Nurtured by Nature
Changing The World, One Native Plant at a Time with Shubber Ali, Garden For Wildlife by National Wildlife Federation
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Episode notes
Today I'm joined in conversation by Shubber Ali, CEO of Garden For Wildlife.
Restoring Native Habitat is one of the greatest tools we have to help reverse the biodiversity crisis. Native plants co-evolved alongside the wildlife in your ecosystem, they are the ones that will not only attract pollinators but actually allow them to complete their lifecycles providing food for the caterpillars & adolescent forms, a vital link in the chain to a thriving world. Knowing which plants are native & being able to buy them is a challenge that quickly prevents well intentioned gardeners being part of this powerful solution. But now gardeners across most of the USA can enter their zip code to find the plants native to them & have them delivered to their door. Every plant purchased means a native plant is also planted in a community garden, & an affiliate programme allows non-profits in any sector to fundraise by having their supporters buy & plant native plants.
This episode is packed full of wisdom, it encourages us to question the Orthodoxies in every aspect of our lives, & ensure we ask “What’s the real problem we need to solve?” Rather than creating solutions to just the symptoms of the problem. It is a beautiful reminder that business done well can be an incredible vehicle for positive change.
Learn more about Shubber
Shubber is a father, husband, gardener & nature lover. He's currently CEO of Garden for Wildlife, a for-profit spinout he helped create for the National Wildlife Federation. The mission: to help restore native habitat in yards across America in order to help our endangered pollinators & songbirds that have been declining for decades. He's worked on everything from the Space Station program to residential real estate software. He's spent much of his time in innovation consulting, done a stint as the VP of Innovation for Salesforce, been an adjunct professor at Georgetown Exec MBA program & guest lectures at Emory Exec MBA program. He's on numerous advisory boards, from a generative AI company to Airbus, & is co-founder of multiple startup companies. He has planted over 100 trees & hundreds of native plants in his yard.
Website: https://gardenforwildlife.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gardenforwildlife/
Wildlife gardeners group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/432123332899723/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gardenforwildlife/
Affiliate/fundraising platform: https://content.gardenforwildlife.com/fundraising
Other:
Nature's Best Hope - Douglas W.Tallamy
The Nature Fix - Florance Williams
Merlin Bird App by Cornell Lab: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/
HomeGrown National Park Challenge: https://homegrownnationalpark.org/1-plant-challenge/
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