Pre-registration required.

Cost: $25 (25% off for BGA Members)

Exotic invasive plants can quickly supplant the native plants our pollinators co-evolved with because they often arrive here without the predators that kept them in check back home. Learning the best techniques for removing the worst actors, without harming pollinators in the process, can be tricky, but not impossible. It’s all about having a good battle plan.

Instructor

Raven Sterling, Head Tree Hugger, Raven Invasive Plant Management. Raven started pulling English Ivy for homeowners as a side job 5 years ago, out of love and concern for trees and native plants in the Blue Ridge subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. She understood the diversity and signicance of the ecology of the area and created a business to eradicate invasive plants, after recognizing the threats they posed. The business runs crews of specialized landscapers who use hand and gas powered tools to remove and reduce invasive plants of the Southern Forests, primarily vines, shrubs and trees. Raven Invasive Plant Management is now a thriving small business sought throughout North Carolina and beyond for mindful management of invasive plants without the use of chemicals. A proponent of trees, native plants and biodiversity, Raven educates private landowners, businesses, community organizations and HOAs on the benets of natives and the threats of invasives.

Photo Raven Sterling courtesy of Raven Sterling

 Become a “C.P.A.”

The Certified Pollinator Advocate program is a collaboration between The Asheville Botanical Garden and Bee City USA-Asheville. The certification requires a series of 12 classes on pollination ecology topics and volunteer hours, which are fulfilled as a “pollenteer” once at a Bee City USA - Asheville habitat development project and once at an outreach event.