Note to Coastal Plain Chapter members: This summer our board held two planning sessions to look at ways to further our mission. In the first session, we dissected our mission statement; in the second session, we talked about strategies. Here are the notes taken by Jimmy Lindsey, CPC Vice-President, who facilitated our sessions. I encourage you to consider how you are helping our chapter fulfill its mission. Thanks, Mary Alice Applegate, CPC President

 “THE BIG PICTURE”
Notes/comments from 7/20/2022 meeting
Coastal Plain Chapter, GNPS, Board of Directors
Facilitated by Jimmy Lindsey, CPC Vice-President

On the evening of July 20, via Zoom, the board of the Coastal Plain Chapter, Georgia Native Plant Society, spent some time clarifying several topics, expanding on other subjects and developing numerous ideas. Below are my notes from that event.

We began with a review of our mission statement:
Our mission is to conserve and protect the native plants in natural communities of Georgia and to promote the use of native plants in landscaping and restoration plantings

The mission statement for an organization should answer the question, what is the long-term purpose of this organization. It is our reason for being. We spent considerable time working through some language issues.
Conserve and protect, what’s the difference? Conserving means rescuing and/or saving. It was agreed that the propagation of native plants is a very important part of that effort. Indeed, it is central to everything that we do.
Protecting is more about keeping plants (and by extension, their habitats) safe from harm.

Native plants in natural communities is a very broad topic . . .  and it is meant to be. It includes Flowers, Vines, Ferns, Grasses, Trees. It doesn’t include agricultural farms or even planted timber forest.  But even my backyard, as small as it is, can qualify as part of a “natural community.” 

As part of a natural community, the home owner can add to (help) or detract from (harm) the community depending on what is planted.  In fact, any efforts that recreate what used to be there, are important and valuable.  Accordingly, public roadways, city parks, wetlands, parking lots, school or church gardens all have the potential of becoming parts of natural communities that help or harm, depending on what is planted in those areas.  

Another important aspect of “natural communities” is that they are “user friendly” to all of the animals, insects and creatures that either live there or visit. These are all areas where plants and all other native organisms (wildlife) coexist in mutually supportive ways, over extended periods of time, and do so in a relatively undisturbed fashion. In effect, each little area creates a niche within a larger community.  It is like constructing a quilt blanket, the more pieces of fabric that are stitched together, the larger and more useful the blanket!

Promote the use of native plants. So how do we promote?  The answer to this question certainly includes education – in classrooms, at symposiums, field trips, public events, plant sales, and through the distribution of brochures and other printed materials. Our target audience includes kids, adults, professionals, hobbyist, garden clubs – anyone of any age who has an interest or a curiosity about native plants.

Our greatest challenge, and at the same time, one of our biggest opportunities, is the task of convincing the public about the benefits of using native plants in their yards.  Homeowners buy plants.  Our job is to make them aware that native plants deserve a place in their gardens.  In order to make it happen, homeowners need to be taught to plant this; not that, and we should be their teachers!

But the primary way in which we fulfill our mission to promote the use of native plants is that we make native plants available!  In order to accomplish this goal, we use both retail and wholesale channels. We wholesale to stores and professional landscapers. We reach out to the public at fairs, festivals, seminars, outreach programs, symposiums, at five scheduled plant sale events in the Spring and four events in the Fall. Furthermore, native plants are available to the public year-round online. 

Landscaping and restoration plantings. The simplest way to think about the difference between these two activities is that landscaping tends to involve a relatively small area while the focus of a restoration tends to cover a large area. Furthermore, a restoration involves everything, including trees – big trees. It is the large scale reconstruction of the ecological integrity of an entire habitat.  On the other hand, landscaping projects tend to focus on fewer plants, and for the most part, smaller trees.

Connie Gosh, GNPS Restoration Subcommittee, effectively explains the differences by pointing out that the gardener builds a landscape by taking nature apart, using just parts of it for specific purposes.  Habitat restoration puts nature back together using only what nature provides.

We have talked about our purpose, our reason for being, our mission; but what do we want to become? What is our VISION? 

One suggestion might involve a commitment “to Think BIG,” and by doing so to purposefully multiply our efforts in promoting the use of native plants. We can multiply our efforts by utilizing current relationships and partnerships. Through our existing personal connections and an ever-expanding list of connections, we can reach more and more people. 

There is also a realization that many of our partners have “been there; done that!” We do not always have to “reinvent the wheel.” By borrowing what is already available, we can better leverage our limited resources of time and manpower. In order to significantly enhance our efforts, we could educate educators. They could then carry our message to a much broader audience.

Likewise, if we could teach nurseries how to successfully propagate native plants, they could then carry those plants into markets that we could never reach.

Some partnerships and relationships that are currently recognized and available include:
    •    Georgia Botanical Gardens (including their native plant certification program and their “Connect to Protect” program.)
    •    Georgia State Conservation Alliance
    •    Monarchs Across Georgia
    •    Gaskins Forest Education Center
    •    Local area Garden Clubs
    •    Department of Natural Resources
    •    University System of Georgia
    •    Natural Resources Conservation Service
    •    Nature Conservancy
    •    Etc.

An excellent example of “Thinking Big” is contained in the following statement by Douglas Tallamy: “If half of American lawns were replaced with native plants, we would create the equivalent of 20-million-acre park, nine times bigger than Yellowstone, or 100 times bigger than Shenandoah National Park.” 

Thinking big embraces a lot of people acting small!  Conserving and protecting native plants is achievable for each of us. Having vast acreage or even a greenhouse is not required. Everyone, every age, can modify their own landscape, learn about native plants and encourage others to do the same. Conserving and protecting native plants is truly within our grasp!

“THE BIG PICTURE” Strategy Development
Notes from 8/10/2022 meeting
Coastal Plain Chapter, GNPS, Board of Directors
Facilitated by Jimmy Lindsey, CPC Vice-President

About a month ago the board of the Coastal Plain Chapter, Georgia Native Plant Society, spent a considerable amount of time dissecting our Mission Statement.  (See: The Big Picture, 7/20/2022).  You will recall that our Mission constitutes our “reason for being.” In its simplest form, our Mission is to “PROMOTE NATIVE PLANTS.”

We next looked at the questions of “where do we want to go?” “What do we want to become?” The answer to these questions represents our Vision?

Our vision can be explained as follows: even though our numbers are relatively small, and even though we are thinly spread over a broad geography, we can still do BIG things, but only if we can “Think Big.” If we can think beyond the limitations of our current manpower, and if we can think of our geographical expanse as an opportunity rather than a problem, we can fully realize our vision. We believe that with the right mindset, we can become extremely effective in “Promoting Native Plants.”  With that goal in mind, our Vision, simply stated, is to THINK BIG!

Given that we have defined both our vision and our mission, tonight’s challenge focused on developing our strategy.  How are we going to get all of our members on the same page?  How do we ensure that everyone is ‘rowing in the same direction?’

Previously, the membership had put forth some creative ideas aimed at developing an action plan.  If you drill down into that very thoughtful list of projects, it quickly becomes apparent that the single common thread running through all of them is the idea of enhancing our individual efforts, extending our reach, and empowering our relationships.  It turns out that THINKING BIG means motivating a lot of people to act small.  To succeed, we absolutely must be able to leverage our limited resources and get a lot more people rowing with us!

In order to multiply our efforts, what if we: 
    •    Educated Educators? Teach them and then have them go forth to teach others.
    •    Get other nursery owners and even our own membership to propagate natives? 
    •    Piggy Back on our existing relationships?
    •    Establish, nurture and grow new relationships? 
Thinking BIG is figuring out how to leverage ALL of our relationships!

SUGGESTIONS and COMMENTS:
    •    Connect with Landscapers – a group that could be extremely important to us is Landscape Architects.  They are the perfect audience for what we are trying to do, however, their ‘pinch point’ centers around the availability of reliable, local sources of plant material. If you think about it, if the landscape architects are asking for it (if the demand is there), the suppliers will follow.  A good starting point for CPC would be to update and publish a current list of Native Plant Nurseries.
    •    Connect with Garden Clubs – Garden Clubs are always searching for speakers.  We need to establish a Speaker’s Bureau. And while we are at it, maybe we should cast a wider net?  Almost every Civic Organization, Service Club, Women’s Club, etc. is in need of program speakers.  Currently it seems that native plants and pollinators are a very popular topic.  Given the recent IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) announcement about the change in status of Monarch Butterflies, natives are very much en vogue!
    •    Connect with Horticulture Clubs – Universities, colleges, and high schools often sponsor horticulture clubs.  Quite often those clubs even have greenhouses and conduct plant sales for fund raisers. This group fits well with what we are doing! 
    •    Connect with DNR and GDOT -- There are roadsides that need different management practices.  Sometimes it is a simple as not mowing when wild flowers are seeding.  “No Mow” in certain areas can be useful.
    •    Invasive Control as a Community Service Project – When High School Students are trying to build a resume’, a record of community service can be very useful.  Maybe we can provide that community service opportunity. The same holds for College students.  Additionally, scout troops and other civic clubs are occasionally looking for ways to serve and secure volunteer hours. 
    •    Conduct workshops on landscaping – timing is important! You need to catch these busy people when things aren’t booming (or blooming).  It was suggested that between November and January would probably be the best time.  It would be an educational type of event which would focus on a general discussion about what to plant, for what purpose, and where/how to place it.  Heather volunteered to adopt this project.
    •    Virtual Lessons – in this post-Covid world, people have grown quite accustomed to “virtual.”  Granted, it is not as effective as in person, but it is a great way for us to get our message out there.  YouTube has become ubiquitous!  It is readily accepted by the public and from a production standpoint is very much within our grasp.  We can produce the clips and then link them to our website, making them available to the general public. 
    •    Locate additional greenhouses – a greenhouse is a commitment.  You have to have the space and you have to have the money.  Not everyone is ready for that kind of commitment.  What if we were to concentrate on promoting a scaled down version? We might be more successful in encouraging casual gardeners to build a smaller, 6X6 cold frame structure.  

In fact, an instructional YouTube demonstration might be the secret to making this happen!  It is about harnessing technology to pursue our mission to educate, promote and propagate native plants.  If we could get a lot of people acting in a small way, we could have some BIG outcomes!

As the meeting concluded, there was a general consensus that all of the above described initiates are achievable and fit well within the scope of our vision and mission.  

What is next?  At some point it is time for “the rubber to meet the road.” The magic ingredient for translating ideas into action is leadership.  Someone has to adopt the initiative and take responsibility for making it happen.  Every good idea requires an advocate, a champion – someone who will “take the bull by the horns” and provide the magic that brings it to life!