Keep America Beautiful Promotes Planting of Native Species

Keep America Beautiful (KAB) marked the country's first-ever National Planting Day by encouraging Americans to plant and re-plant native species. Native species are more naturally adapted to local ecosystems in comparison to ornamental and exotic plants that usually put a greater pressure on the environmental resources such as land and water.

Keep America Beautiful supports activities and programs to encourage Americans to plant native species of trees, plants and flowers. It aims to raise awareness in the general public as well as the agencies responsible for plantation about the significance of native species in restoring local environmental balance, while enhancing the vibrancy and beauty of the communities.

It helps to understand the crucial importance of native species for the local environments. In absence of this understanding, native species have already suffered loss of habitat to ornamental plants and invasive species. Native plants are important to attract insects and specialized pollinators, which provide key support to various birds and animals in the food chain. Native species are hardier, need less water and maintenance, and help create an ideal habitat for wildlife.

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Vikas is a staff writer for the Sustainable Development news and editorial section on Justmeans. He is an MBA with 20 years of managerial and entrepreneurial experience and global travel. He is the author of "The Power of Money" (Scholars, 2003), a book that presents a revolutionary monetary economic theory on poverty alleviation in the developing world. Vikas is also the official writer for an international social project for developing nations "Decisions for Life" run in collaboration between the ILO, the University of Amsterdam and the Indian Institute of Management.