Plant Rescue
The Plant Rescue program is a major effort and an integral part of the Georgia Native Plant Society, and it was a motivating factor in the formation of the GNPS. The purpose of the rescue program is to relocate native plants that are in the direct path of development. It is a community effort undertaken with the developer’s written permission and with many hours of volunteer labor. Rescued plants go to nature centers, parks, schools, public gardens and backyard habitats.
Plant rescues are available to GNPS members. Check out the FAQ link for some of the most common questions regarding our plant rescues.
Click on the rescue schedule link to find out what rescues are scheduled for this month. Rescues are not usually held in the months of July, August or January.
If you know of a site that might be available for rescue, click on the report a new site link to give us the information and we’ll check it out with the property owner or the developer.
News & Events
GNPS Volunteers Distribute Ferns to Conservation Sites
GNPS Volunteers Distribute Ferns to Conservation Sites
Volunteers installing ferns for Piedmont Park Conservancy
Ferns aren’t the showiest of plants but they can have important uses in conservation. GNPS volunteers just completed 10 rescues of Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) from a construction site in Gainesville, GA. This effort resulted in thousands of plants being saved. These ferns were planted at an array of conservation sites and parks in Georgia, many of them by the same volunteers who dug them.
These rescues were in coordination with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR) and Georgia State Parks. The site being developed is owned by them and will be the home of a new regional headquarters.
GNPS is grateful that we had the time and resources to rescue thousands of plants – mostly ferns – and get these plants to projects that are replacing invasive plants – particularly the invasive Autumn fern – or adding to the natural beauty of Georgia’s parks.
Here are where most of those plants found new homes:
-
Four State Parks: Don Carter SP, Black Rock Mountain SP, Tallulah Gorge SP, and Chattahoochee
-
Bend SP. Plants at Don Carter SP were installed by GNPS volunteers for beautification.
-
Herbert Taylor Park & Daniel Johnson Park in Atlanta – replanted in areas where volunteers removed invasive Liriope and for bank stabilization on a steep slope
-
Zonolite Park in Atlanta
-
Proctor Creek restoration project in Mozley Park in Atlanta
-
South Fork Conservancy for a streambank project in Atlanta
-
Glen Emerald Park in Atlanta
-
Deepdene Park in Atlanta; the Birds Georgia team (who participated in the rescue) used them to replace autumn fern
-
Piedmont Park on a Trees Atlanta project
-
Briarlake Forest in Decatur
-
Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve in Decatur; removed a large area of autumn ferns and replaced them with Christmas ferns along a hill and drainage ditch near the front of the preserve
-
Woodlands Garden in Decatur; these were used to revegetate a slope where volunteers worked to remove English ivy
-
Mill Creek Nature Center in Buford
-
Hunter-Walker Trail greenspace restoration project in Norcross
-
Sandy Creek Nature Center in Athens to replace some autumn ferns
-
American Legion/The Redbud Project native plant project in Gainesville
-
Wilshire Trails Garden in Gainesville
-
Tumbling Creek Woods at the University of North Georgia in Oakwood
-
Harold Cox Nature Garden at Stone Mountain Park
Rescuing native plants is part of the GNPS conservation policy because rescuing plants is a one step in conserving Georgia’s native plants. For rare plants, we work in cooperation with DNR to get them to safe areas such as state parks, but we also work with them and the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance (GPCA) network to rescue and distribute non-rare plants where they can be used, helping to beautify conserved natural areas and stabilize areas when invasive plants are removed.
Curious about the GNPS Plant Rescue Program? A true benefit of GNPS membership
On rescuing native plants… “Saving them from certain destruction not only perpetuates their lives, it educates and enriches ours.” – Jeane Reeves, founder of the GNPS rescue program
The plant rescue program is an important part of GNPS, and the work we do to save plants from destruction is rewarding to everyone who participates. At every rescue, the diggers are collecting plants not only for their own gardens but to donate to schools, churches, one of GNPS’s many restoration projects, and public as well as private neighborhood gardens. Thousands of the plants available at the GNPS Spring and Fall plant sales were also rescued from destruction. A number of these are plants are difficult to obtain, or simply unavailable, in the nursery trade.
There is more to rescues than just saving native plants. We are all teaching and learning every time we set foot on a rescue site. We also build relationships with others who share a common interest in these wonderful plants along with the pollinators and wildlife who depend on them for their existence.
If you are a new member or have just never gone on a plant rescue, now is the time. Fall is the perfect planting season, and there are plenty of plants that need saving. On a rescue, we’ll help you identify plants, show how to dig them, and share ideas about their aftercare. The rescue schedule is available on our calendar with rescue events noted with a bright blue stripe on them. We hope to see you on a rescue soon!
Remember, never dig native plants on public property, or on private property without the permission of the owner, and dig only if the plants will be lost to development. Join a GNPS rescue instead and help us save the plants legally and ethically with other people who love native plants.
