And finally, the next time you're worrying about the landscaping in your yard, consider this exotic plants, which are most often found at nurseries, maybe causing more harm than they're worth.

Experts say they can burden the natural habitat and sever the food web for insects and other species.

Instead, more emphasis is now being put on native plants which grow in a region without being planted.

It was the topic of an event by state and federal leaders this week as they look to native plants as one potential weapon in the fight against climate change.

Melissa Rose Cooper has the story.

We're really working hard to bring much of our ecosystem back to the way that it functions best.

And Representative Mikie Sherrill believes native plants are key to making sure New Jersey's ecosystem is healthy.

You have locally adapted ecosystems.

Specific native plants in these local landscaping projects make it so that we have better flood mitigation techniques.

We have fewer invasive species.

The native species here thrive, and it uses less water from our systems.

The congresswoman is now pushing legislation focusing on nature, rehabilitation and flood prevention.

She says native plants are critical to the state's landscape and.

There is currently no U.S. government wide statute requiring federal entities to incorporate native plants in their building and landscaping projects.

And this bill would change that.

Environmental advocates joined Sheryl Thursday at this roundtable discussion, emphasizing the importance of native plants, which are indigenous to a region and exist without being planted.

Native plants are the crux.

Of how we rebuild, rehabilitate and reclaim ecosystems.

Without that, you will not succeed.

And as the state continues to see increased flooding across communities.

Environmental advocates say native plants can help improve the negative effects of climate change.

Especially with the state like New Jersey, where most of our land has been humid after bringing back our native species is actually one of the best solutions that we have in order to have resilience against climate change.

It's flooding.

It's actually native plants.

And I think some of these guys touch upon this.

They have the best adaptability to changing temperatures, change, changing weather, a changing climate, Right.

Those are the plants that are going to resist drastic changes in temperature because they're either native habitat.

Below the ground is where they do a lot of the work that we care about.

So the root systems of native plants tend to be deeper in the soil, holding the soil together better.

They tend to pull more of the pollutants out and absorb them.

They allow for more percolation of stormwater into the soil.

So that is how we're mitigating that flooding issue.

The roundtable discussion comes after Governor Murphy recently vetoed a bill that would have created a team to combat invasive species, instead diverting the task to the State Department of Environmental Protection.

DEP Commissioner Shawn LaTourette confirming work has been underway for years to tackle the issue.

It is incumbent upon us to do that because of our changing climate, because of our need to mitigate.

Flooding and our need to.

Recognize that when we engineer with nature, nature, it's more sustainable, it's cheaper, it's.

More lasting.

There are roughly 2100 native plant species in the Garden State.

Environmental advocates say keeping them protected will ensure a more balanced ecosystem.

For NJ Spotlight News, I'm Melissa Rose Cooper.