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GOING
GREEN: There has
been a tremendous
emphasis in the media recently about “going green”. In
my local hardware store all the incandescent light bulbs have been
removed, and CFU’s, or compact fluorescents, have replaced
them. As national WO treasurer Marty Rice recently stated, we need
“to ride the huge
wave of going green in our country”.
In
my mind the first group of people to approach for membership in Wild
Ones is the master gardener. Contact your local county extension
office to offer your services as a speaker to the group with “going
green” with native plants as a theme. Or perhaps you already
have master gardeners as members in your chapter – they can
provide contact information. The Douglas Tallamy article that
recently appeared in the Wild Ones Journal makes a compelling
argument for “going green”. Use it as a recruiting tool.
It can be downloaded from the website at this link: http://for-wild.org/download/Gardening%20for%20Life%20Doug%20Tallamy.pdf
Other
groups, such as Audubon Society and The Nature Conservancy, plus
local environmental groups can also offer potential members. Wild
Ones Journal editor, Maryann Whitman, suggests that “we
get the names and contact info of every natural areas person,
stewardship manager, land manager, conservation easement manager,
land trust manager—you get the idea, and tell them about the
Wild Ones Journal, what it deals with (ecological information at the
grass roots level) and suggest they think of us every time they are
in a position of dealing with a member of the public who needs
education, that they pass on information about WO memberships.”
Other
excellent downloads can be found at http://www.for-wild.org/download/
And
don’t forget about other pre-printed handouts Wild Ones
headquarters office has for you to use in promoting native plants and
the Wild Ones mission. Go to the Chapter Guidebook Section 05
Original Forms to see samples. http://www.for-wild.org/download/guidebook/0050OriginalForms/
Lastly,
don’t forget to tell everyone about the free “Wild About
Wildflowers” film in DVD format. This newly updated how-to
video will be a great way for people to learn how to choose, how to
plant, how to grow and how to enjoy native wildflowers and grasses in
their own yards. The new member premium application can also be
found in the Chapter Guidebook under Section 05.
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