Wheel cactus
Opuntia robusta
(Photo: John Virtue)

CAWS annual awards for the most "Weed Wise" retail nurseries

Two new annual awards for the most "Weed Wise" retail nurseries (one in Australia, one in New Zealand) have been created. The purpose of the awards is to create awareness and generate positive publicity regarding invasive garden plants. A very high proportion of serious weeds in Australia and New Zealand (and in other countries) were introduced as garden ornamentals. This will give positive publicity to retail nurseries that do not sell well-known invasive garden plants and who support appropriate labelling schemes and education of customers. Nurseries (retail or Garden Centre) could cover for example:

Has the nursery voluntarily removed invasive species, especially popular species sold by other nurseries?
Does the nursery sell examples of local native flora?
The standard of labelling of plants e.g. do the plants have the correct scientific name, are potentially invasive species labelled as such
Whether the nursery is accredited with any industry associations(s) Whether the nursery has a policy on invasive species and/or related issues such as sustainability, biodiversity conservation and/or agriculture protection
Whether the nursery is a participant in any schemes such as "Grow Me Instead" (or any similar schemes run by local government or community groups), "Flora for Fauna", "Water Wise", "Frog Watch" and so on, and what impact this has on plant species stocked, other products sold, and education of customers. Does the nursery educate customers about environmental issues, including invasive species?

Please see the selection criteria for more details.

Winners

Year	Australian winner	New Zealand winner
2009	No nominations received	Forest Flora, Ngaruawahia
2008	Ardess Nursery in Albany, Western Australia	Oratia Native Plant Nursery, Auckland
2007	Bulleen Art & Garden, Melbourne, Victoria	Kerikeri Plant Production, Kerikeri
2006	Zanthorrea Nursery, Maida Vale, WA