project Ideas
Conserving Native Plants
Creating new patches of pollinator habitat is important, but so is protecting existing natural habitat in your area. Big natural areas often contain everything your pollinator species needs to survive and thrive. There are two major threats to these existing areas of pollinator habitat:
- Building on the land (development). We can address this threat by protecting natural spaces.
- Invasive species of plants competing with native species for space and resources. We can address this threat by removing invasive plants.
Both of these projects to protect and conserve native plants can be difficult because they require a lot of time and expertise, but the good news is that there is probably a group in your community doing this work that needs your help!
If you are interested in working to conserve and protect native plants, check with any of these types of groups in your community to see how you can get involved:
- a land trust
- your local nature center
- a local chapter of the Nature Conservancy
- your county cooperative extensive office
- a native plant society
Relevant United Nations
Sustainable Development Goals
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDG’s) are a list of projects and actions that all countries can take on to improve their economies and reduce poverty while also protecting the planet. If you choose this project for your Quest, you will help address climate change through the goals listed below:
Questions to Consider
As you consider this project idea, here are some questions to ask:
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Does this project address the threats of your pollinator species? How?
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How can this project help your ecosystem?
- What are the specific ways your project will help your pollinator species? If you feel like your project won't help enough, you can combine multiple projects.
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Is this an effective project for the space in which you are working?
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Does your class have the time, money, and ability to do this project?
Helpful Resources
If your class chooses to take on this project to help your species, here are some useful resources:
- Native Plant Conservation Campaign provides links to a lot of different projects and organizations focused on native plant conservation
- The Plant Conservation Alliance is a partnership between a bunch of government agencies and organizations around the United States to conserve plants. Be sure to check out the tab labeled Collaborators to see a state-by-state list of other organizations doing this work