Grow Native!
Monroe County USDA hosts Grow Native! meeting for Paris
residents
from the Monroe County Appeal, Thursday, July 25,
2002
For those Paris area residents who enjoy both gardening and wildlife watching, the
Monroe County USDA Service Center and the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC)
are teaming up to promote a new conservation and landscape initiative in the
community called Grow Native! which will bring these
two activities together.
Members of the USDA County Agricultural Committee, along with representatives
from the MO Department of Agriculture, University Outreach & Extension, and
the Monroe County Garden Club met with Grow Native! Program Coordinator Judy
Allmon and Missouri Department of Conservation Private Land Services Chief Steve
Young on Monday, July 15 to discuss the initiative and how local community
members can participate in the program.
According to Allmon, "Grow Native! is a conservation and
education program in partnership with the private sector to promote the use of
native plants in landscapes - from the backyard to the back forty!"
During the initial year of inception, members of the Grow Native! staff have
worked to construct a program business plan that will showcase the economic,
aesthetic and environmental contributions that the addition of native plantings
can contribute to Missouri's conservation goals. Now in its second year, Grow
Native! is expanding with special programs for larger acreage landowners who
wish to grow native forbs for commercial seed production, partnering with FFA
chapters (to include the Paris FFA) for the propagation of native grasses,
wildflowers, shrubs and trees for wholesale distribution, as well as supporting
the development of outdoor classrooms in Missouri's schools.
Locally, MDC Private Lands Specialist James Cryer and Monroe County
FSA CED and County Agriculture Committee Chairman Tony Francis are encouraging
area residents to consider the many qualities of native plants. They are a good source
of food and cover or wildlife; are well adapted to our specific region's
temperatures, soil conditions and rainfall; tend to be low maintenance; and
improve the health of the ecosystem and add balance as well as being attractive
in backyard gardening.
In addition, according to Phillip Shatzer, City Superintendent, the
City of Paris has pledged their support for the Grow Native! program and are
working with the USDA County Agriculture Committee to provide sites within the
City to showcase Grow Native! habitats. Area residents who are interested in
finding landscape nurseries who are participating in the Grow Native! program
can visit the website at www.conservation.state.mo.us/programs/grownative.
In the near future, members of the local Grow Native! workgroup
will be focusing their efforts on the development of a comprehensive plan that
will make Paris a recognized Grow Native! agri-tourism destination center in
northeast Missouri. Public programs are available through the USDA service
Center in Paris (660-327-4137) to let interested parties know how they can join
the Grow Native! campaign. Regional workshops are planned for later this fall to
be sponsored by the Missouri Department of Conservation.
Missouri
Grow Native! Web Site
Revised Tuesday, May 08, 2007
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