The project
A free app that’s helping nearly 30,000 Texans choose, grow, and care for pollinator-friendly native plants.
Why this matters
The Texas Park & Wildlife Foundation’s (TPWF) Pollinators & Prairies Program aims to increase healthy prairie habitat & pollinator populations and encourage Texans to plant native grasses and wildflowers.
Native plants support pollinators such as native bees, butterflies, moths, and birds, which are necessary for life. Pollinators support local food production, help sustain breathable air, and are integral to the food chain, but they’re threatened by over-development. Native plants support this ecosystem, require no chemicals, and use less water than non-natives, vital in a state where droughts are frequent.
The challenge
This app required some complex functional design & data management to accommodate features such as watering reminders, freeze alerts, a native plant nursery database, and a bed designing tool.
Based on audience interviews & research, we knew it also needed to be beginner-friendly, offering education along planters’ journeys, while avoiding overwhelming them with too much information.
How Wild Thumb works
Wild Thumb planters begin by choosing from a curated selection of native plants based on their ZIP code, which falls within one of several ‘ecoregions.’
Plant cards show an image of the plant, information about its watering needs, how tall & wide it might become, which pollinators it typically attracts, and more. We collected this info from expert sources, including the The Native Plant Society of Texas.
Planters can then arrange illustrations of their selected plants on a to-scale replica of their garden bed. After their design has been completed, they receive tips for planting, watering, and pruning, as well as notification of extreme weather conditions, such as freezing temps & native plant events.
Cultivating the Wild Thumb brand
Using the Foundation’s existing color palette and voice as a starting point, we enlivened the Wild Thumb brand, creating a distinct visual & voice identity that feels bright, fresh, modern, and excited to grow.
Colors, gradients, pollinator videos, and slick interactions help modernize Wild Thumb, challenging any preconditioned ideas about gardening as a bygone practice. Vivid imagery places the natural beauty of plants & pollinators front & center.
Copy & messaging positions Wild Thumb as a buddy working alongside you in the garden, offering straightforward guidance alongside cheerful reminders that planting is often a process of experimentation.
The growth continues
Immediately after launch, nearly 25,000 Texans began planting with Wild Thumb, creating thousands of projects, including more than 2,000 pocket prairies.
Major Texas news outlets covered Wild Thumb’s release, including The San Antonio Express-news, Texas Public Radio, and the Texas Standard. We designed custom seed packets promoting the app at a native plant event, as well as a micro-site that lays out the app’s key features.
Based on user feedback, we have continued to add features to the app after launch, including a map of local nurseries, a director of online seed providers, more plants, and more event-based notifications.
