How do I get permission to rescue plants from construction?

18 years ago

I'm assuming I could start with the real estate company that has their signs all over the doomed area, but I've never done this before.

Approx. 200 acres of land that currently is building-and-parking-lot-free is soon to become a giant shopping "village." This land is adjacent to the Augusta Canal, which is itself adjacent to the Savannah River of GA/SC. I know there are a lot of really interesting native plants struggling to hang on through the masses of invasive plants marching steadily up the canal area, so I'm guessing there are probably a lot of natives in this soon to be developed area, too, under all the Jap. honeysuckle, wisteria, English ivy, and Eleagnus that is undoubtedly there. I'd really like to have the opportunity to go through at least part of the area and see if there's anything I can carry away before the bulldozers move in. Has anybody had experience with plant rescues in scheduled construction sites? How should I go about getting permission? Thanks for any tips!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

Judy_B_ON
18 years ago
You need to contact the land owner and ask. The real estate company should be able to tell you who the land owner is. The owner may well want you to have liability insurance in case anyone is injured during the rescue, so contacting your local native plant society or local naturalist society to see if they would sponsor/help may be needed -- these groups will carry insurance.

See below for a "how to rescue" check list. Go to the home page of NANPS and look for links to native plant societies in your area.

Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Rescue
Scbnymph
18 years ago
You need to talk with the land owner / construction company that will be taking on the project. This can usually be found out by talking to the towns building department as they HAVE to apply for building permits etc. You might also want to talk with the local enviromental department as the builders HAVE to follow strict rules regarding enviromental standards to prevent all sorts of things

The contruction owners / contractors may be willing to listen to you and leave the area alone. HOWEVER you have to show them that there is a benefit for this and I don't just mean "because its good for the environment", you will need a strong argument, usually involving saving them money! Remember MONEY TALKS! Find out who their landscaper will be, you might be able to persuade them to replant in a habitat style

Also bare in mind that this project will have been in the works for a while which means contracts will have been signed making life very difficult. Get the enviromental department involved as the company HAS to listen to them regarding their requests. If you can get the environmental department involved you may be able to get a "habitat / native" consultant to say what needs saving
Related Discussions
Has anyone here rescued a plant from blight? How?
Q
Comments (3)
DL, I know it can be confusing but Early Blight due to A. solani and Late Blight due to P.infestans are two very different diseases caused by two different pathogens and either disease can appear early or late in the season. If it were Late Blight, which is found only in certain geographic areas, your plant would have been a stinking mass of black tissue within two weeks, so it's my opinion that your plant had Early Blight which is very common and can be found almost anywhere. And near the end of the season plants can be down and out with Early Blight and then show new foliage growth near the top of the plant. I see it all the time. I don't think the Serenade had much to do with the new foliage since it can happen without any treatment at all. The best way to prevent the common fungal foliage diseases of Early Blight and Septoria Leaf Spot is to start treatments from the time you put the seedlings outside. Carolyn
...See More
Rescued Plant: what to do with it?
Q
Comments (17)
I agree with Ben about the new growth, but your plant looks good and can wait until next spring. If you could get a larger basket that would help. You could also soak the clay pot in water for an hour then hit it easily with a hammer to crack it.You might be able to tease roots stuck to the pot off without too much damage. You have new growth on one side of the plant. It should be given more room as that is the area where your plant will continue to grow. In a year the basket will be too small. You live in Florida. Can you collect rain water? I live in Sarasota and it pours each afternoon in the summer. I have numerous rain barrels which I use for my orchids. If you don't have the space for a rain barrel, cut some soda bottles, a few buckets and you should have plenty of water during the rainy season. Dens, when in active growth love lots of water in a very free draining mix or no mix at all. Fertilize about once a week to encourage that new growth to grow large. It will provide the flowers this winter. As I said, you can leave it as is, but in the early Spring, move it to a larger basket, fill the empty spaces with some rocks to stabilize the plant until the roots take hold. The objective right now is to protect those new roots from getting damaged. The less you fool with the plant the better. Take care of the new roots as they need to grow and will stop growing if damaged. New growths and new roots start in the Spring. Good luck, Jane
...See More
Rescuing some Spider Plants from a Mess of Hardened off Peat
Q
Comments (4)
Wow, that may be the best example of circling, girdling, and defective lignified roots I've seen yet!! Don't worry, they'll all go out the window when you repot in June. By then there should be a bunch of new healthy feeder roots to help the plant sail through repotting. This may sound a little crazy, considering that we all go on and on about the importance of a fast draining soil, but layering two very different soils is such a bad idea in general that unless you can get more of the fast draining mix, you might want to mix the two soils together so the whole soil mass will absorb water and drain consistently. Sure, it may retain quite a bit of water, but there are tricks to remove excess water from a pot after watering that will keep your spider plants healthy until June. Before doing anything, though, tell us what the 'fast draining mix' was made of, like whether it was very peaty, sandy, and fine-grained, or made of large particles of bark, pumice, grit, and the like. You really can't trust the manufacturer's description of the soil, because even the specialty mixes targeting orchids or water-phobic succulents can be just about as heavy and water-retentive as the evil Miracle Gro Moisture Control, and don't provide the aeration needed by any plant's roots. Good job rescuing the plant! I have the feeling it's going to be very happy in your care.
...See More
How do I rescue an abandoned fig tree?
Q
Comments (7)
Be sure to get some roots if you dig into the ground, if not you'll just have a big cutting. Another way is to do something similar to an airlayer. Pick a branch, lightly score it near the ground, and mound dirt around the base up about 4-6". Leave alone for 6-8 weeks (needs a good bit of heat too, so late spring summer time frame), then gently brush away some of the dirt to see if you have roots. If you do, cut out the branch below the roots. Instant plant. You will need to baby the new plant for a bit and ensure that you have enough root ball to support the top leafy portion. You will probably need to strip some of the excess leaves away and cut the remainder of the leaves in half. This will help the new tree from drying out.
...See More
razorback33
18 years ago
You may want to contact the GA Native Plant Society for information & guidance(www.gnps.org/abtgnps.htm). They have a very active rescue program, but don't know of a coordinator in your area. I believe there is also a Coastal GNPS, located in Statesboro at GSU.
Rb
joepyeweed
18 years ago
the largest objection a land owner would have to someone taking plants is potential liability if someone were to get hurt. so be prepared to quickly offer a release of liability in your request. you can simply sign a waiver release the landowner of any liablity should you be injured while on his property.
garden4wildlife
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks everybody,

I contacted the GA Native Plant Society a few days ago; I'm still waiting for a reply. From their website, it seems that they do nothing or very little outside of the Atlanta area, so I don't know if they're going to help. I'm going to try to contact the developer this week so I can at least let them know I want to go out there before the bulldozers; I don't know when they're going to start, but I'm sure it will be soon.
Iris GW
18 years ago
Yes, GNPS does not schedule rescues outside of the metro Atlanta area. The best they could do is give you some guidance on how they have successfully wooed developers into giving permission.

I'd say contact the developer directly, offer to sign a liability waiver and just be real nice and appreciative.

How do I get permission to rescue plants from construction?

Comments (6)

Judy_B_ON

Scbnymph

Related Discussions

razorback33

joepyeweed

garden4wildlife
Original Author

Iris GW

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

How do I get permission to rescue plants from construction?

Comments (6)

Judy_B_ON

Scbnymph

Related Discussions

razorback33

joepyeweed

garden4wildlifeOriginal Author

Iris GW

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

garden4wildlife
Original Author