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A plant rescue is a fun and free way for you to legally collect plants from private property scheduled for development. Plant rescues can provide plants for invasive species restoration efforts, for propagation, for educational purposes or for use in your own yard. They can be a small group effort and relatively easily organized, or they may be large involving dozens of people and require substantial planning and organization. It is up to the plant rescue organizer to decide how large or small to make the project.
One way to find a collection location is by keeping your eyes and ears open. A “For Sale” sign is essentially an open invitation to the public to inspect the property, and you will find the name and contact information of the seller’s agent on the sign. Some permitting authorities provide notification of development applications to individuals who register as interested parties. Friends and partner organizations can also help you scout for locations.
The owner’s permission is necessary for a plant rescue to occur. The owner may be encouraged to allow a plant rescue in order to improve the public profile for their development.
As early as practical, at least one well-qualified individual should walk the property to determine if there is a sufficient quantity/quality of transplantable native plants. The site should also be assessed for safety, access and even parking considerations.
You will need volunteers, food/drinks, tools and empty pots (mostly 1 and 5-gallon, as well as a few larger pots) and truck/ trailer. The Native Plant Society requires participants to sign a release of liability for any Society sponsored activity. You may also want to use a contract to protect the owner (and you) from legal responsibility for any accidents or damage to the property itself.
Mark off the collection area with survey tape or other markings so that volunteers know the boundaries defined for collection. Many sites are heavily wooded and visibility is limited, in which case the entire perimeter should be clearly marked. On some sites the boundary of the area to be excavated is already marked with a silt fence, inside of which bulldozers will scrape all plants not rescued.
Collect plants, taking care not to try to rescue “too-big” plants (e.g. large shrubs or trees) or plants with fragile roots. Your experts may want to drop off a pot beside each plant to be rescued and let less experienced volunteers do the digging. Repot the plants on-site and water them as soon as possible, and then transport them to locations where they can be stabilized, monitored and cared for. Look for partners with available greenhouse or nursery space, especially for those plants rescued in hot weather. Topsoil includes a kind of “seed bank” that can also be collected and spread at restored sites.
After the plants have stabilized and show signs of new growth, they can be donated to schools, your local parks department or to other groups or organizations that wish to promote native plants. A hard-working volunteer can collect ten plants or more in an hour. With enough volunteers you can obtain hundreds of plants worth many thousands of dollars, preventing valuable plants from being scraped into a pile and burned.
Now it’s your turn to get started. Find a site that is easy to access, make sure you have cooperation from the property owner and organize a small plant rescue. There are thousands of plants out there waiting to be rescued, and all that’s needed to make it happen is one enthusiastic organizer to get the ball rolling.
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**ARCHIVED POST AUTHOR: edtravis
