When I started B.Willow in 2014, my dream job was to work within the environmental world, doing whatever I could to help affect positive change. My college years were deeply influenced by my studies on climate change and sustainability, as well as psychology. Viewing environmental challenges from a psychological lens is essential; our ability to make broad environmental improvements depends on behavioral change. In other words, it’s not just about picking up trash, it’s getting people to not litter in the first place. Bringing awareness of issues is one, very important part of this, but it must go deeper than that. I’ve been fascinated by this topic for the last 15 years- how to really get people to not only care about the environment, but to take an active stance on protecting and conserving it. My initial thought process (and why I decided to pursue selling plants) was that first and foremost, we need to feel more connected to the natural world. The fact that there’s a word for it (nature) that is largely viewed as separate to us (humans) is quite telling. We are so obviously part of nature, it doesn’t exist separate to us; however, our (1st world) way of life exists greatly in isolation to other species and the outdoors. This magnifies the separation from all other lifeforms that we largely feel. We spend way too much time inside, and the negative effects of this are vast. Bringing plants inside- creating that daily, reciprocal relationship with other species felt like step one. The mental benefits of such interactions was also a big reason why I wanted to sell plants.
8 years after starting my business, my environmental goals have sharpened, focusing on conservation and the preservation of biodiversity. For context, cue David Attenborough. Our ecosystems are in crisis, as humans are driving countless species into extinction. Though much has already been lost, there is still so much that can be preserved and restored. For a while now, I’ve been thinking non-stop about biodiversity, and more specifically, that of plants and the illegal plant trade. I’ve been thinking about how my business could make a huge impact on not only educating our customers about the topic, but how we could make a financial impact. Every day, my business stirs our local economy. With reliable money coming in and out, I recognize how privileged I am, and how much of a difference I could potentially make. To help me navigate the world of conservation, I reached out to my friend Dr. Jared Margulies. Jared is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Alabama. Previously, Jared was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sheffield with the BIOSEC project, a 4-year research effort to understand the increasing linkages between biodiversity and securitization through the study of illegal wildlife trade. Jared is currently studying the global illegal trade in succulent plants and is writing a book on the subject, tentatively entitled The Succulent Subject: a political ecology of plants, illicit trade, and desire. His research broadly focuses on human-wildlife relations through the lens of political ecology.
Jared graciously connected me with his colleagues at the IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature), specifically The Cactus Succulent Plants Specialist Group (CSSG), and the DBG (the Desert Botanical Garden) in Arizona. In 2017, the CSSG partnered with the Desert Botanical Garden in Arizona, USA, which acts as a host institution to aid them in leading, promoting, and furthering cactus and succulent conservation efforts worldwide.
I am so beyond excited to announce that B.Willow is now formally partnered with the CSSG and the DBG to promote conservation, focusing specifically on the illegal plant trade. Through education (social media posts, blog posts, guest lectures) and fundraising (i.e. a portion of sales from specific plants, collaborative merchandise, donation-based tickets to lectures and other online learning opportunities), our goal is to enable our customers to help us make a huge difference. Supporting us will support global conservation efforts. Join us for our first collaborative monthly lecture on March 17th at 6PM featuring Dr. Margulies. His talk, Is My Cactus Illegal?, will cover:
Why an illegal trade in cactus and succulent plants exists
The challenges for combatting illicit succulent trades worldwide
Examples of ongoing illicit succulent trades from current research
Key things to look out for in acquiring new plants to promote sustainable plant trades!
We look forward to bringing you more updates and information about our partnership. Thank you for reading!