GCA Position Paper - Native Plants
Cynthia Druckenbrod and Robin Schachat
A Quick Intro from your Conservation and National Affairs & Legislation Co-Chairs
Life on Earth depends on plants, both those that we humans eat (broccoli? apples?) and those that our food sources eat (grass-fed cattle? millet-fed chickens?). To procreate, plants must be pollinated. The vast majority of active pollinators are native species, and have evolved along with Native Plants which are best suited to provide optimal food value to our pollinators.
The Garden Club of America supports a vast number of initiatives that support Native Plants and native pollinators, ranging from educational programs at major research centers, in industry, and in government departments, to individual GCA club initiatives such as the Partners for Plants (P4P) projects.
Pesticide use, planting of invasive plant species that crowd out natives, habitat loss, and climate change (regardless of what the source may be – that’s for another month) are the primary reasons that up to 30% of native plant species in the USA are in imminent risk of extinction.
Please read the ONE PAGE, VERY CLEAR Position Paper linked here. It will help you to understand the issues. A great many well-researched and updated reviews of these issues can be found on this page at the GCA website under the heading “GCA Supports Native Plants and Pollinators.” If you have wondered before why the loss of wildlife corridors, bumblebees, and bats should be of any importance to you, you will find the reasons here.
This month’s newsletter also covers some native plants to plant now for growth next spring, and some native plants that are in bloom now that you should plant in spring for next fall. And there are a few hints about invasive plants that you may have in your garden now – dig them up and compost them! You will have more space to plant healthy natives in their place!
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