Constructive Plant Rescue is a very new (est. 2025), volunteer-driven, non-profit organization established by a couple of women (Carrie DeJaco and Jennifer Lee) who are passionate about conserving native plant species-- the base of the food web-- in rapidly developing landscapes.

Here in the Carolina piedmont, rates of land development are through the roof. It seems like new tracts of land being cleared daily. We seek information on tracts of land that are likely to be developed soon and contact the land owners/developers to request permission to dig up small native plants from the site prior to the arrival of the construction equipment.

We have a team of more than 300 volunteers who donate their time to dig up as many native plants as possible from the understory, transplanting them in new locations where they can continue to live their lives, performing ecosystem functions such as carbon sequestration, erosion prevention, and temperature regulation, along with simply looking beautiful and contributing to the food web.

At each of our plant rescue events, volunteers learn about the native and invasive plants in our area. They take plants home with them and share both the plants and their new knowledge with their family, friends, and neighbors.

We have been working with other non-profit organizations in our community to help raise awareness about the importance of using native plants in landscaping. We are in the beginning stages of building a plant nursery from which people who cannot come to dig up their own plants can adopt plants that need new homes. We aspire to work with disadvantaged groups and neighborhoods to help them beautify their yards with native landscaping.

We don't know much about starting a business, but are learning as we go. We have non-profit status in North Carolina. We are trying to raise money for legal and financial guidance on registering as a 501-c3 and to provide a more stable footing for our organization.

Please help us rescue more native plants! Thank you for caring about our environment. :-)