A local, organic, woman veteran-owned business serving WNC and beyond
Because trees need love, too.
Welcome
our services
Rave(n) Reviews
Rave(n) Reviews
Raven is certified by NC State University in Streambank Repair
Raven is certified by NC State in Stormwater Inspection and Maintenance
Invasives choking out your trees? We advocate non-chemical removal, because we love bees as much as we love trees. We offer onsite removal of invasive plants and refer arborists, as needed, to ensure your trees get the best care possible. We offer mulching after removal, as well as planting of native plants to help reclaim the land. The native plants we install are specially selected based on several factors, including their benefits to wildlife. We care about our pollinators and the wildlife who share the land.
Interested in doing the work yourself? We'll come out and share everything we've learned about removing invasives safely from your trees and other plants. Contact Raven today for details.
- Invasive plant removal
- Invasive plant management
- Soil Testing
- Soil Revitalization
- Planting of native, beneficial plants
- Hydroseeding native plants
- Mulching
- Landscaping services
- Streambank Repair
- Stormwater Inspection and Maintenance
- Invasive plant management consulting
- Speaking engagements
A member of Haw Creek Heights HOA had this to say about Raven:
"Your crew was here today to help the common area of my homeowners' association which had long been neglected.
The work that you and your crew accomplished was beyond transformative!
Not only does the common area look more vibrant, peaceful and beautiful than it ever has, the many trees you had freed of choking and insidious vines will now have a chance to thrive and live the healthy lives they deserve.
Your crew members were thorough, efficient, quiet and conscientious.
As a homeowner in this community, I could not have asked for a better experience.
Many times, service providers will come to the HOA and create so much head-splitting noise and disruption to daily life that I find myself just praying for them to leave!
I found myself appreciating the presence of your crew for every minute they were working on the common area. I could see the invasive growth getting pulled out from the ground and removed from the trees.
You have beautified my community and given life and hope back to the majestic trees.
I am indebted and supremely grateful."
Rave(n) Reviews
Rave(n) Reviews
Rave(n) Reviews
Raven has 35 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ reviews on Google!
Click here to see what our clients are "Raven" about.
"I was thrilled to find a local company doing non-chemical removal of invasive plants. We have a wooded 2 acres that was being overrun with multiflora rose, bittersweet, porcelainberry and others. Raven's team made huge progress over the course of a couple days. The amount of debris they removed was a testament to the hard work, and we are thrilled that our trees, ferns and native plants will have space to flourish again. We will 100% continue working with Raven as we care for our little slice of North Asheville." -Jeff
"I just returned from a trip, and want to say that we're so pleased with the job you're doing. I can almost feel the trees breathing a sigh of relief!" -Scott
"Raven brought a crew down from Asheville to my home in Greenville, and over a day they transformed my wooded mess of an area into a beautiful space. I really appreciated her taking the time to educate me on some of the invasive species that are overrunning my property, and the care she takes not to cause any harm to the beneficial plants and insects. There was more work to be done than could be completed in a day, and I will definitely be contacting her again for future work and maintenance of the area. Thank you Raven and thanks to your crew for an amazing job!" -Ashley
"We had tons of poison ivy growing in our front flower bed and starting to spread into the grass. We called several companies and no one wanted to touch it. Raven came in and removed several ivy bushes, all the runners from the grass, as well as other non-natives from the flower bed over a couple of days. Pricing was fair and she was forthright about how long she thought it would take. She was professional and communicative. I can't wait to have her back to clean up some of our other flower beds and swale area. I highly recommend her service." -Adel
Diane S. from Kenilworth
"I just had help from Raven and her crew of hard workers from Asheville Invasive Plant Management. They took down the poison ivy from my plant bed. They pulled the plants by the roots. I am so pleased with the outcome. I’d highly recommend this business."
Robert S. from Albemarle Park
"What a great new specialist service! They have been excellent at responding and communicating, showing up as scheduled, and doing what was agreed upon. With an interest in learning more ways to improve methods and expand the service for greater impact in the area, they are dedicated to the cause of English ivy and Invasives removal."
Reggie G. from Biltmore Forest
"I've removed the Ivy from my trees several years ago, but keep the English Ivy as ground cover. The Ivy has been growing right back up into my trees over the last several years. Since I am not around my house in Asheville, especially in winter and spring, I hired Raven to come over and remove the Ivy from my trees. She did a much better job than I ever did in removing the Ivy from my trees. The climate warming we are experiencing is causing these invasive plants to grow faster and will damage our beautiful tress around Asheville. I highly recommend this new business for our beautiful city, to fix a growing problem. If you've got trees with Ivy growing up into them or Ivy growing up the side of your house, and you can't deal with the problem yourself, this is the business to call."
Resources
Resources:
Please note: if a link is referenced, click or hover over the title to navigate to it.
Asheville Recommended Species & Banned Invasive Species Lists
The Asheville Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) outlines requirements for development in Asheville in Chapter 7 – Development. In Article 19, Tree Canopy Preservation Requirements, you'll find lists, updated in 2024, for recommended species of plants and banned invasive species. Please note: if you navigate to "code library" from the city's website, you'll find an outdated list of recommended species that included invasive plants. Follow the link embedded in underlined title above to access the updated lists.
North Carolina Native Plant Society
Raven Invasive Plant Management is a member. Raven often references their lists of recommended native plants by category: trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses. The website also has NC's invasive plants grouped by threat level. Find a local chapter and follow their work on Facebook and the website.
Recommended Riparian Species for Streambank Restoration
Streambanks and riverbanks that have been cleared of native vegetation suffered extreme erosion when Hurricane Helene ripped through WNC and beyond. They will continue to, if we don't take steps to restore them. It's important to fortify these areas with native vegetation to mitigate the effects of water., which include erosion, loss of vegetation and land downstream, as well as increasing sediment levels. We live in a temperate rainforest where high levels of rain and water are not only expected but are critical to maintaining the various ecosystems that exist. Take steps now to protect our streams and rivers from future damage.
South Carolina Native Plant Society
Raven Invasive Plant Management is a member. Raven is speaking at the Upstate Chapter's June meeting, June 25 from 7 - 8 p.m., at a location to be announced. The South Carolina Native Plant Society (SCNPS) is a community of nature lovers, hikers, gardeners, environmental advocates, students, educators, photographers, land managers, botanists, naturalists, and others representing many different talents, interests and backgrounds.
We have banded together to protect native plant communities that are threatened, restore those that have been decimated or destroyed, and educate ourselves and others about…
- the importance of native plants
- where to find them in nature
- how to add them to our gardens
- and how to fully appreciate the essential role native plants play in sustaining our ecosystems, and, by extension, us.
In terms of advocacy, no organization stands out more in Raven's mind than this group. You can find a local chapter and follow their work on the website and Facebook.
North American Invasive Species Management Association
NAISMA’s mission is to empower invasive species management in North America. Raven is a member and has spoken at their annual conference to other land managers and invasive species managers on mindful management of invasive plants without the use of chemicals, Senior officials at USDA, US Forest Service and other large land management organizations were present and commended Raven for the work we're doing!!
Canada's Invasive Species Centre
A wealth of information in the fight against invasive species
Find bird friendly native plants for your yard
Help restore pollinator habitat on private lands with North Carolina Butterfly Highway
Homegrown National Park® (HNP) raises awareness and urgently inspires everyone to address the biodiversity crisis by adding native plants and removing invasive ones where we live, work, learn, pray, and play. This is Doug Tallamy's organization. Raven also recommends Dr. Tallamy's books and suggests you visit or order online from a LOCAL bookstore, like Malaprops in Asheville, to purchase. Dr. Tallamy and Raven will speak in Asheville on May 17 for The Rotary Club and Bee City USA's Habitscaping environmental conference at A-B Tech.
Healthy Land and Clean Water for Life. Soil and Water Conservation Society.
SWCS is the premier international organization for professionals who practice and advance the science and art of natural resource conservation. Raven highly recommends their publication, Soil Biology Primer, available for purchase here: https://www.swcs.org/resources/publications/books/soil-biology-primer. Visit their website and learn how you, too, can join the movement to conserve our natural resources.
A fantastic resource from Pollinator Partnership and NAPPC:
Plants for Pollinators: A Regional Guide for Farmers, Land Managers, and Gardeners in the Central Appalachian Broadleaf Forest, Coniferous Forest, Meadow Province is free to download by clicking the publication title above.
From The Workshop on Linking Ecology and Horticulture To Prevent Plant Invasions, the Saint Louis Declaration includes voluntary codes of conduct for government, nursery professionals, the gardening public (that's ALL of US,) landscape architects, and botanic gardens and arboreta, relative to non-native invasives.
https://www.fleppc.org/FNGA/St.Louis.htm
International Union for Conservation of Nature's Issues Brief: Invasive Alien Species Climate Change
Fantastic resource for homeowners from the International Society of Arboriculture: http://www.treesaregood.org/treeowner/treeownerinformation
What Tree is That? A interactive tree ID field guide from Arbor Day Foundation: https://www.arborday.org/trees/whatTree/
Learn how to safely remove ivy from your trees, thanks to Tree Stewards of Arlington & Alexandria, VA: https://treestewards.org/take-ivy-off-trees/
Asheville Tree Commission's 2018 Annual Report to City Council: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A9v72lCHXgKbzzlm27gIeFC1BvWYP4W1/view
Publication: "The Benefits of Urban Trees: A Summary of the Benefits of Urban Trees Accompanied by a Selection of Research Papers and Pamphlets" by the Warwick District Council
Demonstrate your commitment to nature with National Wildlife Federation's Certified Wildlife Habitat program.
https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/Certify
Discover and grow native plants in your yard.
Learn more about toxic pesticides and why you shouldn't use them here: https://www.consumernotice.org/environmental/pesticides/
US Forest Service Invasive Plants Information:
Unfortunately, this publication was removed from NC Forest Service's website. The pdf version is available above. Due to changes in US Administration and proposed plans for our forests, we don't know how long this resource will be available and accessible online. If you can't access via the link embedded in the title of this section, please notify Raven by phone of contact form. *Please note that while the Forest Service recommends broad application of glyphosphate and other herbicides to fight invasive plants, we DO NOT. These means are often ineffective and unnecessarily poison our land, water and pollinators. They require repeated applications to deal with plant succession. We prefer labor and tools.
Create a schoolyard (or backyard) habitat for Monarchs and other pollinators.
https://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Butterfly-Heroes/Schoolyard-Monarch-Guide.pdf
Nature Play at Home, a great resource for instilling the love of nature in children, while also getting them OUTSIDE! A joint publication of National Wildlife Federation and NC State Design.
https://www.nwf.org/~/media/PDFs/Butterfly-Heroes/BH-Nature-Guide.pdf
Asheville's 2019 Urban Tree Canopy Study and the city's official response.
Asheville GreenWorks Treasured Trees Program:
Treasured Trees of Asheville and Buncombe County is a program of Asheville GreenWorks whose purpose is to:
- Bring public awareness to our valuable and irreplaceable trees.
- Increase tree owners' awareness of the unique importance of trees.
- Encourage stewardship of our urban forest.
- Protect all trees from indiscriminate removal or irreparable damage during development.
- Raise awareness of the diversity, sensitivity, and importance of the tree canopy.
News & Community Events
We love trees. We're happy to share opportunities in our communities to stand up for trees and give them the support and appreciation they deserve. Have news or an event to share? Please contact us.
Raven Speaks:
Coming up May 17, 2025
Raven to Speak at Bee City USA - Asheville and The Rotary Club of Asheville's Environmental Conference entitled Habitscaping: Supporting Nature with Native Plants
The event will be held Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at A-B Tech Conference Center in Asheville. The Rotary Club and Bee City USA are partnering to host this important event featuring inspirational keynote speaker and prolific author, Dr. Douglas Tallamy! Registration is open and tickets are selling fast. Only 500 available. Get yours now:
https://beecityasheville.org/events/doug-tallamy-may-2025
Coming up July 16 - 19, 2025
Raven to Speak at Cullowhee Native Plant Conference
The conference will be held at WCU in Cullowhee, NC, July 16 - 19. Registration opens April 1, and the conference agenda will be announced then.
Coming up September 30, 2025
Raven to Speak at Village Nature Series
Every year, the Highlands-Cashiers Land Trust partners with the Village Green in Cashiers, NC, to host public education presentations in conservation, wildlife, habitat, sustainability, cultural heritage, and public practices that are harmonious to our planet called the Village Nature Series. These are free and open to the public. They are held once a month from 5:30pm-6:30pm, from April to September at the Village Green. https://www.villagegreencashiersnc.com/village-nature-series/
Wildflower Walks with Bigelow's Botanical Excursions
“If you don’t know something is there, how can you Love it? And if you don’t Love it, why would you care if it is there?” –Adam Bigelow
Adam Bigelow is a Plant Nerd. While he didn't grow up here, he's lived in the area for 30 years, studying and working with the Plants of Southern Appalachia for 20 of those years. Somehow, seemingly by accident, he fell in LOVE with Native Plants and Wildflowers along the way. He lives in Cullowhee, NC which is the home of the Cullowhee Native Plants Conference and the Cullowhee Community Garden, both of which he's involved with. His passions are the Native Plants and Wildflowers of Southern Appalachia, Walking in the Woods, Organic Gardening, Community Gardening, Sustainability and Eco-friendly Living. Adam is one of Raven's favorite people, and she promises you'll enjoy time spent with Adam and wildflowers. He just released his schedule for 2025. Check it out through the link above.
Asheville Mayor Esther Manheimer Proclaimed February 24 - 28 Invasive Species Awareness Week in Asheville
Mayor Manheimer proclaimed Invasive Species Awareness Week in Asheville at the Asheville City Council Meeting held Tuesday, February 25, at 5 p.m. Raven accepted the proclamation, along with LB Bacchus from Kudzu Culture and Karen MacNeil from Montford Neighborhood Association. It was the third year Mayor Manheimer made the proclamation.
Recorded March 3, 2025
Blaine's World Webcast Hosts Raven
BLAINESWORLD is a webcast that focuses on positive news and information about people and organizations in both Western NC and throughout the country. The webcast plays on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and it is featured in each week's issue of the BLAINESWORLD blog (that has nearly 1,100 subscribers). Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRwUMKMyngI&t=401s
Raven Presented on March 4, 2025
Bee City USA Asheville and Asheville Botanical Garden Present Certified Pollinator Advocate Series
Monthly classes offered by Bee City USA & Asheville Botanical Garden covering plant & pollinator topics. Classes are held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 6 pm. Complete all 12 classes and become a Certified Pollinator Advocate. Raven led the group for the second time, due to overwhelming response, on March 4, for Battle Plans Against Exotic Invasive Plants. Sign up here for future classes in the series. https://ashevillebotanicalgardens.square.site/classes
https://beecityasheville.org/events
Raven Donated $1000 in 2024 to Southside Community Farm
Southside Community Farm (SCF) is an urban food space in the historically segregated black Southside neighborhood of Asheville. The neighborhood includes four low-income public housing developments (Erskine, Walton Street, Livingston Heights, and Bartlett Arms) and lacks basic access to fresh food. The farm is building neighborhood food sovereignty through food distribution, environmental education, racial justice, and connection with the land. They also act as a hub of knowledge and community for people of color beyond the neighborhood limits who seek connection with land and each other. Their main farm plot, about half an acre, grows a variety of vegetables, fruits, and herbal medicines using organic practices and sustainable agriculture techniques based in traditional African and Indigenous knowledge. They, like us, believe in growing food that’s good for people and our planet. Learn more about Southside Community Farm and support their efforts here: https://southsidecommunitygarden.org/
Read Raven's Q&A Interview with Mountain Xpress April '23
Raven was interviewed as part of Mountain Xpress' annual Sustainability Series. It's the second year in a row Raven's work was featured in the series.
https://mountainx.com/news/nonnative-not-welcome/
Raven Featured in Asheville GreenWorks' Newsletter March '23
https://www.ashevillegreenworks.org/blog/tangling-with-invasive-plants
Help Stop Invasive Species: Raven Invasive Plant Management Donates to Reed Creek Greenway in honor of Invasive Species Awareness Week – February 20 – February 26, 2023
Asheville, NC – What if addressing the major concerns of U.S. citizens and policymakers improved biodiversity at the same time? The North American Invasive Species Management Association (NAISMA) says that including policy and legislative decisions geared toward invasive species management funding could ensure that North America’s lands and waters remain resilient in the face of climate change and other biological challenges.
Raven Invasive Plant Management, an Asheville-based business that practices mechanical removal of invasive plants, meaning they use tools, not chemicals, has announced they will invest $2800 in labor on the Reed Creek Greenway invasives clean-up project led by Montford Neighborhood Association. The MNA chose Raven Invasive Plant Management to work along the Greenway with a $5000 matching grant from the City of Asheville.
I started this work over 4 years ago to save trees and native plants. It’s an honor to be chosen by Montford Neighborhood Association to remediate a section of Reed Creek Greenway, a treasure of public land and stream in Asheville’s city limits. It provides so many benefits to people, animals, our water quality, the air we breathe…the list goes on. There are beautiful old trees along the creek in dire need of support, and I’m thrilled we can help,” said Raven. She went on to describe the myriad of invasive plants that line the greenway and what can be done, without the use of chemicals, to begin the process of healing the land. Raven is donating her crew for additional days of work beyond those covered by the matching grant. “I hope this donation and greater awareness of the plight of our trees and natural spaces due to invasive plants will encourage others to adopt a portion of the greenway for non-chemical remediation. We can do it, together.”
Raven Invasive Plant Management Donated $1000 to Asheville GreenWorks for TREES!
In honor and gratitude to the many clients and contractors who cared enough about our Mother to invest in non-native invasive plants management last year, Raven Invasive Plant Management donated $1,000 to Asheville GreenWorks in 2020 for the purchase of 1,000 bare root saplings. The trees were cared for at GreenWorks' nursery for 3-4 years until they were given away to local residents and planted in Buncombe County soil. We specifically requested native trees that provide food for pollinators, wildlife and/or people.
This was the first of an annual donation to an organization that supports the health of our trees, soil, and/or native plants.
We're so grateful for this incredible planet and the opportunity to serve it.
12/21/22 Raven Crew begins planting 1,000 trees
MAKE A DIFFERENCE DAILY:
Support #GoingPlasticFree every July
We made the move to reusable contractor bags last year, because we couldn't stand to see all those black plastic bags full of ivy going into the landfill. What "small" change can you enact to make a BIG difference?
Support healthy communities!
https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/about
https://www.organicconsumers.org/campaigns/millions-against-monsanto
Make a choice to keep toxic chemicals out of your landscape. Your "home" will be safer for you, your kids & pets, and every other form of life you share it with.
We're chemical-free because we understand the dangers and implications of herbicides & pesticides. We stand by Moms Across America and Millions Against Monsanto. We educate potential clients, clients and neighbors about chemicals like glyphosphate.
Raven Invasive plant management is a proud member of:
