Conservation: Habitat In Your Own Yard ~ A New Paradigm Putting Nature First

By Sharon Mammoser

Wander through most neighborhoods and you’ll find squares of perfect green lawns and landscaping around the house with the same handful of beautiful flowers or deer-resistant bushes as the neighbors. Tradition and aesthetics drive the look of our current yards. It’s not on the radar of most people whether their plants came from another country or offer anything to wildlife. And most people are unaware that their grass is contributing to the more than 40 million acres of lawn in our country, or why that’s a problem.

According to the Institute of Environment & Sustainability, “North America has lost three billion breeding adult birds since 1970—a staggering decline that signals an acute ecological crisis.” One reason for this is that 96 percent of our songbirds require insects, and, especially, caterpillars. Entomologist and author of Bringing Nature Home, Doug Tallamy says that one chickadee pair raising five babies needs 6,000-9,000 caterpillars. Safe to say, that’s a lot. Also safe to say, most gardeners are not a fan of caterpillars, and definitely not caterpillars munching on their treasured flowers.

However, a healthy ecosystem starts at the bottom, with insects and other invertebrates, including caterpillars. People don’t want anything to do with bees, wasps, moths or caterpillars, not realizing these critters are essential and play important roles like feeding the birds, controlling pests or pollinating flowers. People mistakenly think of habitat as something that exists elsewhere—not in their own yards.

With a paradigm shift, every homeowner can offer habitat right in their own yards, contributing to the solution rather than the problem, and gaining hours of entertainment in the process. Wouldn’t you love to watch a bluebird family raising babies or witness the magic of fireflies right in your own backyard? Habitat requirements of animals vary, but all need food, water, shelter and space. There’s no reason why we can’t start making decisions that benefit our outdoor neighbors, instead of decisions based on outdated ideas. Imagine the impact if every person in your neighborhood transformed even a third of their outdoor spaces to habitat. You can join the movement called Homegrown National Park, just by adding habitat to your yard.

In rethinking your outdoor spaces, consider the following:

Choose mainly native plants. Native plants support the most wildlife, thrive in their environment and need less care than non-native species. To learn what plants are native to your area, check out HomegrownNationalPark.org.

Eliminate invasive plants. Nurseries offer them and landscapers choose them, but you should refuse them. Burning bush, English ivy, Chinese privet, Bradford pear, nandina, barberry, butterfly bush, multiflora rose, Japanese spiraea, Japanese knotweed and porcelain berry may look pretty, but support few or zero caterpillars and can quickly spread, unchecked, outcompeting native plants that have evolved alongside of pollinators and other wildlife.

Shrink your lawn by adding some “habitat islands” into your green space. Add in a tree or shrub along with some shade-loving plants that create “soft landings” for caterpillars. Create a rock or brush pile. Pick a variety of plants with different shapes, colors, textures, heights and bloom times.

Eliminate harmful pesticides and other chemicals. These kill the insects your habitat needs to thrive.

Choose host plants for caterpillars. Some great ones are milkweed, goldenrod, aster, buttonbush, coneflower, spicebush and passion vine. If you have room, the best plant you can add to your yard is an oak tree. Oak trees support a whopping 557 species of butterflies and moths!

There are many species of native oaks. Find the one that’s right for you at Homegrown National Park’s website.
Offer water, such as a bird bath, fountain or small pond.

Turn off your outdoor lights at night. Animals like fireflies, bats, frogs and birds need darkness.

Leave your leaves on the ground, as many critters need them for part of their life cycle, including firefly larvae.

When safe, leave dead trees standing, and/or offer nesting boxes for cavity-nesting birds like bluebirds and chickadees. Check out NestWatch.org for hole size and placement information.

Allow, and even embrace, imperfection! Chewed leaves, caterpillar poop or mud dauber pipes mean you’re on the right track. Congratulations, you are making a difference!

Photographer and naturalist Sharon Mammoser lives in an “Enchanted Forest” in WNC where she leads blue ghost firefly tours for two weeks every May. You can reach her at NatureForMySoul.com.