Protecting Local Wildlife: Small Changes You Can Make to Protect Local Ecosystems
When we think of beneficial animals in our gardens, we normally think first about bees and butterflies. While these animals are absolutely vital, there are many other species that aren’t taken into consideration when we think about biodiversity.
Did you know fireflies are pollinators? What about ladybugs? Or bats? Or moths? What about how birds contribute to the spread of native berry bushes, or how squirrels are the reason millions of trees grow annually? These animals need our help and attention just as much as bees and butterflies do.
Humans have deforested and built over millions of acres of land, land that once belonged to these animals. We have seen record declining populations in bees, butterflies, fireflies, and so many more animals. It’s our jobs to give some of their ecosystems back to them.
No Pesticides
This one is simple and a no brainer. Chemical pesticides are detrimental to each and every animal in your garden. Not only that, but they are harmful to humans as well. Pesticides have lasting effects on the human body, being linked to cancer and birth defects. Why would you want that anywhere near the food you eat, or the yard your children play in?
Chemical pesticides seep into whatever plants they’re sprayed on and into the soil, where it can linger and cause lasting damage. Important microorganisms found in soil can be killed off by the chemicals, and rainwater can wash the pesticides into water supplies.
Instead of spraying plants and causing lasting issues for your garden, your family, and you, try instead planting flowers and herbs that deter pests. That way your garden stays natural and you also benefit from fresh picked herbs and flowers.
Limit Outdoor Lighting
If you are someone who leaves their porch light on all night, consider dropping this habit. Nocturnal animals such as moths, bats, and fireflies can be harmed by these unnatural light sources. Patio lights can disrupt flight patterns and throw off animals with light sensitive eyes. These animals can be harmed by flying into objects, like moths who get stuck bouncing against lightbulbs.
Unless you are going in and out of your house, what is the need for outdoor lights? You don’t just disrupt animals, but you also use up electricity
If you keep lights on as a form of home security, an alternative to normal lightbulbs is to replace them with red bulbs. This allows your patios to still be lit up, but most nocturnal animals can’t see red light and will not react to it.
Leave Leaf Litter
I think most people try and pick up their leaves as soon as autumn hits, but this can harm local ecosystems. Try leaving your leaves until the spring time, giving the animals who hibernate and lay their eggs beneath the leaves time to wake up and to hatch.
If you have the space, think about leaving a small leaf pile in the corner of your yard year round. This provides shelter to salamanders and newts, spiders, pill bugs, and small species of harmless snakes, all animals important for diversifying your garden and creating a healthy ecosystem. Plus, as the leaves decompose over time, it becomes its own compost pile you can add into your garden!
I usually move my leaves as they fall, mulching them and putting them in my garden beds. This allows you to clean up if you absolutely can’t wait for the spring, while also keeping it in your yard for the animals to benefit from. The mulched leaves also protect your plants during the winter, keeping the soil warmer.
When there’s any left over, I normally burn them and keep the wood ash to use as fertilizer in the spring time. It helps the plants in my yard grow larger which, in turn, feeds the animals who reside there.
Plant Stalks are Vital
Just like with leaves, think about leaving plant stalks in place over the fall and winter months. Usually, these stalks are where the plants’ seeds grow from, which will provide food for birds during the harsher months, when food is harder to come by. Insects, like many solitary bee species and butterflies, will also lay their eggs inside the hollow centers. Removing and trashing these stalks can kill the eggs and larva that might be dormant inside.
If you leave these stalks for the spring time, depending on the sturdiness, they can be removed from the ground and used as free plant stakes for vining plants and tomatoes. I tend to do this with my dried sunflower stalks, which work perfectly to get my peas and beans off the ground!
Create Water Sources
All animals need water, especially in the hottest months of the year. Bird baths and bee baths are simple options to keep nature hydrated. If you want to expand further than this, then try creating a small garden pond. This does not have to be something huge, could even just be an old Tupperware container, the crucial part is keeping it filled with native plants and making places for animals to hide, as well as ways for them to climb in and out.
A garden pond not only provides water to birds, bees, and butterflies, it also will attract toads and frogs which will keep mosquitoes and flies at a minimum. Damselflies and dragonflies will also make their homes here in the right conditions. The young of these insects are prolific mosquito consumers.
Consider Night Gardens
Have you ever heard of night gardens? They’re exactly what they sound like: gardens whose flowers bloom at night. There are many flowers that fall in this category, the most common of which are moonflowers and night blooming Jasmin. These plants usually have large, grayish white trumpet-shaped flowers that seem to glow in the moonlight.
These plants attract unique pollinators, ones people normally do not associate with pollinating. Your garden will be visited by moths, beetles, and even bats who like to drink the nectar from these flowers. Attracting these animals will insure your garden is being pollinated at all hours, but will also quell mosquito populations in your area.
Create Tall Grass/Wild Flower Patches
One of the easiest ways to make space for local wildlife is to leave wild patches in your yard. This can either be by having a couple square feet you leave untouched by your lawn mower, or filling a garden bed with nothing but native wildflowers. This is a low to minimal effort way of creating biodiversity within your yard.
In my own garden, I’ve devoted the perimeter of my yard to planting wildflowers. I placed dirt around all four sides of my fence, sprinkled wildflowers on it, and keep it watered. Pollinators love it, both for food and for shelter!
Summary
When we make space for local wildlife, we benefit from the results. Without pollinators, most of the fruits and vegetables we eat would bear no fruit. Most people plant their crops and that’s it, but what if we utilized every part of our yard, making it a sanctuary for local wildlife? Even the smallest yard can make a huge difference in the state of the local biodiversity and environment of your community. Imagine if everyone who reads this implements some of these things into their yard? On our own, it might not seem like much, but all of us working together can make a lasting impact.
