Dominion Energy and Native Plant Society worked together to demonstrate how plantings can meet both utility requirements and the needs of pollinators and other wildlife by planting a native plants garden at Saluda Riverwalk.
Who says conservation groups and utility companies can’t work together toward a common goal? While that idea is not an everyday occurrence, the following story shows it can happen. Rather easily.
Valerie Marcil, who lives in the Sherwood Forest Neighborhood, struggled for years with the power company policy for cutting and trimming trees and shrubs in the vegetative buffer that protected and enhanced her property. Typically, the clearing team cut only trees they knew would begin to interfere with the power lines above. But one year a team followed the cutting with powerful herbicides that damaged ornamental plants and trees far from the power lines.
According to Dominion Energy, trees and tree limbs are the number one reason for power outages on its system. It manages overhead lines on a five-year cycle to help ensure a safe, resilient, and reliable electric system and keep the lights on for its customers. While Marcil understood the reason, she was concerned about the impact to her plants from herbicides the crews use.
Marcil, devastated by the damage to her plants, spoke with a utility forester from Dominion and reached a resolution on maintaining vegetation along the right of way on her property. Because of her growing interest in native plants, Marcil decided to replant the border with appropriately sized natives, but she was concerned her delicate native plants might be seen as weeds.
She developed two signs, in two languages each, notifying the crews of the native plantings and asking them to consult with the homeowner before trimming or spraying anything. Her second action was to tell her story to a group of friends— friends who, like her, were members of the local Native Plant Society.
The South Carolina Native Plant Society (SCNPS) was founded in March of 1996 and promotes the value of native plant species to biodiversity and ecosystem health and their importance in the South Carolina landscape and history. Many members are also affiliated with other groups linked to conservation which enables SCNPS to develop working relationships with other like-minded organizations. For more information about the group, visit www.scnps.org.
While Marcil was developing a plan for protecting her yard and preventing future tree trimming mishaps other members of the Midlands Chapter of the SCNPS were concerned by Dominion’s published list of plants suitable for use in rights of way. The list featured popular ornamentals, but included some exotic species the society considers invasive to South Carolina. Trish Jerman reached out to a former contact at Dominion asking for help in connecting with the right people to craft a better list.
A representative from Dominion was on the phone the next day and welcomed the assistance of the Midlands Chapter in developing a list focused on native species. A small group of members including Clay and Bailey Parker, Lynn Yenkey, Anne Marie Johnson, and President Bob Askins gathered to brainstorm species that met the criteria for height at maturity. Those meetings proved to be successful.
The current list now includes nothing but native plants and lists characteristics such as attractive flowers or benefits to wildlife and also offers information about the cultural requirements of each plant listed. Dominion has now posted the new list to its website, and the Midlands Chapter has shared it with area Electric Cooperatives as well. The partnership with the S.C. Native Plant Society will help inform property owners about planting the right tree in the right place to avoid utility trimming or removal as the trees mature.
During those meetings, the SCNPS was encouraged to apply for a grant from the Dominion Foundation to better emphasize the issue. The chapter wanted to demonstrate how plantings can meet both utility requirements and the needs of pollinators and other wildlife.
Bailey Parker, now the executive director of the Gills Creek Watershed Association but a City of Columbia park ranger at the time, suggested using a site near the parking lot at the city’s Saluda Riverwalk Park that is crossed by several utility lines. The grant was awarded, and the garden was installed in early April. Educational signage will follow, along with an official ribbon cutting later this summer.
Today, the area around the parking lot and restrooms at Saluda Riverwalk offers a primer on what native plants can look like in the home landscape, and the Dominion list for using native plants under power lines fits perfectly with what the Midlands Chapter of the Native Plant Society suggests.
Amazing how easy resolving disagreements can become when the right approach is used. Maybe solving the problem is a better solution than winning the argument. This could catch on in other places.
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