The Homegrown National Park movement calls on individuals to restore native habitats one yard at a time

Golden currant

Bloom burg: Native plants in your garden can keep native species flourishing. Photo by Hans Braxmeier/Pixabay

By Sue Kusch. July 1, 2021. In 1987, E.O. Wilson called for the conservation of “the little things that run the earth.”

The famed ecologist and author reminded us that while we need invertebrates, they don’t need us. If they were to disappear from the planet, the human species would have only months left on the earth.

More than three decades later, daily reports of environmental degradation, ecosystem destruction and disappearance of “the little things that run the earth” have become overwhelming and can cause a deep sense of helplessness.

What can one individual possibly do?

Plenty, according to Dr. Doug Tallamy, a University of Delaware professor of entomology and wildlife ecology. And you don’t even have to leave your home to contribute.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Native plants require no pesticides or fertilizers and need little watering once established.[/perfectpullquote]

We can start by joining a collective movement called the Homegrown National Park, which focuses on restoring biodiversity by introducing native plants to home gardens.

The term “native” is typically applied to plants that have developed within an ecosystem or region for hundreds or thousands of years—in North America that means prior to European colonization.

MORE: How non-native plants fuel wildfires, degrade ecosystems

But Tallamy offers a more specific and now critically important use of the term: in the context of the modern crisis “native” describes a plant’s function and role within an ecological system. How many specialized relationships with other species does it have? How has it adapted over the years to climate, soil, diseases and predators?

The Homegrown National Park call-to-action starts with three strategies to create landscapes that support native fauna. 

1. Rip out the lawn

Across the United States, turf grass has replaced 40 million acres of diverse native plant communities.

And we’re adding 500 square miles each year.

Mower man by Thomas Hawk CC

Big waste: Lawn care is increasingly seen as a pointless exercise. Photo by Thomas Hawk/CC

Tallamy describes the American lawn as an ecological wasteland, offering little food and shelter for insects, birds and butterflies.

The impacts of our lawn obsession are staggering.

  • Irrigation for U.S. landscapes, which consists of mostly non-native turf grass and ornamental plants, consumes 8 billion gallons of water daily.
  • U.S. homeowners use the same amount of fertilizer on their lawns as the nation’s industrial agriculture operations.
  • Almost half the chemicals promoted by the American lawn-care industry are banned in other countries because they’re rated as carcinogens.
  • Pesticides and fertilizers can seep into private and public wells.
  • The production of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers and use of gasoline-powered lawn-care equipment produces a large amount of greenhouse gases.

2. Stop using pesticides and herbicides

While the collapse of honeybees and rapid decline of Monarch butterfly populations make headlines, they represent only two of many species struggling with toxic landscapes throughout North America.

Goldenrod

Hot rod: A late-season bloomer, goldenrod provides nectar for bees, butterflies and attracts beneficial insects. Photo by Sue Kusch

Pesticides aren’t selective—in addition to killing pests, they can be toxic to insect pollinators, reptiles, amphibians, birds and aquatic organisms.

Recent research indicates species exposed to synthetic pesticides are experiencing significant population declines.

Humans are also affected by pesticides. Thirty common pesticides used on landscapes are linked to a variety of cancers, organ damage, birth defects, reproductive effects, neurotoxicity and endocrine disruption.

In 2020, researchers concluded 44% of farmers, farmworkers and pesticide applicators experience at least one acute pesticide poisoning each year and 11,000 die annually from accidental poisoning.

MORE: Monarchs are disappearing. A native plant holds the key to their recovery

Scott Hoffman Black, executive director of the Portland-based Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, is blunt about the fact that more must be done to restore native habitat.

“Pesticides—especially insecticides—have to be addressed if we are going to solve this problem,” he says. “We use more pesticides now than ever on this planet and they are found almost everywhere. Some USGS research shows more pesticide residue in towns and cities than in agricultural areas.”

3. Restore native ecosystems by planting native plants

Though 14% of U.S. land is protected, our national effort to preserve native landscapes through parks and wilderness designations isn’t enough to support native wildlife. Over 80% of U.S. land is in private ownership, much of it in industrial agriculture and home landscapes.

Beebalm

Native wisdom: As suggested by its name, beebalm attracts native bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Photo by Sue Kusch

Tallamy believes that by creating native ecosystems in our yards we can build diverse biological corridors that support native wildlife.

Most of our home landscape plants come from other continents. Native insects, butterflies, moths and birds overwhelmingly prefer native plants.

Plant choices matter to wildlife because not all food is equal.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Many native plants that provide resources for all the life in your garden.[/perfectpullquote]

Research on the nutrition of berries—a critical food source for adult birds—of both native and non-native shrubs shows native North American shrubs produce summer berries high in sugars and autumn berries high in fats. Most of the introduced Eurasian plants produce fall berries containing little fat.

Food choice for newly hatched birds is even more important. Caterpillars, the larvae of moths and butterflies, are the preferred baby bird food—soft, packed with protein and fats, and easy to digest, caterpillars are easy to transport and feed to nestlings.

Adding native plants to our yards is key to increasing biodiversity. The good news is gardeners don’t have to go 100% native—mixing native and non-native plants serves the same goal.

For home gardeners, there are several advantages to growing native plants: they require no pesticides and fertilizers, need little watering once established and, when the right plant is planted in the right place, require minimal pruning.

Golden currant by Dan Mullen 2010 photo

Bee keeper: Golden currant. Photo by Dan Mullen/CC

Drew Merritt, co-owner of Humble Roots Nursery in Mosier, Oregon, describes how one native species supports wildlife in a garden.

“Gold currant (Ribes aureum) flowers in spring, typically in the beginning of April, providing a source of nectar and pollen for newly emerging queen bumblebees and other insects,” he says. Gold currant is also a favorite of hummingbirds.

MORE: Invasive plant species are decimating Oregon’s rangeland

When ripe in July, the berries are delicious—if you can get to them before the birds do.

“Cedar Waxwings and Grosbeaks are usually the first to find them,” Merritt says. “The dense branching habit provides exceptional cover for birds.”

Golden currant is a hardy, drought tolerant mid-sized shrub that loves hot, sunny places. It’s one of the many native plants that provide resources for all the life in your garden.

Half measure OK

“I would rate (preserving biodiversity) right up there with climate change,” says Tallamy. “An intolerably hot and erratic climate will destroy the species that run the ecosystems we depend on, but so will the wanton destruction of those ecosystems and their species by humans who think that healthy natural systems are optional.”

E.O. Wilson has created the Half-Earth Project to conserve half the planet’s land and sea to safeguard the bulk of biodiversity—including humanity.

Why half? Wilson explains here.

“Unless humanity learns a great deal more about global biodiversity and moves quickly to protect it,” Wilson warns, “we will soon lose most of the species composing life on Earth.”

Sue Kusch is a freelance writer, grower of vegetables, fruits, herbs and native plants. She currently serves as Chair of the Suksdorfia Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society.

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