2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 278

Designating April, in 2025 and in each succeeding year, as Native Plant Month in Virginia.

Agreed to by the Senate, January 29, 2025

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 20, 2025

WHEREAS, native plants are indigenous species that have evolved alongside native wildlife and occur naturally in a particular geographic region, ecosystem, and habitat; and

WHEREAS, native plants are essential for healthy, biodiverse, and sustainable ecosystems, as they often require less water, fertilizer, and pesticides and can often help prevent runoff and improve water quality and are critical for cleaning air, filtering water, and stabilizing soils; and

WHEREAS, native plants are well-adapted to the Commonwealth's soils, temperatures, precipitation, and environmental conditions, making them the best option for conserving and protecting our environment and adapting to its changes; and

WHEREAS, native plants provide food and habitat, including nectar, pollen, seeds, and foliage for native birds, caterpillars, butterflies, bees, and other wildlife in ways that nonnative plants cannot; and

WHEREAS, the Commonwealth's diverse ecosystems, from sea level to high elevations, are home to more than 3,200 native plant species, which include trees, shrubs, perennials, vines, grasses, and wildflowers; and

WHEREAS, some of the Commonwealth's rarest plants are listed under the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 and include Virginia sneezeweed, Virginia round-leaf birch, shale barren rock cress, and small-anthered bittercress; and

WHEREAS, it is important to encourage public awareness about the benefits of the Commonwealth's native plants to pollinators and other wildlife, the economy, and the health and sustainability of Virginia's fragile ecosystems; and

WHEREAS, residents are encouraged to observe National Native Plant Month and Virginia Native Plant Month, recognize the importance of native plants to the Commonwealth's rich natural heritage, appreciate native plants as an irreplaceable source of food for pollinators and native wildlife, learn about and enjoy the many benefits of native plants, and plant native plants; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly designate April, in 2025 and in each succeeding year, as Native Plant Month in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Blue Ridge Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM), Plant Northern Virginia (NOVA) Natives, and Wild Ones Greater Richmond Virginia Chapter so that members of these organizations may be apprised of the sense of the General Assembly of Virginia in this matter; and, be it

RESOLVED FINALLY, That the Clerk of the Senate post the designation of this month on the General Assembly's website.