July 3 Meeting
Ron Kaufman to speak on orchid conservation
At our next Houston Orchid Society meeting on Thursday, July 3, Ron Kaufman will speak on Conserving Orchids with the American Orchid Society. Ron Kaufmann is chairman of the American Orchid Society Conservation Committee and a founding director of the Orchid Conservation Alliance. He has been growing orchids for more than 25 years and has travelled extensively to view orchids in the wild in Asia and South America, particularly Brazil, Ecuador, and Colombia. Ron’s talk will describe the work that the AOS Conservation Committee is doing to support orchid conservation, highlighting examples of recent AOS-funded projects and future opportunities for collaboration in this important work.
Ron has a longstanding interest in conservation and has been a member of the AOS Conservation Committee since 2016 and chairman since 2022. The AOS Conservation Committee supports conservation through grants that fund conservation-centered projects and awards that recognize those whose work advances the conservation of orchids. Ron began working on orchid conservation with the SDCOS Conservation Committee 26 years ago and became its chair in 2004. Since 1991, the SDCOS Conservation Committee has awarded more than $300,000 to support projects in 24 countries. Ron also helped to found the Orchid Conservation Alliance and serves on the boards of the OCA, AOS, Orchid Digest, and Fundación EcoMinga (an Ecuadorian conservation organization).
Ron is a marine biologist by training, and his scientific work includes studies of Antarctic and deep-sea ecosystems as well as marine communities in coastal Southern California.
His orchid collection began with a reedstem Epidendrum and progressed to a diverse assemblage that contains mostly species orchids. Most of Ron’s orchids are grown in a 36 ft x 24 ft greenhouse and several outdoor shade-covered areas around his house in San Diego. Friends have suggested that he build a second, much larger greenhouse to accommodate the many plants that often make walking through his greenhouse an exercise requiring extensive training in gymnastics and yoga to avoid serious injury. Thus far, this recommendation hasn’t been followed, although the temptation is always there.
The meeting begins at 7:30pm at First Christian Church, 1601 Sunset Boulevard, Houston.
If you haven’t already ordered your official Houston Orchid Society name badge, you can now order yours online.