The Center for Native and Urban Wildlife is welcoming fall with its upcoming bi-annual plant sale.
The event is their main fundraiser that supports the Center for Native and Urban Wildlife, a non-profit organization with a mission to conserve the local environment.
The sale will take place in the greenhouse which is located on the northeast side of Scottsdale Community College campus. The sale will run from October 26-28, Thurs/Fri 10am-1pm & Sat 9:30-11:30am.
Natalie Case is the organizer of the plant sale and the program developer of the Center for Native and Urban Wildlife (CNUW) Case is also an advisor for the Sonoran Desert Club— comprised of volunteers and participants in organization events.
Proceeds of the sale will benefit both the CNUW as well as the Sonoran Desert Club functioning as a co-fundraiser. This will allow them to continue growing plants and supporting their sustainability efforts around the desert community.
Ian Berlin, a member of the Sonoran Desert Club told Northeast Valley News that “because it’s a fundraiser, it will also support their club financially.”
The CNUW was formed 23 years ago to give SCC students a hands-on learning experience working with native plants.
“But also to get them more familiar with the plants and animals within the Sonoran Desert to develop a love for it and hopefully a desire to preserve it,” Case said.
Most of the plants sold will be native to the Sonoran Desert that benefits the local wildlife, as well as regulating water usage within the city.
Plants sold at big box stores usually are unsustainable because they are not native to our area.
Case said that often times they live for a short period in the spring and die as soon as it becomes hot, which creates a large environmental footprint.
Growing plants suitable for the local wildlife will support the local environment and even wildlife due to a natural adaptability to the Arizona heat.
Case says that a local sale for indigenous plants will help people within the community have access to sustainable gardening.
“It’s really hard in Phoenix to find these kinds of plants, none of our local stores really sell a big selection of them.”
Due to these plants being inaccessible, price is often an issue when wanting to branch out into native foliage, but the CNUW is selling native plants at a low range cost to prevent price from being a barrier.
Source: Nevalley News
