Virginia Native Plant Society Inc - New River Chapter

The New River Chapter of the Virginia Native Plant Society has an interest in Virginia’s native plants and habitats and works to promote the appreciation and conservation of this priceless heritage.

To further our mission, we have decided to partner with the Plant Southwest Virginia Natives Campaign (Plant SWVA Natives) for this year’s Give Local NRV drive. 

Plant SWVA Natives is a recently launched local effort focusing on improving awareness, appreciation, and application of native plants throughout Southwest Virginia. The project utilizes the tools already created by the Regional Virginia Native Plant Campaigns and packages them to be shared by local partners across the Southwest Region of the Commonwealth.  

According to the World Wildlife Foundation, since 1970 monitored populations of mammals, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians have declined an average of 68%. The foundation of life for these species is vegetation. Local fauna has evolved in concert with local flora. Native plants are undeniably an important part of halting the current species decline. 

Not only are native plants important for wildlife habitat and biodiversity, they are also important to people. 

Native plants hold our soil in place, keep our water clean, cool our communities, give us oxygen, connect us with nature and the seasons, and are simply beautiful—a priceless part of our heritage. 

Native plants don’t require fertilizers and excess water, are adapted to local climates, and can be used in the landscape to replace invasive species. Invasive species damage and degrade crops, pasture and forestlands, clog waterways, spread human and livestock diseases, and destroy urban street trees, costing Virginians more than $1 billion, annually.  

Plant SWVA Natives seeks to eliminate barriers that prevent people from frequently utilizing native plants in local landscapes. 

Through the creation and printing of a Plant Southwest Virginia Natives Guide, a community supported native plant propagation center, demonstration gardens, and partnerships with local growers, we can make native plants more accessible and improve the public’s relationship to their own backyards. 

Whether you want to put in a flower garden, reduce lawn maintenance, or establish or restore the landscape around your home, we invite you to choose native, Plant SWVA Native! Visit our webpage to learn more or become a partner. www.plantvirginianatives.org/plantswvanatives

Sources: 

Redbud and the Bees, linocut with collaged washi papers by Ele Willoughby, 2018

https://www.worldwildlife.org/press-releases/68-average-decline-in-species-population-sizes-since-1970-says-new-wwf-report

http://www.invasivespeciesva.org/document/viswg-invasives-brochure.pdf