Terri Kempton on the PlantRight plant program

Q. Why was Sustainable Conservation chosen as the organization to manage the California Horticultural Invasives Prevention (Cal-HIP) partnership?

A. Sustainable Conservation is an independent nonprofit organization based in San Francisco. We specialize in partnering with business sectors to find win-win solutions to environmental problems. Our experience with complex collaborations is ideal for managing a group like Cal-HIP which brings together very different sectors of the plant world, including nurseries, retailers, scientists, environmental groups and government agencies.

Q. Where is the funding coming from to promote the PlantRight program?

A. Sustainable Conservation manages the Cal-HIP effort, including the fundraising to support the program. Funding includes grants from philanthropic groups like the Seaver Institute, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Annenberg Foundation and the Ahmanson Foundation.

Cal-HIP steering committee members are contributing to the production of PlantRight materials and are doing an excellent job spreading the word.

Q. Is California unique from other states in the number of climate zones that it has, which offers a greater opportunity for more plants to become invasive?

A. California has an amazing wealth of natural diversity. Each region has different invasive plants that threaten native habitats. Cal-HIP acknowledges our state’s diversity and the fact that some plants are only a problem in certain regions. What may be invasive on the coast, like iceplant, is not a threat to mountain or desert ecosystems. Our regional PlantRight lists let people know which species are of concern in their area and how to prevent their introduction.

Q. To prevent invasive introductions, Cal-HIP adopted the Voluntary Codes of Conduct designed at the Missouri Botanical Gardens in 2001. Why were these principles chosen?

A. The Voluntary Codes of Conduct were created by a diverse team of nursery and landscaping professionals, scientists and environmental groups to find practical ways that we can all avoid introducing invasive plants into the environment. We support these Codes, but there’s a lot of work that has to go on to carry out each step, such as finding out which species are invasive in which region.

Cal-HIP was created to boil down a lot of important scientific information into easy steps for the California horticultural community to take to protect wildlands.

Q. Cal-HIP has developed a list of plants that it considers to be invasive somewhere within the state. On average, how long does it take for a plant to be assessed as potentially being invasive before it is added to the list?

A. Cal-HIP reviewed plant species that were in the nursery trade and that are causing invasive problems in the state. The group spent months analyzing data, visiting invasion sites, talking with experts and promoting research to answer remaining questions. The result is a realistic list of the top invasive species that can be prevented by removing them from the trade and replacing them with safer alternatives. The list of plants in each region can be found on our website, www.plantright.org.

Q. Which groups will the PlantRight program initially focus on educating about invasive plants? Will an education program also be initiated for consumers?

A. We have launched the PlantRight program to all horticultural businesses, including nurseries, growers, designers and landscape professionals. We wanted to give the industry a chance to make changes in their plant stock before reaching out to educate consumers. PlantRight will be released to the gardening public in time for the next growing season to make sure that consumer demand changes right along with the industry’s supply of non-invasive plants.

Q. Were most of the plants on the list native to the United States, or were more of them from other countries?

A. Most of these plants were brought in from other countries. That’s a normal part of finding new plant species and having interesting gardens. Cal-HIP supports growing plants from other parts of the world, as long as they’re not invasive.

Q. Will Cal-HIP become involved with any efforts to eradicate the plants on the list?

A. There are many public agencies and environmental groups working hard on the ground to eradicate invasive plants. We’re hoping to prevent future problems by growing, selling and planting non-invasive species in California.

Resume

Position: Project manager of California Horticultural Invasives Prevention (Cal-HIP).

Experience: Kempton joined Sustainable Conservation’s staff as project manager for the Cal-HIP project. Kempton holds a B.S. in environmental science from Huxley College of the Environment at Western Washington University, and completed her M.S. in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development at the University of Maryland.

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For more: Cal-HIP, c/o Sustainable Conservation, 98 Battery St., Suite 302, San Francisco, CA 94111; (415) 977-0380, Ext. 312; tkempton@suscon.org; www.PlantRight.org.