Native Plant Master Registration 2026

Native Plant Master Registration

If you need assistance with the application, please call Paula Petroff at (970) 498-6000.
The Native Plant Master (NPM) Program is an award-winning, non-credit, educational program offered through CSU Extension to educate the public about native plants in order to foster stewardship, sustainable landscaping, and management of weeds that threaten native ecosystems.

Native Plant Master courses offer students the chance to grow their botanical knowledge, with the option to pursue certification as a Native Plant Master.

Prerequisites to Native Plant Master Courses
All Native Plant Master participants must meet the botany prerequisite before enrolling in Native Plant Master courses. For those who have a minimal background in botany and using a dichotomous key, there are two options to fulfill the requirement:
- Option 1: Native Plant Identification & Keying Online Class (Free)
  This online class outlines key characteristics of plant families and uses an interactive dichotomous key to distinguish genera and species. This is vital knowledge to be successful in NPM courses and is required for participants with minimal or no background in botany. This class is open to all participants who would like to refresh their botanical knowledge. A second optional class, Field Botany & Native Plants, is included in this bundle offered for free with the registration in an NPM 3-day course. Links to these classes will be sent after registration.
- Option 2: In-Person Botany Primer for Colorado’s Plant Families Class ($50)
  Participants may instead choose to meet the prerequisite by attending an in-person Botany Primer class. Find full details for this class and others on the Larimer County Native Plant Master page.
Native Plant Master Field Courses:

You will learn common and scientific names, ecological relationships, and human uses of 40-50 plants. You will also develop skills in using family features and a botanical key to identify plants. Course includes special emphasis on native plants useful for landscaping and covers invasive plants that threaten native ecosystems.

Each Field Course session will focus on an educational native plant and ecological topic:
- Session 1: Botanical characteristics of plant families and species, identification using a botanical key, scientific names, and stewardship of native plants.
- Session 2: Ecological relationships including non-native species, noxious weeds, and relationships with wildlife, pollinators, and other plants.
- Session 3: Written field exam on material from first and second sessions. Human uses, including use of natives for sustainable landscaping, ethnobotanical, and other uses.
Required Text:
All participants must bring Flora of Colorado, 2nd Edition by Jennifer Ackerfield to each session. It's important to obtain the 2nd edition of this book for the NPM Course. If you don’t currently have the correct edition, please plan to obtain it before your next session.

If obtaining the book is a challenge, you can rent from the Larimer Extension office with a refundable $50 deposit, or purchase at cost of $75. There are 3 copies of each available.

Native Plant Master Certification
To become a certified Native Plant Master, participants must take three different courses held in three different life zones (i.e., foothills, plains, or montane) or held at different times of the year to minimize overlap of plants covered. The three courses do not need to be completed in one year. Participants must pass each of the three exams with a grade of “C” or higher.

Questions?

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Your Courses
Select your course(s). If a course is full, please email Paula Petroff at petrofpj@co.larimer.co.us to be put on the waiting list.
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Prerequisites
IMPORTANT: All NPM participants must meet the botany prerequisite to enroll in Native Plant Master courses.

$50.00



Required Book
Flora of Colorado, 2nd Edition by Jennifer Ackerfield

$75.00



Native Plant Master Course: Eagle's Nest Open Space
May 13, May 20, and May 27 | 9am–1pm: This class will explore and learn about plants within the Laramie Foothills ecosystem at the base of prominent rock outcrop and the riparian area along the north Fork of the Poudre River.

$150.00



Native Plant Master Course: Lory State Park 1
May 19, May 26, and June 2 | 8:00am–12:00pm: Description: The Lory State Park class will provide insight into the plant communities of the transition zones of foothills to the low montane and best management practices to steward these communities. Participants will learn to use the Ackerfield key to recognize common plant family characteristics and to key out a variety of forbs, shrubs and trees.

$150.00



Native Plant Master Course: Lory State Park 2
May 22, May 29, and June 5 | 8:30am–12:30pm: This class for beginners emphasizes plant identification in a lively, supportive learning environment. Barb and Marcee teach together to give you double the fun and individual attention. They teach the basics to prepare you for the rewarding journey of learning more about native plants and their role in our local ecosystem.

$150.00



Native Plant Master Course: Rocky Mountain National Park
June 16, June 23, and June 30 | 8:00am–12:30pm: Learn alpine tundra plant communities and what plants grow in these communities. How do alpine plants survive & thrive above 11,500 feet? What are the common plant family characteristics that grow in the alpine life zone? Sign up for this class to find these answers and more about the Alpine Life Zone.

$150.00



Native Plant Master Course: High Plains Environmental Center
July 13, July 20, and July 27 | 8:00am–12:00pm: Students will learn to confidently key common Front Range plants as well as resources available to advance their own self study of native plants, officially designated weeds, and gardening with native plants to save water and create ecosystems for pollinators, other beneficial insects, and small mammals. Plant families will be emphasized. This site is generally flat with a good variety of shrubs, forbs and grasses, and a few wetland species, in a naturalistic garden setting. Nature willing, a rare plant may be seen during the last class.

$150.00



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Adhere to all 2026 Program Guidelines, including the refund policy (full refund, less a $15 processing fee, with 30 day prior notice).
I, the undersigned participant, exercising my own free choice to participate voluntarily in Native Plant Master® courses, classes or volunteer activities (collectively, the “Activities”), and promising to take due care during such participation, hereby acknowledge that I have been informed of the nature of the Activities and that I am aware of the hazards and risks which may be associated with my participation in the Activities, including the risks of bodily injury, death or damage to property which may occur from known or unknown causes. I understand, accept, and assume all such hazards and risks, and waive all claims against the State of Colorado, The Board of Governors of the Colorado State University System, Colorado State University, Colorado State University Extension, and their directors, officers, agents, employees and volunteers. I understand that I am solely responsible for any costs arising out of any bodily injury or property damage that I may sustain through my participation in normal or unusual acts associated with the Activities, regardless of whose fault may be the cause of my injuries or damages, EVEN IF CAUSED BY CARELESSNESS OR NEGLIGENCE, so long as the conduct which caused the injuries or damages was not grossly negligent, or willful and wanton.
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*** Course can be moderately strenuous and may require walking on steep inclines for up to 2 miles on wet, rough, and/or slippery footing during windy, cold, hot, or rainy weather. ***
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