Thank you WNKY Television for having Annie on SOKY Sunrise in honor of Earth Day. We love native plants, and so does the environment!

You can watch Annie’s full interview here.

WHY ARE NATIVE PLANTS SO IMPORTANT?

Native plants in Kentucky are known to be beneficial to large area restoration sites. They can also be of great value in your very own backyard! Native plants help conserve water, attract wildlife and reduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides. With basic landscape maintenance, native plants are a great edition, providing a multitude of rich ecosystem benefits.

In general, all plants provide some form of benefit to the ecosystem. What separates native plants apart from invasive and non-native plants are their ability to contribute on a greater scale. For example, a native like the oak tree attracts more than 300 different species of caterpillar, which in turn helps support birds and other natural wildlife surrounding it. A whole network is created from the life feeding off of just that one tree.

A non-native plant like the ginkgo tree can grow perfectly fine in a Kentucky landscape. The only downside to this is the fact that this tree only supports about a dozen different caterpillars. The appeal to natives is their ability to provide maximum ecosystem contribution because of differentiations like this.

Check out a list of native plants that will bring your landscape to life, as well as some nurseries in and around Kentucky that provide them.

MAKE EVERY DAY EARTH DAY

We can all incorporate greener living practices in our daily lives! With climate change, global warming and an increasing depletion of our ozone layer ever pressing issues, environmental sustainability practices are more important than ever. Simple measures like reducing energy consumption and becoming more eco friendly can go a long way.

Check out this list of 10 sustainable practices that you can implement to reduce your environmental impact on the world and ensure a cleaner and safer planet!

JOIN LOST RIVER CAVE’S MISSION FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD

Level up you sustainability practices and join Lost River Cave in making our park the best nature resource we can be within the community!

Lost River Cave Earth Week has been rescheduled to September 20th-25th 1:30-6:00pm, and September 26th 1:00p-4:00pm. Join other volunteers in our meadow restoration project and connect to the natural world around you. Volunteering with us during earth week has its benefits! All volunteers will receive a free Boat Tour pass for their contributions. The first 300 participants will also receive a free Earth Week 2020 T-shirt with the opportunity to win additional awards for volunteer hours.

We would love to have you join us for this fun-filled week! If you are interested in being a part of the movement, click the button below for more information and to register.