Sowing native plants is crucial to the health of the environment, pollinators, food systems

Mary Lhowe’s article Sowing native plants is crucial to the health of the environment, pollinators, food systems stresses that we need to take of our native plants so that they can take care of us.  She includes perspectives offered by Dave Vissoe, current Vice President of RIWPS and the work of ReSeeding RI along with other perspective from those working to preserve our native plants.

The article begins

So, you are thinking of sowing in your yard a few native plants. Who cares?

The list of who cares is long: pollinators like bees, hummingbirds, and butterflies; bats and birds; worms and underground bugs; fungi and bacteria; and plants.

And, who cares about the health of pollinators? Farmers, of course, and, in theory, anyone who eats. Native plants and native pollinators adapted over the millennia to live and work effectively together. The movements of pollinators allow plants to become fertilized and to produce fruits, seeds, and young plants. In turn, plants feed the pollinators.

Go to Ocean State Stories (Pell Center, Salve Regina University) to read the full article. Click here