Our PRO (Proclamations, Resolutions, and Ordinances) Team has been working to promote the use of  native plants since 2021. It all began with the Native Plants Week Proclamation in October of 2021.  We are thrilled!

On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, all nine of Greensboro’s City Council members voted and passed a resolution to make native plants a key component of all new city plantings by 2025.

The policy is the latest initiative by the Office of Sustainability and Resiliency to create sustainable change in Greensboro.  In the filing for the resolution, the department stated its purpose as follows:

“A resolution from City Council supporting the establishment of a native plant policy on City properties will yield surmountable environmental, ecological, and social benefits for a more enhanced ecosystem full of biodiversity and resiliency. Furthermore, it will serve as a great example for others who look to Greensboro as a leader that embraces our communities’ desire to become a more environmentally-friendly City.”

Greensboro’s Native Plants Policy came about, in large part, through the dedicated advocacy efforts of our local T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon’s PRO’s (Proclamations, Resolutions, and Ordinances) team.   The national organization of Audubon provides training and materials to assist local chapters in their advocacy efforts through cultivating interested members to form a PRO’s team.  Thanks to that initiative, a few TGPAS board members organized and asked to meet with Greensboro's Deputy City Manager in July of 2021 to advocate for native plants. The board members shared both their passion and knowledge with city officials and shared both books and digital videos by Doug Tallamy that made the case for the critical need to restore native plants in concentration in our landscapes to restore biodiversity. Over the next two and a half years, communications and advocacy efforts continued, culminating in the crafting of a native plants resolution in the fall of 2022 that is the basis for what the City Council passed on March 5th.

The policy change is the result of a collaboration between the City’s OSR department along with the Parks and Recreation Department other city departments and local stakeholders including T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society, the North Carolina Native Plant Society, and numerous enthusiastic community members and will result in a policy that both prioritizes the use of native plants and discourages the use of invasive and non-native species. 

The City expects this new policy to help our local government save money, reduce pollution, and protect waterways and wildlife habitats.  They have recognized that “to plant with a purpose” can also aid in the transformation of our City’s landscape and surrounding areas and have a profound impact on creating beautiful visual examples that our residents can then extend into private gardens.

We commend Greensboro’s Director of Sustainability, Dr. Shree Dorestant, and Interim City Manager, Chris Wilson, for their leadership and support of this policy. 

Greensboro is the first city in North Carolina to adopt such a policy for city-owned and maintained properties and facilities. 

See the City’s Resolution below.

The City of Greensboro’s Native Plant Resolution

March 5, 2024

RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A POLICY TO PROMOTE THE USE OF NATIVE PLANTS AND THE ELIMINATION OF INVASIVE PLANTS AT CITY-OWNED AND MAINTAINED SITES AND FACILITIES

WHEREAS, the City of Greensboro has the opportunity to preserve its historic natural heritageas well as promote sustainable landscapes by choosing native plants, i.e., plants native to theSoutheastern United States;

WHEREAS, native plants enhance the beauty of the landscape, maintain and restore biodiversity, support native pollinators, butterflies, birds, and other wildlife, protect local ecosystems, and environmental health;

WHEREAS, native plants minimize maintenance costs, fertilizer applications, mowing, and irrigation;

WHEREAS, native plants have historical and cultural value that preserve the City of Greensboro’s regional identity and definition of place;

WHEREAS, the city’s use of native plants promotes public awareness and can be a catalyst for the increased use of native plants in private and commercial landscaping;

WHEREAS, invasive plants disrupt the ecology of native natural ecosystems, and displace native plant and animal species;

WHEREAS, the Mayor and Council of the City of Greensboro do hereby resolve that, from the date of passage of this resolution, it shall be the policy of the City of Greensboro that when new or replacement plant materials are installed by the city, or by its contractors or subcontractors, in outdoor landscaped areas at any city-owned or -maintained site or facility, the following standards shall apply:

1) To the maximum extent practicable, the seeds and plants used shall be those classified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other appropriate regional resources as native to a state or county in the Southeastern United States, until a list specific to Guilford County can be adopted. Installation of new and replacement plant materials shall have a minimum native plant species composition of 50 percent by 2025.

2) This resolution shall apply in all instances, except where it is determined that installation of a native plant species would not be practicable, including but not limited to:

a. Plantings deemed, and intended to be, edible, including fruit-bearing trees and plants, vegetables, nuts, and seeds;

b. Non-native turf grass species used on athletic fields and lawns;

c. Plant species required or prohibited by state or federal regulations;

d. Plant species uniquely suited for soil or water remediation functions;

e. Plant species uniquely suited for care and feeding of animals in zoological exhibits;

f. Plant species used in botanical gardens for demonstration or educational purposes.In cases when the use of non-native plant species is determined to be appropriate, only drought-tolerant, non-invasive plant species of a suitable type may be used.

3) No plant species identified as invasive in North Carolina by the North Carolina Native Plant Society and the North Carolina Invasive Plant Council shall be planted in outdoor areas of any city-owned or maintained site or facility. The City recognizes the negative impacts of invasive plants, and will continue its efforts to eradicate invasive plant species.

4) To the maximum extent practicable, all plantings shall conform with generally accepted “right plant – right place” principles, to avoid potential conflicts with utility lines, infrastructure, and public safety.

5) The City shall, through various means, educate the public about the importance of native plants and the negative impacts of invasive plants; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF

GREENSBORO:

That this “Policy to Promote the Use of Native Plants and the Elimination of Invasive Plants” is hereby established.

 

T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society -  P.O. Box 10157 Greensboro, NC 27404

T. Gilbert Pearson Audubon Society is a 501 (c)(3) Nonprofit Charitable Organization

Donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.