Our Three-Year(ish) Anniversary!

I think it’s safe to say that we could all use a bit of good news these days, something to celebrate. As my co-founder Doug Tallamy often says, “Don’t think about the entire planet’s problems – you’ll get depressed – instead, focus on the piece of the earth you can influence.”

Many of you have already done that. You have planted native plants where you live, work, learn, play, and pray, and you are on the HNP Biodiversity MAP. Thank you for being part of the growing HNP “firefly family,” and now let’s celebrate together as HNP turns three(ish)!

Let's Celebrate

I figured November was a good month to mark our anniversary, considering that it (sort of) straddles the milestones of launching the HNP website in October 2020 and the HNP Biodiversity MAP in January 2021. November it is!

How about gifting this link of Doug’s recent talk at the Cary Institute in Millbrook, NY by forwarding it to friends, colleagues, family members, and neighbors, including to those who aren’t gardeners, conservationists or aware of the biodiversity crisis?

It was after a talk like this one that I contacted Doug, a perfect stranger, suggesting that I could help him scale his message “beyond the choir.” I didn’t have to be a gardener (I wasn’t) or a conservationist (I wasn’t) to be moved to action by the pure logic of his talk.

I learned about a very simple sequence of cause and effect: Loss of habitat means loss of biodiversity and the ecosystem services (clean water, clean air, pollination, carbon storage, flood and pest control) all humans need to survive. We have lost and continue to lose habitat and species at an alarming rate. Instead of being depressed about this, Doug offered a solution we can all be part of simply by planting the most productive native plants and removing invasives we create new viable habitat and regenerate biodiversity. Why wouldn’t we do this?

My husband Tom and I sat in that audience, and we both decided, then and there, to “start digging” and plant native when we got home. That was the light bulb moment for creating HNP. I figured that if I was moved to action by Doug’s talk, then there were millions of others like me who would do the same if they only knew how urgent and simple it was to regenerate biodiversity. Now we have our own Homegrown National Park right where we live.

Let's Grow

There are now more than 36,000 people and 112,000 acres on the HNP Biodiversity MAP from the U.S. and Canada. It’s a great start, but we need a lot more - quickly.

Individually and together, we can make the HNP grassroots movement the largest, most successful cooperative conservation project ever attempted. This is putting the power of positive change in each of our hands.

Let’s share this “antidote to overwhelm” with the gift that keeps on giving by sending this link with Doug Tallamy’s talk to your ‘list’ and inspire them to join the HNP Grassroots Biodiversity movement.