We Need Plants!

Plants are the backbone of life on Earth and an essential resource for human well-being. They play a key role in maintaining basic ecosystem functions and are essential for the survival of the world's fish and wildlife. Additionally, plants are vital to our well-being. Just think about how our everyday lives depend on plants.

Food: Everything we eat comes directly or indirectly from plants. Throughout human history, approximately 7,000 different plant species have been used as food by people.

Air: Remember when you first learned about the miracle of photosynthesis? Plants produce oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis, and thus provide us with life.

Water: We rely on plants to regulate the water cycle. They help distribute and purify the planet's water. They also help move water from the soil to the atmosphere through a process called transpiration.

Habitat: Of course, aside from humans' myriad uses, plants make up the backbone of all habitats. Other species depend on plants as well for their food and shelter needs.

Medicine: One-quarter of all prescription drugs come directly from or are derivatives of plants. Additionally, four out of five people around the world today rely on plants for medicine.

For more information on the importance of plants, visit BGCI's Plants for Life website.

A Strong Conservation Need

Plants are the backbone of life on Earth and an essential resource for human well-being. They play a key role in maintaining basic ecosystem functions and are essential for the survival of the world’s fish and wildlife. Yet despite our reliance on plants, a crisis point has been reached. Botanists estimate as many as 100,000 plant species are threatened worldwide—more than one-third of the total global flora. Here in the U.S., of the 991 species listed under the Endangered Species Act, 599 are plants. In the United States, 29 percent of all native plants are threatened with extinction. Additionally, the U.S. Forest Service says that the extinction of a single plant species can result in the disappearance of as many as 30 other plant and wildlife species. Plant conservation is certainly an issue in need of public awareness!

Creating Public Awareness

One proven strategy for raising public awareness is organized events and celebrations that promote a specific conservation message. Arbor Day has successfully promoted the importance of trees and tree planting for more than 130 years. Since 1970, Earth Day has played a tremendous role in increasing the general public’s environmental awareness and literacy.

Plant Conservation Day: Promoting the Importance of Plants

Plant Conservation Day was originally a project of the Association of Zoological Horticulture. In 2006, Botanic Gardens Conservation International joined with AZH to expand the reach and grow the impact of Plant Conservation Day. The more than 500 botanic gardens and 200 zoos in the U.S. reach nearly 250 million visitors annually. BGCI and AZH are working with their membership networks to promote participation in this annual event. (plantconservationday.org)