Where do you look for food when you’re hungry? You go to a grocery store, restaurant, or your pantry because you know the food will safely provide the nutrition you need. When you need shelter, where do you go? You go to a hospitable environment where you know it can be found.
The creatures around us are no different. They and the native plants have developed together to support each other, so the food and shelter they need are readily available. As we alter our native environment, this is becoming less and less the case. By introducing non-native species, which may even be toxic to native creatures, and by removing the leaves and other vegetal debris in the fall, we are depriving our native creatures of their required food and shelter. But we have choices, and the good news is that we can mitigate much of that damage.
While change is inevitable, it does not have to be environmentally destructive. We can and must learn to become sensitive to how thoughtless change wreaks havoc on our flora and fauna and employ methods that preserve much of this incredible beauty around us.
There are the big steps, like asking developers not to remove all the trees or designate some land for extra greenspace, or to use Best Management Practices (BMPs) during development and construction (e.g., putting construction barriers around mature trees so they’re not damaged by equipment). There are bigger steps that include installing modern sewer systems rather than septic tanks that often don’t work well in our rocky topography. Those leaking septic systems pollute our yards, our creeks and our streams, making them unsafe for all who use them. Even bigger necessary steps will come when the public (that’s us) starts insisting on it.
There are smaller steps that we, as individuals, can take that will collectively make a significant impact. Each of us has a role simply by making good choices for our own yards. The most important choice we can make is to choose native plants for our landscaping. This is becoming less difficult, as our local nurseries are beginning to add more native plants to their inventory, and there are some nurseries selling only native plants. The more we ask for natives, the more we’ll find them in the nurseries.
There are great educational resources including books, websites, and classes. Perhaps the greatest resources are the knowledgeable folks in our community who are members of Wild Ones or Master Gardeners, for example.
If you’re employing a professional landscape designer, ask about (insist upon?) native plants wherever possible.
These may seem like radical ideas. Just think about them for a bit and let them perk, then let’s have a conversation. While that velvety green lawn may seem like perfection, environmentally it’s at best a neutral component in our yards, and at worst a negative that requires fertilizer, water, raking, dethatching, fungicides and insecticides. This involves more money, more time, more work, more resources, more hazards in the soils and creeks, and contributes nothing to the insects, birds and animals that share our environment.
There are ways a lawn can be a positive partner in your yard. Smaller lawns that include plants that feed our pollinators can be an early spring food source. Smaller lawns can accentuate native plantings, draw attention to special features, and provide pathways through a yard. Replacing large lawns with native plantings will provide necessary food and shelter that will help keep our ecosystem healthy.
When many homeowners use native plants in their individual gardens, they help to create a green corridor of linked yards. These green corridors across the community will dramatically improve the survival rates of the marvelous creatures in our environment. In the process, we’ll have yards bursting with colorful plants, butterflies, birds, and more. And we’ll know that we have played a part in protecting this beautiful place we call home.
For further exploring, see the references that are just a drop in the bucket of what’s available. An extensive list would exhaust both of us, but this is enough to get you started.
by Ann Haygood
The creatures around us are no different. They and the native plants have developed together to support each other, so the food and shelter they need are readily available. As we alter our native environment, this is becoming less and less the case. By introducing non-native species, which may even be toxic to native creatures, and by removing the leaves and other vegetal debris in the fall, we are depriving our native creatures of their required food and shelter. But we have choices, and the good news is that we can mitigate much of that damage.
While change is inevitable, it does not have to be environmentally destructive. We can and must learn to become sensitive to how thoughtless change wreaks havoc on our flora and fauna and employ methods that preserve much of this incredible beauty around us.
There are the big steps, like asking developers not to remove all the trees or designate some land for extra greenspace, or to use Best Management Practices (BMPs) during development and construction (e.g., putting construction barriers around mature trees so they’re not damaged by equipment). There are bigger steps that include installing modern sewer systems rather than septic tanks that often don’t work well in our rocky topography. Those leaking septic systems pollute our yards, our creeks and our streams, making them unsafe for all who use them. Even bigger necessary steps will come when the public (that’s us) starts insisting on it.
There are smaller steps that we, as individuals, can take that will collectively make a significant impact. Each of us has a role simply by making good choices for our own yards. The most important choice we can make is to choose native plants for our landscaping. This is becoming less difficult, as our local nurseries are beginning to add more native plants to their inventory, and there are some nurseries selling only native plants. The more we ask for natives, the more we’ll find them in the nurseries.
There are great educational resources including books, websites, and classes. Perhaps the greatest resources are the knowledgeable folks in our community who are members of Wild Ones or Master Gardeners, for example.
If you’re employing a professional landscape designer, ask about (insist upon?) native plants wherever possible.
These may seem like radical ideas. Just think about them for a bit and let them perk, then let’s have a conversation. While that velvety green lawn may seem like perfection, environmentally it’s at best a neutral component in our yards, and at worst a negative that requires fertilizer, water, raking, dethatching, fungicides and insecticides. This involves more money, more time, more work, more resources, more hazards in the soils and creeks, and contributes nothing to the insects, birds and animals that share our environment.
There are ways a lawn can be a positive partner in your yard. Smaller lawns that include plants that feed our pollinators can be an early spring food source. Smaller lawns can accentuate native plantings, draw attention to special features, and provide pathways through a yard. Replacing large lawns with native plantings will provide necessary food and shelter that will help keep our ecosystem healthy.
When many homeowners use native plants in their individual gardens, they help to create a green corridor of linked yards. These green corridors across the community will dramatically improve the survival rates of the marvelous creatures in our environment. In the process, we’ll have yards bursting with colorful plants, butterflies, birds, and more. And we’ll know that we have played a part in protecting this beautiful place we call home.
For further exploring, see the references that are just a drop in the bucket of what’s available. An extensive list would exhaust both of us, but this is enough to get you started.
by Ann Haygood