In recent years, scientists have been reporting an alarming decline in many species of wildlife—such as the “insect apocalypse” that has seen these crucial creatures decline by 75% in the last 50 years, including the collapse of North America’s beloved monarchy butterfly population.
But you can help bolster biodiversity on a local level by taking a few simple actions in your own yard. And there are good reasons for doing so. Insects and grubs found in leaf litter help feed birds, for example, and small mammals like opossums are beneficial, too, notes B. J. Lecrone, a Wildlife Sanctuary Program Ambassador and Virginia Master Naturalist who also serves as an outreach specialist at the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy.
“An opossum can eat 5,000 ticks in a season,” Lecrone said. “So even though you might think that you don’t want opossums, you probably actually do. “People sometimes think of their cultivated gardens and don’t want caterpillars; gardeners of the past wanted plants that were pristine and hadn’t been eaten anywhere. But we’re coming around to realize that the plants that are eaten are giving life so that we can see butterflies and moths, which also are the basis for attracting birds.”
Here are four easy ways to help make your yard more nature-friendly.
Schedule a free Wildlife Sanctuary Program site visit.
The Northern Virginia Bird Alliance’s Wildlife Sanctuary Program was created to help landowners to restore and support nature on their own property and is delivered in Loudoun County in partnership with Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy. Its trained volunteers conduct on-site consultations that can help you foster wildlife species in virtually any green space, from plants on an apartment balcony to a large farm or neighborhood. To arrange a visit, contact Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy at loudounwildlife.org or 703-777-2575.
Add native plants—and get rid of invasive ones.
Native plants are key to helping local wildlife flourish, Lecrone says, “because the native plants co-evolved with the animals and insects that belong here. As we became a global society, all these other plants have been coming in from Asia and other places, and that can mean, for example, that if you’re using imported plants there’s nothing for local caterpillars to feed on.”
Some popular non-native plants can even be toxic to some species. Nandina berries, for example, can be poisonous to waxwing birds who eat them, so it’s important to look for safe alternatives, like New Jersey tea. Other plants, like crepe myrtles, might not be actively harmful but simply provide no value to local species. Also key: spotting and eradicating invasive plants like English Ivy and garlic mustard.
Lecrone also recommends the book “Planting for Wildlife in Northern Virginia,” available from the conservancy’s website and checking out the interactive web tool at novawildlifegarden.net.
Avoid pesticides.
Treating our yards and gardens with pesticides is highly detrimental to biodiversity. Pesticides kill the caterpillars, pollinators, and insects that birds and other species feed on, and they also can kill organisms in the dirt that help keep soil healthy.
Instead, consider alternatives like diatomaceous earth, neem oil, or soap spray—or simply leaving garden plants and lawns untreated.
Put away your rake.
Leaving leaves on the ground is helpful to soil; to the caterpillars, worms and insects who live among the leaves; and to birds who feed on those leaf-litter residents. Decaying leaves also provide nutrients for plants, create mulch, and provide a home for a variety of beneficial insects.
Provide a clean water source.
“If you’re lucky, you live near a stream or a pond, but if not, we recommend using a water source like a bird bath,” Lecrone said. “With that comes the responsibility to keep it clean, too.”
For more tips on nature-friendly gardening, including a helpful graphic of best practices for habitat structure, visit loudounwildlife.org.
Some popular non-native plants can be toxic to some species: nandina berries, for example, can be poisonous to waxwing birds who eat them. It’s important to look for safe alternatives, like New Jersey tea. Other plants, like crepe myrtles, might not be harmful but provide no value to local species.