Seed Stewardship Project: How You Can Help At-Risk Plants

Seed packets of echinacea, lobelia and gentian sit on a potting table next to soil and an empty pot.

At Mountain Rose Herbs, botanicals are our business, and the industry has been growing year over year as more people realize the health-supporting benefits of our plant allies. Sounds great, doesn’t it? In many ways, this is a wonderful return to valuing the abundance the natural world has to offer while utilizing the myriad benefits that botanicals provide. Unfortunately, the ongoing and increasing impact of overharvesting wild plants has left many of our native populations at significant risk of decline or even extinction. For this reason, we have invested our time and energy in striking a balance between increasing the availability of the number of botanicals we offer and supporting the conservation of the most at-risk plant varieties. 

If you have been following our blog, you are aware of our efforts to support the preservation of botanicals through many different initiatives. Whether it’s upholding CITES regulations to determine how we source herbs and spices or supporting groups like Appalachian Sustainable Development to pioneer methods for the cultivation of plants like goldenseal, we focus on working with values-aligned individuals and organizations to ensure the sustainability of a lifestyle grounded in right-relationship with the planet we all call home. United Plant Savers (UpS) is an indispensable ally to achieve these goals.

UpS is a non-profit organization focused on research, education, and conservation of native medicinal plants, fungi, and their habitats while ensuring renewable populations for use by generations to come. Among their many efforts and accomplishments is the creation of the Species At-Risk List, which highlights the wild medicinal plants that are currently most sensitive to the impact of human activities. We worked closely with UpS and their Executive Director Susan Leopold to develop the Mountain Rose Herbs Seed Stewardship Project.

The goal of the Seed Stewardship Project is to raise awareness about at-risk plants that need our help. We hope that a solution-oriented approach of supplying free seeds to those able to plant them will help rebuild populations of these special plants. Now, when you place an order on Mountainroseherbs.com, you will have the option to select one of several seed varieties from the UpS At-Risk List. You will have the power to sow your own seeds and effect positive change for these botanicals. Whether in a window box, backyard, or a natural area where these plants once thrived, we can ensure their survival one seed at a time.

A Mountain Rose Herbs shipping box spills on the table with various herbal products and packets of Echinacea and Gentian seeds from the Seed Stewardship Project.

Mountain Rose Herbs will seasonally rotate the varieties of seed available through this project, continually focused on increasing these populations while improving awareness of how to care for the plants. For those of you that are willing and able to partner with us to support these plant allies, we thank you for choosing to be a seed steward in your community and for helping us to create a ripple of change for people, plants, and planet.


Want to learn more about Mountain Rose Herbs' Sustainability efforts?

Explore Our Programs and Partnerships

You may also be interested in:

Hands planting seeds in a pot with text that reads "How You Can Do Your Part to Support At-Risk Plants."

 


Topics: Inside Mountain Rose Herbs, Sustainability

Buck

Written by Buck on July 13, 2023

Buck’s deeply held ecological perspectives and dedication to conservation, restoration, and education have driven his passion to write for the Mountain Rose Herbs blog. Throughout his life, he has continually pursued exploration, contemplation, and personal growth and never passes up the opportunity to share meaningful and meandering stories with those closest to him. Whether biking around town, running a trail in a nearby forest, or climbing a tree in the yard, he usually has a smile on his face and is working on plans to fill the remaining hours of the day. An artisan at heart and in practice, you may find him buried in a book or captivated by the forms found in nature as he derives inspiration for his newest hobby or project.


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Seed Stewardship Project: How You Can Help At-Risk Plants

Seed packets of echinacea, lobelia and gentian sit on a potting table next to soil and an empty pot.

At Mountain Rose Herbs, botanicals are our business, and the industry has been growing year over year as more people realize the health-supporting benefits of our plant allies. Sounds great, doesn’t it? In many ways, this is a wonderful return to valuing the abundance the natural world has to offer while utilizing the myriad benefits that botanicals provide. Unfortunately, the ongoing and increasing impact of overharvesting wild plants has left many of our native populations at significant risk of decline or even extinction. For this reason, we have invested our time and energy in striking a balance between increasing the availability of the number of botanicals we offer and supporting the conservation of the most at-risk plant varieties. 

If you have been following our blog, you are aware of our efforts to support the preservation of botanicals through many different initiatives. Whether it’s upholding CITES regulations to determine how we source herbs and spices or supporting groups like Appalachian Sustainable Development to pioneer methods for the cultivation of plants like goldenseal, we focus on working with values-aligned individuals and organizations to ensure the sustainability of a lifestyle grounded in right-relationship with the planet we all call home. United Plant Savers (UpS) is an indispensable ally to achieve these goals.

UpS is a non-profit organization focused on research, education, and conservation of native medicinal plants, fungi, and their habitats while ensuring renewable populations for use by generations to come. Among their many efforts and accomplishments is the creation of the Species At-Risk List, which highlights the wild medicinal plants that are currently most sensitive to the impact of human activities. We worked closely with UpS and their Executive Director Susan Leopold to develop the Mountain Rose Herbs Seed Stewardship Project.

The goal of the Seed Stewardship Project is to raise awareness about at-risk plants that need our help. We hope that a solution-oriented approach of supplying free seeds to those able to plant them will help rebuild populations of these special plants. Now, when you place an order on Mountainroseherbs.com, you will have the option to select one of several seed varieties from the UpS At-Risk List. You will have the power to sow your own seeds and effect positive change for these botanicals. Whether in a window box, backyard, or a natural area where these plants once thrived, we can ensure their survival one seed at a time.

A Mountain Rose Herbs shipping box spills on the table with various herbal products and packets of Echinacea and Gentian seeds from the Seed Stewardship Project.

Mountain Rose Herbs will seasonally rotate the varieties of seed available through this project, continually focused on increasing these populations while improving awareness of how to care for the plants. For those of you that are willing and able to partner with us to support these plant allies, we thank you for choosing to be a seed steward in your community and for helping us to create a ripple of change for people, plants, and planet.


Want to learn more about Mountain Rose Herbs' Sustainability efforts?

Explore Our Programs and Partnerships

You may also be interested in:

Hands planting seeds in a pot with text that reads "How You Can Do Your Part to Support At-Risk Plants."

 


Topics: Inside Mountain Rose Herbs, Sustainability

Buck

Written by Buck on July 13, 2023

Buck’s deeply held ecological perspectives and dedication to conservation, restoration, and education have driven his passion to write for the Mountain Rose Herbs blog. Throughout his life, he has continually pursued exploration, contemplation, and personal growth and never passes up the opportunity to share meaningful and meandering stories with those closest to him. Whether biking around town, running a trail in a nearby forest, or climbing a tree in the yard, he usually has a smile on his face and is working on plans to fill the remaining hours of the day. An artisan at heart and in practice, you may find him buried in a book or captivated by the forms found in nature as he derives inspiration for his newest hobby or project.