I have such exciting news to share!! Our first press release paid off, and yesterday our petition garnered its first news article in the online publication, FFX NOW.

The article contains excellent, concise, and unbiased reporting and includes a conversation with the manager of our county's Invasive Management Area (IMA) program as well. 

From the article:

With an annual budget of $300,000 and just one full-time staffer, the IMA program’s daunting mission seems almost Sisyphean when individuals can walk into a Home Depot or their local nursery and buy the same plants that volunteers are trying to root out.

After spotting wintercreeper, Japanese barberry, and other invasive plants at the Home Depots in Hybla Valley and Merrifield, Taylor launched a Change.org petition earlier this summer urging the company to end sales of all species listed as invasive in the U.S.

The petition had accrued nearly 50,000 signatures, as of last night (Monday), garnering support from advocacy organizations like Blue Ridge PRISM, Plant NOVA Natives, and the Urban Forest Alliance, according to a news release. Read more...

This petition is raising awareness, educating gardeners, and gaining momentum — and we are SO close to 50,000 signatures!!! Can you help us get there?? Please keep sharing widely!