FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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FRIENDS OF EDGEWOOD NATURAL PRESERVE
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BRENDA BUTNER: A FOUNDER OF THE EDGEWOOD DOCENT PROGRAM By Carolyn Curtis After a valiant fight, Brenda Butner succumbed to cancer in October of this year. For members of the Friends of Edgewood and for visitors to Edgewood, she has special significance as one of the people who got the Edgewood docent program going. It was typical of Brenda that she planted the idea of the docent program and made it happen, without looking for any particular glory. In the years of her involvement, the docent program grew from a few hikes in spring to a program of regular hikes every weekend from mid-March to mid-June, with training sessions and a roster of a couple dozen docents. Of course, Brenda was a docent herself—one of the best. The Edgewood docent program is carried out under the auspices of the local chapter (Santa Clara Valley) of the California Native Plant Society, of which Brenda was president in 1989 and 1990. Like many of the past presidents of CNPS, Brenda continued contributing, for example, serving as wildflower show coordinator and field trip coordinator (one of the most active in this job that the chapter ever had). She continued to be active in the chapter right up until she became too ill to go out. Edgewood has always been close to the Santa Clara Valley chapter’s heart because of its preponderance of rare plants and special habitats—particularly valuable to people interested in botany who live in a built-up urban area. Susan Sommers, when she lived across from Edgewood, found some of its rare species. Toni Corelli, who grew up near Edgewood, became a professional botanist (and president of the local CNPS chapter in the early 80s) because of her appreciation of its treasures. It’s a special place to many CNPS members, some of whom don’t have the good fortune to live nearby. Some of these members are Edgewood docents or weeding volunteers. Brenda’s passion for native plants led her to return to college for botany courses. Working part-time at Yerba Buena native plant nursery for many years, she developed considerable skill at propagating native plants, some of which require special techniques. Brenda shared this knowledge generously with others, especially members of the chapter’s Gardening with Natives group, which she helped found. This group grows most of the plants for the chapter’s two annual native plant sales and now has its own nursery facility. For those of you who weren’t lucky enough to know and work with Brenda, I’ve tried to sketch a picture of a resourceful, dedicated, and imaginative person. I wish I could convey her warmth, wonderful humor, and especially her generosity of spirit—the ease and matter-of-factness with which she simply did what needed to be done and never sought any praise for it. Brenda’s leadership and example are a reason why the local CNPS chapter does so much so harmoniously. Her love of native plants lives on in the training that the Edgewood docents get and in the joy and knowledge these people share with Edgewood’s visitors every spring. It also lives on, actually, in the gardens of people who grow native plants that the CNPS chapter propagates. |
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