2020 Native Planting Day

On Saturday, October 3rd, a group of Carilion’s Sustainability Champions planted seeds of plants native to the blue ridge region on the grounds of Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.  

Why native plants? Dr. Jessica Fleming, Internal Medicine Resident, recently presented at the Sustainability Champion Committee meeting, providing education on wildlife populations and their dependence on native plants to survive. In the United States, wildlife corridors for these populations are rare due to the lack of critical native plants and the presence of non-native and invasive plants. Historically, there has been a reliance on publicly owned land to create and maintain wildlife corridors. This is no longer adequate since 85.6% of the land east of the Mississippi is privately owned. Therefore, in order to increase the ecological integrity of land, the participation of private landowners, like Carilion, in efforts to plant native plants to support these populations is critical.  

The Sustainability Champions were ready and willing to help develop these wildlife corridors. With the support of Marty Misicko, VP of Facilities, who granted permission to utilize Carilion Clinic property and the expertise and direction from Dr. Fleming, the group was able to plant native seeds in various areas of CRMH’s grounds which will not only support wildlife but will also beautify the grounds. We are looking forward to seeing what blooms in the spring!  

If you have any questions, please reach out to Sara Wohlford (sewohlford@carilionclinic.org) or Marina Sotelo (mcsotelo@carilionclinic.org), Efficiency & Sustainability.