New England Wild Flower Society

CONTACT:

180 Hemenway Rd.
Framingham, MA 01701-2699
508-877-7630
www.newenglandWILD.org

Debbi Edelstein, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

Plant conservation is basic for biodiversity, because all food chains begin with plants.

NEWFS is the oldest plant conservation organization in the United States, founded in 1900, and is today the leading steward of New England's 3,000 native plants, including 500 rare species. Its Framingham headquarters, "Garden in the Woods," is the largest landscaped collection of wildflowers in the Northeast; it was founded in 1931, the first botanic garden dedicated to native plant research for conservation purposes. You can see more rare plants there than most botanists see in the wild in a lifetime.

In 1990 it created the New England Plant Conservation Program (NEPCoP), an alliance of 68 government agencies and private conservation organizations, working to end the plant endangerment crisis in New England. NEPCoP is a leading model for cost-effective plant conservation nationwide. In one of the largest native plant education programs in the country, NEWFS promotes and teaches plant conservation to many thousands of people each year throughout New England in courses, field trips, garden tours, teacher training, and family programs. Massachusetts has 250 rare and endangered plant species, and about 30 professional botanists to care for them part-time. NEWFS has trained plant conservation volunteers — to help protect our plants. Donations are needed to increase and enhance this innovative model Program.

(1998: NATURE: Biodiversity)