We are nature’s best hope for restoring biodiversity!
We had the pleasure of hosting renowned professor, entomologist and author Doug Tallamy to celebrate the FOBHNP’s 20th anniversary. Doug stresses that the ability to restore biodiversity is in our hands. He’s created a grassroots call to action to regenerate biodiversity and ecosystem function by planting native plants and creating new ecological networks.
“The western settler mindset was “I have rights.” The mindset of indigenous people is “I have obligations.””
“The good news is we can save our insects, our birds and nature itself...but we will have to change the way we landscape to do it.”
Call to Action - How You Can Help
Plant choice matters! Pick host plants that insects can eat, develop and reproduce on.
Shrink your lawn and replace it with pollinator gardens.
Plant keystone plants (to find keystone plants in your area visit www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/About/Native-Plants/keystone-plants-by-ecoregion).
Oaks support 557 species of caterpillars in the mid-Atlantic and over 950 species nationwide.
Reduce light pollution (light pollution at night is one of the greatest causes of insect decline).
If you can’t turn off your lights place them on motion sensors and switch the bulb to yellow LED.
Avoid spraying for mosquitoes.
As an alternative, fill a bucket full of water add a handful of straw/hay and let it ferment. This will attract mosquitoes that want to lay eggs. Get Mosquito Dunk from the hardware store and add it to your bucket to kill the mosquito larvae.
Develop landscapes that let caterpillars complete their development.
94% of the species pupate in the soil. They complete growing on the tree and then drop to the ground to pupate underground or in the leaf litter under the tree. Plant native plants around the bases of trees allowing them to safely dig their way into the soft soil.
You don’t have to remove all non-native plants from your yard. It is not the presence of non-native plants that destroys food webs. It’s the absence of native plants.