Episode 28: Cultivation Activism with Lorraine Johnson

Discussing the activism embedded in native plant gardening and the creation of pollinator habitat

Author

Plants Always Win
June 25, 2025

Native Plant Gardening as a Joy, Not a Burden

Lorraine Johnson styles herself as a “cultivation activist”. It’s a term she came up with to describe the common purpose at the intersection of everything she does, from writing books to giving talks to supporting the fight against harmful grass and weed bylaws. This episode is for anyone who:

  • feels guilt or overwhelm when they think about gardening, native plants, and invasive species

  • feels anger or frustration about garden centres promoting invasive plants

  • needs tools and resources to fight bylaws that make it hard to grow ecologically responsible gardens (even in cities that have signed pollinator pledges and are investing in flood protection!)

  • wants to feel re-energized about the value of gardening as activism

You can find Lorraine online at https://lorrainejohnson.ca, where she shares her bibliography, her presentation topics, a blog with lots of updates on native-plant advocacy, and a (sometimes up-to-date) list of upcoming events where she’ll be presenting. 

Here are the resources Lorraine shared for bylaw advocacy:

Network of Nature’s interactive map for finding a native plant nursery near you: https://networkofnature.org/where-to-buy.htm/ 

Ecological Design Lab’s Bylaws for Biodiversity toolkit for municipalities: https://ecologicaldesignlab.ca/site/uploads/2024/07/EDL_Bylaws-Biodiversity_ToolkitforMunicipalities.pdf

The David Suzuki Foundation Action Alert Bylaw tool
https://davidsuzuki.org/action/bylaws-for-biodiversity/ 

The 1000 Islands Master Gardeners’ post about the Kingston, Ontario bylaw reform on which they collaborated: https://1000islandsmastergardeners.ca/2024/07/29/prohibited-plants-in-kingstons-new-bylaw/

A news story about Kyla Moore’s advocacy on Thunder Bay, Ontario’s bylaw change: https://www.tbnewswatch.com/local-news/thunder-bay-could-be-a-leader-says-boulevard-garden-advocate-9982234 

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.

Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays
License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

Timestamps

00:11 Introducing Lorraine Johnson
01:29 Cultivation Activist: Making Change with Plants
07:53 Native-Plant Gardening for Joy, not as a Burden
11:16 Tips to get Started with Native Plants
12:40 Finding Your Community of Pollinator People
15:52 Relieving the Burden: Do the Best You Can
17:50 What has Changed in Four Decades of Native-Plant Gardening
23:13 Meet People Where they're at
25:45 Reclaiming Responsibility as a Joy
27:14 Plants as our Kin
27:20 Changing Language: Naturalized vs. Native
31:44 Changing Language: Invasive Species and Groundcovers
34:46 Native Groundcover Options
38:00 Gardening Isn't Just for Humans
40:00 Reforming Grass and Weeds Bylaws
45:00 Convincing Municipalities to Change Bad Bylaws
46:00 Kyla Moore's Successful Bylaw Campaign in Thunder Bay, Ontario
47:41 Proactive Bylaw Reform in Kingston, Ontario
48:48 Native Plant Suggestions for New Developments
51:07 Street Trees and Project Swallowtail in Toronto
54:01 The Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation
58:50 "Nothing Will Grow Here." Working with the Land
1:05:55 2025: A Year of Abundance
1:09:01 Shout-Out: David Suzuki Foundation Action Alert Bylaws
1:11:12 Finding Lorraine Online
1:14:04 Outro and Contact Us