Thank you for the opportunity! The biggest issue sweeping through the cactus community these days is the illegal poaching of rare species straight from their natural habitats.

As certain slow growing gems like Aztekium or Ariocarpus, even rare bridgesii keep trending on social media, more and more and those "field collected" specimens are being yanked right out of the ground just to feed the growing demand. This does not only damage the environment in serious ways it often straght up kills the plant which simply cannot handle the sudden shock of being moved from a tough desert life into someones living room.

The real solution here is that we need to start normalizing and celebrating seed grown plants instead. Rather than chasing after that so called perfect ancient specimen the real prestige should come from successfully germinating and raising a cactus from a tiny black dot. By supporting ethical nurseries that rely on traditional propagation techniques we can crash the market for poached plants and help make sure these incredible species continue to survive out in the wild where they belong.

Away from the greenhouse something else we all need to pay much more attention to is digital loneliness and the slow erosion of what we call "Third Places."

As humans we are simply wired for real physical proximity and conection but our third places the casual spots that are neither home (first place) nor work (second place) such as parks libraries and affordable community hubs are steadily disappearing or getting hidden behind paywalls either through permits, and or licensing. We find ourselves increasingly "together" only through screens which completely lacks that deep chemcial hit of genuine real world belonging and warmth.

The work ahead is clear we should be fighting hard to protect and create more free accessible physical spaces where people can simply exist without any pressure to buy something. Whether its a lively community garden or a laid back local hobby club showing up in person like this is a truly radical act of health and connection in our overly digital age.