Ideas from the cp community to help save cps

[WildBill]

Hi everyone -

I finally got back some photos ( and scanned em )from the NECPS show. Here is a pic of the Conservation poster I had created. This was the thing I was most proud of at the show and it felt great everytime I looked over there and saw kids and adults alike reading it. It's now a part of the NECPS educational materials so our members can check it out and use it when they give talks, etc.

The top part was printed on a yellowish paper and I burned the edges with matches. The holes in the ground picture was created from photos, stripped together with an illustration image of the holes I created. The whole thing is on 20 inch by 30 inch black foamboard.

[img]http://home.**********.com/wildbill/ConsPostWeb.jpg[/img]

WildBill

[Barry-Rice]

Nice Poster!

Any chance you can post the text. It's a bit dodgy to read in parts.

Barry

[WildBill]

I think this is the most recent version of the text we used:

100 Venus Flytraps Stolen!!
Poached From The Wild

Just a few weeks ago, in late September 2003, approximately 100 Venus Flytraps were illegally poached from Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve near the Conway/Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. Anyone with information is urged to call the Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-922-5431. A reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The stolen plants may have been illegally exported to Europe where they are very popular. Most will die due to lack of proper care making this is a terrible crime because these plants are limited to a VERY small area in the wild. Venus Flytraps only grow naturally within a 100-mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina and Wild Venus Flytraps could soon be extinct.

Like the rare and endangered Bog Turtle, carnivorous plants are disappearing from the wild. There are very very few places left to see them in nature due to poaching for profit, habitat destruction, and invasive species. In the United States, humans have irreversibly developed 95% of carnivorous plant wetland habitat. These areas have been drained to form golf courses, tree farms, malls, and housing complexes. Some areas have been mismanaged - fires that occur normally have been prevented or put out. Fire naturally opens back up overcrowded crowded habitats for carnivorous plants that survive by springing back from the submerged roots. Other plants, which escaped from people's gardens, can also crowd out native carnivorous plants in the wild. Here in the Northeast an invasive plant species Purple Loosestrife is destroying marshes and bogs ruining carnivorous plant habitats.

_



Wetland Genocide In The South ~ The Green Swamp is in Danger

The Green Swamp, in North Carolina, is an ecosystem second in biodiversity only to the Great Rainforest (a quote from The Nature Conservancy). The Green Swamp is home to Venus Flytraps, Sundews, Pitcher Plants, Butterworts and Bladderworts. 17 different confirmed carnivorous plant species include: Dionaea muscipula, Sarracenia flava, rubra, purpurea, minor, Pinguicula caerulea, lutea, Drosera capillaris, intermedia, filiformis, brevifolia, Utricularia cornuta, juncea, inflata, purpurea, subulata and gibba. In addition to poaching and development, The Green Swamp is facing two enormous threats: 1). The Industrial Paper Company is unmercifully draining this 350,000 acres, has removed the native Long Leaf Pines and hardwoods found in its forested wetlands, and converted this once beautiful place to tree farms and heavy herbicide use with poisonous drift capable of polluting huge areas. 2). A enormous landfill is proposed to be put in the heart of the swamp that will pollute surface and ground water and air of the swamp for eons of time into the future.

"The scariest thing is when you walk in to the swamp and you think how quite and peaceful it is. Then you realize it's too quiet, no birds, squirrels, deer. I have yet to see any live animal other than a few bugs there. This is the only wilderness place I have ever been to and not heard a bird singing. That's something to think about. Most of the land that you see undisturbed is owned by The Nature Conservancy. Thank God that they do or nothing would be left. They burn and manage the land, and try to keep it the way it's supposed to be, full of cp's (carnivorous plants)." Native resident and CP enthusiast, "Ozzy"
____

What Can You Do To Help?

Today, there is no need to steal plants from the wild. There are millions of plants that are raised from tissue culture (TC) and greenhouse culture, as well as extra plants raised by other growers like NECPS members. TC and other "captive bred" plants are probably cheaper and more healthy than those that are poached, so there really isn't any reason at all to poach. You should be suspicious if a plant for sale is not labeled and/or the seller will not say where they got it. Be suspicious of inexpensive full-grown plants offered for trade on online auctions - with minimal effort, you can check around and if it seems too good to be true, it might be poached. You need to know where your plants came from for 2 reasons, 1) to eliminate poaching, and 2) so you know how to care for the plant. The more you know about a plant's native growing area, the more you will fight to preserve it. There ARE groups that work to save these places like the International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS), Nature Conservancy, and Sierra Club.

Organizations:

The Appalachian Mountain Club
www.outdoors.org

The Nature Conservancy
www.nature.org

The International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS)
www.carnivorousplants.org/index.html

The Sierra Club
www.sierraclub.org

The Swamp Watch Action Team
www.swampwatch.org

Thanks to Ozzy for his help with this. We also had put out a donation can at the October Show for the ICPS conservation fund. Dave Sackett, NECPS treasurer and I talked about the idea of setting aside a percentage from the monthly plant auction sales for the fund also - but we will need to have an official society vote on it.

WildBill

[Ozzy]

That's very well put together. I think everybody knows that The Green Swamp is my home and it's my number one project. I can't thank you enough for your help. If you ever want a tour of the Green Swamp, I'd Love to give you one.

[schloaty]

You guys should have seen everyone reading it at the show!

Bill really did a bang up job on that poster.

Kudos, Wildbill! [img]http://www.**********.com/iB_html312/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Bugweed]

I've contacted Ozzy on this one (PM) but it probably isn't workable. I suggested for the Federally Endangered sites, to place video cameras activated by motion sensors. I hate being Big Brother, but video cameras would be a silent watcher, and if well hidden, can probably do the job that a person cannot do at this time. It probably isn't economically feasible to do this, but it could catch quite a few unscrupulous people destroying our wetlands plant and animal life. It seems pretty necessary to me, too much has been lost already, we cannot afford to lose anymore. I'd be interested in feedback from anyone.

[schloaty]

Bugweed,
I think you're right about the ecenomics of it. Unless it were privately funded (when I win Mega Millions, that is), I doubt it would happen. Are there any millionaires on this sight with a burning desire to protect the environment? We just need a few high profile busts, and the word would be out....

[Bugweed]

Schloaty. I am waiting for my millions to show up, but the prize patrol keeps missing my house! LOL

[tweek]

The future should be cultivated in the children of today.

Anyone that has children, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren on the boards, donate some CP to your children's science class. Have a minibog/terrarium on permanent display throughout the year.

Donate some plants to the class to take home with instruction sheets(& ICPS link). Word of mouth thing - free advertising.

Have a label with: "http://www.carnivorousplants.org" printed and taped to the display.

Add your own pictures of CP to the display, illustrating the other types of CP in Nature. Some may like one kind and not another.

Maybe have a copy of the ICPS Newsletter on display.

Maybe offer discounts to younger students. They will be the *ICPS members of the future.

Ask local nurseries to place THE ICPS contact info near the plants they sell.

Ask the chains(HD, Lowes, And even W-Mart) to do likewise.

Ask to speak with the manager and explain that increased awareness of CP via ICPS would most likely boost their sales.

Ask online sellers to do likewise.

The main point being - advertising. The use of minimal resources that have wide and pronounced effects.

Try and recruit one(or more) new member a year.

Maybe the ICPS should estimate the fesability of contacting say each state's govenor and instituting the above mentioned CP distribution for grade schools. The ICPS(or others) could raise seeds of several types of CP for the displays. The plexiglass panels at the local chains can make nice display cases.

Maybe it should be made a law that everyone has to cultivate CP. Start an allotment program that pays for CP cultivation. Sorta like the peanut allotment. CP millionaires. "Well, the first thing you know ol' Jed's a CP millionaire. The kinfolks say, 'Jed! How do I become a CP millionaire?'"

Back to me hole,
tweek

[ilbasso]

I'm new to the forums here and just found this...why has the discussion stopped??

I've been a member of Save the Rhinos International for a little bit and in a way they are doing the same sort of work, but CP fans don't usually need to worry about poachers with machine guns.

STR holds many fundraising events that are both educational and profitable. *They also have the advantage of having an office with paid workers that can afford to devote more time to the cause. *They team up with international companies like Ecko (who has a rhino logo) for fundraisers and do high profile things like have runners in the world's biggest marathon compete in full rhino suits!

I don't know how this can be used for our cause, but there has to be some fun fundraisers we could do. *A CP enthusiast production of Little Shop of Horrors complete with the BEST lobby display and "gift shop" ever! *Maybe a petition or two as well. *I suppose somebody could run a marathon dressed as a nepenthes or something but that is a bit extreme.

Let's figure some stuff out. *This seems to be beyond the scope of existing organizations so we need to think of new stuff to do.