Saving Our World One Garden at a Time - By Kathy Weaver

SAVING OUR WORLD ONE GARDEN AT A TIME
Kathy Weaver

For years I took no notice of where my trees, shrubs and flowering plants came from. I obsessed over catalogs that promised huge blooms, unusual colors and easy care. I spent hours fertilizing, applying pesticides and winterizing the beds by removing all leaves, stalks, anything that detracted from the “clean” look I was aiming for.

Upon retiring a few years ago, I decided to take time to learn about plants native to the local ecosystem. To my horror, I realized I was starving the native pollinators and insects by planting species they didn’t recognize as a food source or in which they could not reach the nectar in the flowers. I was killing the overwintering insects by removing all the material they used as a winter home. No caterpillars meant no access to the major food source birds use to raise their young. I was contributing to the collapse of our food chain.

That’s when I decided it was time to do some good work. I started volunteering in the gardens at Rhoneymeade. With a generous contribution from the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society, panativeplantsociety.org, we began focusing on the educational concept that even small gardens around the home can create a substantial beneficial habitat that is badly needed to enable our native insect, bird and animal species to survive and thrive.

We reject the idea that natives are weeds. They are just as beautiful as any exotics, are generally easier to grow if matched to the right conditions, and can be planted for 4-season visual interest and ecological benefit. Pollinators all over the world are in decline as we turn their habitat into concrete and sterile lawns, threatening our global food supply. Food webs would collapse if insects were to disappear, which would result in the extinction of nearly all terrestrial animal life, including humans. This catastrophe is far from inevitable if we take care of the life on our own property. Over 70% of the lower 48 states is privately owned. Remove invasive plants, minimize the use of pesticides and plant natives. It’s okay to start small. Plant an oak tree native to your locale. Here in our area, oak trees serve as host plants for caterpillars of over 500 species of butterflies and moths. We encourage the public to plant native by passionate example and educational hands-on activities. One of our spring projects involves replanting sections of our native Meadow and Rhone House foundation beds with ecotypes native to Centre County.

Keep checking our website, rhoneymeade.org, for open hours and for events in 2022. If you would like to volunteer, please email rhoneymeade@gmail.com. We are inspired by Mary Phillips, National Wildlife Fund Garden for Wildlife Program Director, NWF.org, and the ecologist, Doug Tallamy, homegrownnationalpark.org, as they encourage us to join millions of others across the nation who are stepping up to help save pollinators by eliminating sterile landscapes and “unleashing the wild in our backyards.”

Hope to see you soon!