#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and after the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season.
The Herb Society of America is participating in #GivingTuesday. HSA is asking members, friends, and families to donate as we focus on “Every Garden Counts; Every Plant Matters.” To that end funds HSA collects will be used to raise awareness of the Notable Native Herb™ and GreenBridges™ programs and, thereby, make the world a better place. – Paris Wolfe
#GivingTuesday donations target conservation.
There is a lot of uncertainty out there. Some of the government’s decisions — such as pulling out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change along with decisions happening at the local level like cutting through beautiful state lands to build gas transmission lines — have created strong feelings of concern for our environment. We are experiencing the effects in our gardens with the struggles of bees and butterflies. The hurricanes in Houston, Florida, and Puerto Rico have shown us first-hand what can happen if we don’t work harder on our conservation efforts.
Our message this #GivingTuesday is one of hope. Awareness of the importance of growing native plants has been raised with the plight of the monarchs and many people are beginning to grow milkweed. While we still have our work cut out to protect the butterflies, we’ve been hearing from members and friends that monarchs are reappearing in their gardens.
Just think what we can accomplish by emphasizing the importance of conservation and inviting more native plants into our gardens. We can have positive impacts quickly in ways like enjoying hummingbirds pulling nectar from native salvia, birds feeding on elderberries or bees dancing around notable native mountain mint.
It can feel rather small just focusing on our own gardens; but “Every Garden Counts, Every Plant Matters.”
Our GreenBridges™, Notable Native HerbTM, and Promising Plants programs all promote conservation through education. They further emphasize that you don’t have to sacrifice beauty and interest by growing natives in your garden. So for HSA this #GivingTuesday is #GrowingTuesday. We need the community’s support to raise money so that we can continue to raise awareness for conservation and our educational programs that support the environment.
