Plants Map: A Purpose-driven Venture

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Plants are critical for life, providing the air we breathe and the food we eat. Our mission at Plants Map is to “Connect People With Plants.” We want to give organizations and individuals a new social medium to connect and share their botanical interests.

We’d like to highlight a few of our early-adopters on Plants Map and let you read their missions, written in their own words. We hope that you will connect with them and support what we feel are pretty impressive purpose-driven organizations.

  • The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservation and education organization. A million members, donors, and partners support our programs to make our world greener and healthier.
  • Grow Milkweed Plants is an effort to raise awareness of the Asclepias plants in the United States. Milkweed is the habitat and host plant that the monarch butterfly depends upon. Education and habitat restoration is the main focus.
  • The College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environmental Sciences of the University of the District of Columbia offers research-based community education and professional certification. Services to residents and community groups include nutrition education, soil testing, water quality monitoring, lead abatement and gardening demonstrations.
  • Backyard Abundance: The goal of the Wetherby Park Edible Forest is to grow an edible urban forest garden that inspires our community to gather together, grow our own food and rehabilitate our local ecosystems.
  • The Wellfield Botanic Gardens: Our mission is to promote the inseparable relationship between water, plants and animals. It will be a source for inspiration, creativity and education in a setting dedicated to the celebration of nature.
  • The Southern Heights Food Forest began in 2011 with the vision of connecting people to the outdoors through early childhood education and sustainable food production.
  • The Spotsylvania Greenway Initiative preserves and creates greenways in Spotsylvania County to connect natural and culturally significant areas to provide recreation opportunities that inspire respect and responsibility for green space everywhere.
  • Virginia Big Trees Program The goal of the Virginia Big Tree Program is to increase the care and appreciation for trees.
  • Tree Fredericksburg is a non-profit organization that restores and maintains a vibrant urban forest in the 400 acre historic City of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
  • The Florida Tech campus is the setting for a 20+ acre Botanical Garden. The main trail has been named the Dent Smith Trail in honor of the founder of the Palm Society, a worldwide organization primarily engaged in the study of the palm family, in all its aspects.
  • AHS River Farm: The American Horticultural Society through its educational programs, awards, and publications, connects people to gardening to help raise awareness of earth-friendly gardening practices, introduces children to plants, brings together leaders to address important national issues, and showcases the art and science of horticulture.
  • The Fenner Nature Center connects people to nature in the heart of Lansing through conservation, education, and stewardship.
  • Brigham Young University: Our mission is to provide the best overall undergraduate education in Landscape Management. Recognizing the diversity of both professional and personal opportunities in this field, the program focuses on three primary areas within the landscape contracting profession: design, installation, and management.
  • The Meadowview Biological Research Station is a non-profit501(c)(3) organization dedicated to preserving and restoring rare wetland plants, habitats and associated ecosystems on the coastal plain of Maryland and Virginia.
  • The Blue Ridge School: The one mile BRS Interpretive Trail is the result of dedicated work from the Afternoon Outdoor Program, Mountain Bike Team, Outdoor Education Electives, and the Mountain Ecology class—a combination of trail design, bridge construction, and creation of interpretive plates.  The goal of the BRS Interpretive Trail is to provide a learning experience for its users; highlighting the natural history of the Blue Ridge School to promote a sense of stewardship.
  • Dunsmuir Botanical Garden: Our mission is to enhance the natural setting of the Dunsmuir City Park for the enjoyment and horticultural education of the public through the establishment and maintenance of native and woodland plants.
  • The Wilder Creek Conservation Club: The purpose and objectives of this organization shall be to further and advance the cause of conservation in all its phases, to perpetuate and conserve our minerals, water, soil, air and forest resources and to encourage the proper management and enjoyment of our total environment.
  • Bethesda Chevy Chase Chapter of The Izaak Walton League of America is a diverse group of 50,000 men and women dedicated to protecting our nation’s soil, air, woods, waters and wildlife.
  • Virginia Chapter of The American Chestnut Foundation: The goal of The American Chestnut Foundation is to restore the American chestnut tree to our eastern woodlands to benefit our environment, our wildlife, and our society.
  • Headwaters Chapter of the The Virginia Master Naturalists:  Virginia Master Naturalists are volunteer educators, citizen scientists, and stewards helping Virginia conserve and manage natural resources and public lands.
  • The San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration Garden is just over an acre of plantings and displays that showcase water conservation through a series of beautiful themed gardens and exhibits.
  • The Daniel Boone Native Gardens, located near downtown Boone, North Carolina, contain an outstanding collection of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. Hundreds of plant varieties provide a progression of blooms throughout the growing season. These public gardens comprise a bog garden, fern garden, rhododendron grove, rock garden, rock wishing well, vine-covered arbor, pond alongside the historic Squire Boone Cabin, and several grand vistas. Opened in 1963 and sponsored by The Garden Club of North Carolina, the three-acre Daniel Boone Native Gardens are an educational and conservation effort to nurture rare or endangered plant species.
  • The Brooks Nature Area (BNA) was established as a Marshal City Park. An 88-acre area of the BNA was taken out of farm production after park establishment in 2006. The City partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to reestablish this area in native prairie.
  • The USA National Phenology Network encourages people of all ages and backgrounds to observe and record phenology as a way to discover and explore the nature and pace of our dynamic world. The Network makes phenology data, models, and related information freely available to empower scientists, resource managers, and the public in decision-making and adapting to variable and changing climates and environments.
  • Redeemer Nature Gardens Outdoor Classroom created by a series of Eagle Scouts, our Outdoor Classroom is a 100’x100′ courtyard containing gardens, animal homes, Scout Garden and a paved pergola for lessons and sheer enjoyment.

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