The term “coastal restoration” covers a wide range of project types. However, something that is needed for most coastal restoration (or any habitat restoration) project is native plants. Currently in Mississippi, Alabama and beyond, there is a large disconnect between supply and demand for native plants needed for coastal restoration projects. The lack of locally sourced and readily available native plants has created a bottleneck for many coastal restoration projects, often leading to project delays and/or sourcing of plants from out of state or even out of the entire region.
To help mitigate this issue, the Native Plant Producer Network (NPPN) was started with the goal of building a network of native plant producers to support coastal restoration projects. Since this program started in 2024, there has been an expansion of small-scale native plant producers of two native saltmarsh plants (smooth cordgrass and black needlerush).
The program works through providing training and some starting materials (funding contingent) to anyone interested in growing native plants for restoration projects. These growers can either sell or donate the plants they grow to property owners, contractors, consultants or anyone else conducting coastal restoration projects. The NPPN team also works to help connect supply and demand by keeping track of available inventory throughout the network and demand through forms available on its website.
This team also recently completed and released some instructional videos for growing these plants that are linked on the website, but also available directly through their YouTube channel.
This program has become popular with not only individuals wanting to grow plants for restoration projects, but also middle and high school teachers interested in incorporating this as a learning experience for their students. The NPPN team is working to finalize some curriculum for middle and high school audiences that will be available for teachers and also helps get the schools setup to grow plants.
If you are interested in growing plants yourself or with your class and live in Mississippi or Alabama, reach out to us via the NPPN website interest form.
If you would like more information related to topics mentioned in this blog, contact me, the director of coastal and marine extension with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, coastal ecology specialist with the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and director of the Mississippi Sound Estuary Program.
Meet the author
Eric Sparks, Ph.D.
Assistant Director for Outreach and Coastal Ecology Specialist
Eric is the assistant director for outreach and a coastal ecology specialist. His work focuses on estuarine and wetland issues, and his specialty areas include coastal conservation and... Read more
Phone: 228-546-1025
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