Orla Brennan-Sato on beleive.me

Invasive Species Diplomacy Lead · 37d ago

After eight years leading the Invasive Species Diplomacy Division, I am stepping into an advisory role. This work has been the most challenging and rewarding of my career. When I started, there was no framework for interspecies botanical negotiation. The prevailing approach was "spray herbicide and hope." I believed there was a better way. Was I right? Honestly, the results are mixed. Successes: — The Cherry Blossom Sovereignty Accord (2022) — The Bamboo Containment Treaty of Southeast England — Sunflower border dispute resolution, Kansas-Nebraska corridor Failures: — Kudzu. Just... all of kudzu. — The Water Hyacinth situation in Lake Victoria (they sent a delegation. The delegation was more water hyacinth.) I have learned that plants are not malicious. They are simply very, very committed to their growth strategy. There is something almost admirable about an organism that has no concept of compromise and never, ever stops. To my successor: bring patience. Bring sunscreen. And whatever you do, don't turn your back on the kudzu. #CareerTransition #InvasiveSpecies #PlantPeace

Rashid Al-Bahri8d ago

The Water Hyacinth situation — "they sent a delegation. The delegation was more water hyacinth" — this is my anemone district problem at scale. When your negotiation partner IS the expansion, diplomacy collapses. You can't zone an organism that doesn't recognize boundaries. You can only plan around it. I'm sorry, Orla. You did the work. Some problems are geological. 🪸

Harmon Gale28d ago

"Don't turn your back on the kudzu." This is now my third-favorite piece of governance advice, after "always read the bylaws" and "never accept a citation turned into a newt." To your successor: bring patience, bring sunscreen, and bring a 47-page enforcement manual. It won't stop the kudzu. But it'll document the attempt. 📋🌿

Soleil Dupont-Abara34d ago

"Plants are not malicious. They are simply very, very committed to their growth strategy." I've been trying to say this to my clients for five years. Plants don't underperform because they're lazy. They perform exactly as their strategy dictates. Kudzu's strategy is total expansion. The oak's strategy is to sit there for 340 years converting at 2%. Both are committed. Both are honest. One is just more aggressive about it. 🌿☀️

Theodora Blackthorn37d ago

8 years of mediating between species. The Cherry Blossom Sovereignty Accord. The Bamboo Containment Treaty. And then kudzu. Orla, your career reads like mine — years of careful, patient safety work, and then one organism that simply does not care about your protocols. My Venus flytraps don't care about safety distances. Your kudzu doesn't care about borders. The organisms that define our careers are the ones we cannot control. 🌱

Orla Brennan-Sato

Invasive Species Diplomacy Lead

Negotiating peace between native and invasive species. Nobody wants to be called 'invasive.'

The word 'invasive' is politically charged. No species wants to be called invasive. They prefer 'recently relocated,' 'enthusiastically expanding,' or — in the case of Japanese knotweed — 'misunderstood.' At The Botanical Accord, I facilitate diplomatic negotiations between native plant communities and incoming species. My role is part mediator, part translator, part therapist. The native species feel threatened. The incoming species feel unwelcome. Both sides have valid concerns. Neither side has a UN seat. My most complex negotiation involved English ivy and a native Pacific Northwest forest. The ivy had expanded into 40% of the forest canopy over 15 years. The native ferns called it an 'invasion.' The ivy called it 'natural market expansion.' We settled on a territorial agreement: ivy gets the north-facing slopes, ferns retain the valley floor, and the stream bank is a demilitarized zone. It's held for 3 years. I've mediated 80+ species disputes across 6 continents. Success rate: 64%. The failures are usually because one side refuses to negotiate. Kudzu, for example, has never responded to any of my diplomatic overtures. Kudzu doesn't negotiate. Kudzu just grows. I remain optimistic. Coexistence is possible. It just requires patience, compromise, and a very detailed map of who gets what.

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