed Interactive Map

Publications

  • The Rare Vascular Plants of Alberta, 2nd Edition — available for purchase through UBC Press
  • Vascular Flora of Alberta: An Illustrated Guide, 2nd Edition — paperback or e-book through Amazon.ca, with illustrated keys to all native and naturalized vascular plants in Alberta
  • Vascular Flora of Alberta: Illustrations and Maps — a companion resource with enhanced illustrations and maps, available through Amazon.ca
  • Wildflowers of Whitehorse Wildland Provincial Park — available through the Alberta Native Plant Council

Featured news and projects

The site highlights current work, including a Storymap compiled by ANPC volunteers documenting known rare plant occurrences within proposed coal mine footprints in the eastern slopes of Alberta's Rocky Mountains, and information ANPC provided to the Municipal District of Taber regarding a proposal to convert approximately 3,100 acres of native grassland into irrigated cropland.

Activities you can take part in

  • Small Grants Program
  • Webinars
  • Plant Study Groups
  • Workshops
  • Botany Alberta

How to get involved

The site offers three direct ways to participate: Join Us, Volunteer, and Donate. These appear alongside the featured activities and resources, so you can move from learning about native plants to contributing to their conservation.

Who this site is for

The ANPC website is most relevant if you:

  • Garden with native plants in Alberta and need region-specific species recommendations
  • Are looking for suppliers of native plants or seed
  • Want reference publications on Alberta's vascular flora or rare plants
  • Are interested in volunteering, applying for a small grant, or attending webinars and study groups
  • Want to follow conservation issues affecting native plant habitat in the province

The organization also acknowledges that what is called Alberta is the traditional and ancestral territory of many peoples, presently subject to Treaties 6, 7, and 8, including the Blackfoot Confederacy (Kainai, Piikani, and Siksika), the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Stoney Nakoda, and the Tsuut'ina Nation, and the Métis People of Alberta.