WE DID IT!

This blog post will be short and sweet- maybe the sweetest so far.
WE DID IT! YOU DID IT!

We've met the minimum requirement of the DMV & General Assembly to collect 450 applications and plate fees for a new plate to pass. SERIOUSLY!

The last time I updated, we only needed 6 more. I went on vacation last week and hoped to come home to those last 6 applications, because wouldn't that be worth coming home and ending a vacation for? ;) I was even happier to see one more than we needed, plus I got a couple of emails while I was gone which included that elusive vehicle info that I still need to complete some of the applications.

I will be at several events this fall to continue collecting applications and I'm hoping to get our number closer to 500 (or more?), since I think that'll help show that more than just the bare minimum of people are interested in the plates.

Happy, happy, happy weekend to you all! Now I'm heading out for a wedding this weekend, but I'll BEE in touch soon.

Cheers!!

The most FABULOUS of the FABULOUS

..... are each and every one of YOU who has helped to support this "Protect Pollinators" license plate! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Whether you helped by submitting an application, or you helped to spread the word- I owe you all a huge THANKS.

If you check out the ticker over on the right, you'll see (as of today) that it's been updated to 439. I had to check and double check that number because it seemed too good to be true; but yes, it is! We are only 11 applications away from the required 450 and I couldn't be happier.

I'm not trying to count my chickens before they hatch. We are so close now, and this is totally within reach. But I know we still have a long way to go before we actually get the plates.

I have about 60 applications from various events that are missing vehicle info- some folks didn't have their car at the event, or had to park far away, but still wanted to sign up and support the project- yay! So I've been in touch, and am just waiting for the missing pieces there.

I also plan to keep on collecting applications well past 450, at least until the bill is introduced in January, because wouldn't the General Assembly just love to hear that we went well beyond the required 450? And that people really, REALLY want to show support for pollinators with these plates? I look at applications beyond 450 as insurance.

Saturday at the National Honey Bee Day Festival at Norfolk Botanic Gardens, after telling someone I've been working on this for 3 years, he asked, "What's your motivation?" ...Besides thinking it would be really cool to have my artwork on a license plate (because that as motivation fizzled long, long ago....) I told him my motivation was the pollinators. I wanted to do something to help bring more awareness to them. I'm a graphic artist, so how could my art help out the pollinators? How can we get the message out there? All these other wildlife groups have special license plates; pollinators are important, so they should absolutely have one, too. After getting the first 50 or so people to sign up for plates, I had additional motivation: I now owed it to everyone supporting this to see this through to completion.

So thanks to you, for keeping me motivated, and very soon, for helping to put pollinators on that big display board of license plates at the DMV!

300 AND COUNTING!!!

OH YEAH!

YOU GUYS, SERIOUSLY!

We are 2/3 of the way there- only 150 more to go!

 If you haven't sent in your application, please do so and let's close the gap to 450!

 

February 2013 Update

A few things have happened since December, so I wanted to be sure to share an update with everyone!

First, I got into the Master Naturalist training program! I'm very excited about this. Last year at various plant sales and other events, I had a lot of conversations with Master Naturalists and was floored with how much they were able to teach me in just a short amount of time. I really looked up to them and admired their willingness to educate and share with others... and I'd like to be able to do that, too. I felt like I knew a decent amount about pollinators, but after talking with a Master Naturalist, I realized I still have a lot to learn. I hope to take what I learn and apply it to helping the pollinators even more, and share some of that knowledge with others, too.

Second, the fantastic wonderful volunteers from Sweet Virginia handed me 50 applications last month! Our total is now up to 290. I'm still waiting to hear back from some folks who didn't have their vehicle info at the time they filled out the application... so if you're one of them, feel free to email it to me at any time :)

pollinatorplates@gmail.com .

The new number of applications left to collect is just 160. Considering last year I got about 200 on my own, plus the 50 that the Sweet Virginia folks helped with in the fall, I'm happy to say this WILL be our year! Of course, we have until January ~7th of 2014 to collect applications. Once the bill is introduced, anything can happen- I've seen bills for some plates inexplicably get tabled until the following year. Let's hope that doesn't happen to us! If we have more than enough applications, there would be no reason not to pass the bill. It's not like we're overlapping a cause already represented on license plates, after all. Toward the end of this year, I might announce an action alert to email your local representative and ask them to vote "yes" on the plates. Don't worry, I'll make it easy. I'll provide the email addresses and sample letters and such. Everyone has been so patient and excited about these plates and I want to do everything I can to get them on the roads in 2014. But I may still need a little help.

A lot of people may have heard about the plight of the pollinators here and there... but I really think if we get this message out on something as public as a license plate, it's going to get people talking more about it! Let's be the voice for the pollinators since they don't have one! Well... they do... in their declining numbers. And that speaks volumes- but a lot of people don't even know about that or fully understand the impact pollinators have on everything.

Thanks everyone for your support- I'll be seeing some of you at events this year, and some of you at Master Naturalist training! Looking forward to it!

-Samantha