As a child, I was in constant wonder of the natural world around me. As kids, we played in the creeks with turtles, roamed the fields to find mice, voles and rabbits peaking from their holes, and wondered at the butterflies and bees everywhere. These experiences should be available for generations to come; yet, over the past 40 years, we have seen 60% of wildlife disappear worldwide due to habitat loss, fragmentation of habitat, and general pressures on the wild populations from human activities.
Even so, wildlife is amazingly resilient! Given only a few weeks, an untouched area will begin to regrow and wildlife will return. We can each do the simplest of things to lend wildlife a hand and help to preserve, protect and support all creatures! While some people may be discouraged from helping wildlife because of the lack of outdoor space at their home, whether you live in an apartment, condo, or house, you can help create a safe and healthy place for wildlife.
Male painted bunting eating salvia seeds in pollinator garden-photo by Kristen Hoss
Wildlife Wonderland: Attracting beautiful wildlife is a recipe with 3 simple ingredients; 1) food, 2) water, and 3) shelter. No matter how small your space, a flower box, pot, or side yard can provide critical habitat.
Munch Munch! Provide food for wildlife by planting native plants that critters like to nibble on. False Mastic and Cocoplum are Florida natives that not only provide food for wildlife but people can eat the fruits too. For birds, you can scatter a handful of seeds every day. Corn and sunflower seeds are a favorite of most wildlife.
Sip Sip! Keep shallow pools of water outside (bird bath or dish of water). Birds, bees, and wildlife will all appreciate the fresh water. To avoid mosquitos, you can buy a wildlife friendly mosquito larvicide tablet or simply replace the water once a week.
Zzzzzz! Provide shelter for critters. This keeps them away from your home, while also offering them a safe place to snooze. Piles of logs or brush, bushes that are low to the ground, and bird and bee houses all provide necessary shelter and safety. If you have a dead tree or palm in your yard, secure it and leave it standing, all but 1 of our native woodpeckers NEED dead trees to nest in.
Create a Pollinator Paradise: Pollination helps at least 30 percent of the world's crops and 90 percent of our wild plants to thrive. Due to increased use of weed killers and herbicides, such as RoundUp, as well as the planting of seeds treated with neonicotinoids known to kill bugs (including pollinators), farmers and home owners alike unknowingly contributed to the butterfly and bee population crash. Pollinator populations have declined at an alarming rate of 69% on average, not only in the US, but abroad as well. While it claims to be non-harmful to wildlife, recent studies of RoundUp have found that it kills the helpful bacteria in bees digestive tracts, causing premature death to the bees, and the herbicide now contaminates almost every open space in the US. When using herbicides to kill ‘weeds’ in our yards and crops, we also kill plants such as milkweed and dandelions which key food sources for these friendly pollinators. Finally as lawns and housing developments replace grasslands and prairies, pollinators have to travel further than ever to find the plants they feed upon and that their offspring rely upon.
Yum Yum! You can provide pollinators easy access to food by planting native flowers in pots or your yard. Add some milkweed which have beautiful bright blooms and help the Monarchs with food and a place for their young. Or add corky stem passion vine to provide food for our state bird, the mockingbird, or our butterfly, the Zebra Heliconia, and 3 of it’s friends!
Au-Natural! If you have a lawn, avoid pesticides and weed killers. Consider using vinegar straight on weeds and pest nests (such as ants holes) instead. If you have a lawn, allow native flowers such as clover and dandelion to grow. These flowers provide an early and critical spring food source for bees and other pollinators.
Hum Hum! To attract hummingbirds, choose plants like Firebush or speak to staff at a local nursery about other native options that provide food and shelter to local wildlife.
Bitty Buzz! If you are tight on space, creating a pollinator garden in a pot is a great alternative. Choose your favorite butterfly host plants and add them all to a large pot. As they grow, multiple species of butterflies, bees, and other critters will be attracted to your mini garden!
Restoring habitat and helping out wildlife is more important now than ever before, and no matter your space, you can make a difference. The key is to get creative and passionate, and the wildlife will follow!
Great egret perched on vegetation restored on canal bank-photo by Kristen Hoss
Want to certify your yard as wildlife friendly? Check out National Wildlife Federation’s certification program at https://www.nwf.org/Garden-for-Wildlife/Certify. Certifying your yard helps to spread the word!
To learn more about the importance of pollination, habitat restoration, or creating your own pollinator garden, register for one of our many programs (like Beans and Butterflies!) or contact Youth Environmental Alliance at info@yeafrog.org. Visit our Take Action page at yeafrog.org to volunteer or give back to our mission of restoring wildlife habitat to Florida native species and spreading the word through environmental education programming.
By: The Team at Youth Environmental Alliance
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