The Elizabeth C. Schwartz Fund

Contribute to support Southern California conservation

California has a long history of conserving our natural resources, and now more than ever, we must stand strong to protect our wild spaces.

The generous bequest of Elizabeth C. Schwartz provided the seed money for a Southern California Conservation Analyst, Dr. Nick Jensen. Nick is now advocating for responsible recreation and development, collaborating with CNPS members and like-minded partners, and fighting against sprawl and habitat destruction. Nick’s efforts are protecting special places such as Tejon Ranch, Joshua Tree National Park, and the western Mojave desert.

Your special gift today will honor Elizabeth’s contribution and support conservation in Southern California.

Elizabeth C. Schwartz – A Conservation Legacy

Elizabeth Schwartz was a Southern California native plant legend. After practicing law for 15 years, she fell in love with native plants and became a certified horticulturist. In this second career, she engaged thousands of plant lovers as executive director of the Theodore Payne Foundation, board president of the Southern California Horticultural Society, staff of the Botanical Garden at UCLA, and via numerous lectures and articles on native plants. Liz died suddenly on August 12, 2015 while hiking in Arizona. She was 66.

Liz named CNPS as a beneficiary of her IRA retirement account. After talking with her husband, UCLA  astronomer Ben Zuckerman, it was decided to apply a portion of Liz’s gift to create a fund that would honor her memory and dramatically increase CNPS Conservation work in Southern California.