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
No comments:
Post a Comment