I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Evelyn Hadden, author of Beautiful No-Mow Yards: 50 Amazing Lawn Alternatives earlier this week to talk to her about the many different beautiful ways there are to replace our lawns.

“Beautiful No-Mow Yards” by Liz Chevat is a must-read for anyone who’s tired of spending hours mowing the lawn and wants to create a low-maintenance, eco-friendly yard. This book is packed full of practical tips, inspiring photos, and real-life examples of stunning no-mow yards.

The author starts by explaining the benefits of a no-mow yard, including less time spent on lawn maintenance, water conservation, and improved habitat for wildlife. She then goes on to share her expertise on selecting the right plants for your region, designing your yard for beauty and function, and managing weeds and pests in an eco-friendly way.

One of the things I love about this book is that it’s full of ideas for designing a yard that fits your unique style and tastes. Whether you prefer a lush, wildflower meadow or a neat, geometric garden, you’ll find plenty of inspiration in these pages. The author also includes tips for designing yards that are accessible for everyone, regardless of age or mobility.

What’s especially great about “Beautiful No-Mow Yards” is that it’s written in a casual, conversational tone. The author’s love for no-mow yards shines through in every page, and she makes it easy to understand the concepts and techniques she’s sharing.

Now of course, if you are looking at a wide expanse of lawn, it may seem a little daunting because its too big and you dont know where to start. Evelyn Hadden teaches us 5 Easy Ways to Start Reducing Your Lawn.

Evelyn launched this book with an internet event called A Love Letter to Wildlife, and I was proud to participate in that event with so many other writers.

You will learn:

• Why reducing our lawns is so important
• How we can create more wildlife habitat by reducing our lawns
• How to convince Hubby its a good idea to reduce your lawn
• How to overcome the No Lawn stigma and deal with your HOA
• Ideas for many different ways to replace lawn

Youll also learn how to create amazing experiences in the garden for you and your family, how to get your whole family to agree about those places where the lawn can be reduced, how to replace your lawn without spending a lot of money.

When you reduce your lawn and begin creating welcoming habitats for wildlife, you will also be creating beautiful and relaxing places where you and your family can enjoy the wonders of nature around you.

You can find out more about Evelyn Hadden and many other tips for reducing your lawn at her website LessLawn.

Last weekend Debra and I headed out for our weekly birding adventure, this time to visit Blackwater NWR after going to see the winter ducks at Cambridge waterfront on the Choptank River.

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge:

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1933 as a waterfowl sanctuary for birds migrating along the critical migration highway called the Atlantic Flyway. Blackwater Refuge is located on Maryland’s scenic Eastern Shore, which is just 12 miles south of Cambridge, and consists of over 25,000 acres of freshwater impoundments, brackish tidal wetlands, open fields, and mixed evergreen and deciduous forests.

Blackwater Refuge contains one-third of Maryland’s tidal wetlands, which makes it an ecologically important area within the state. These wetlands also provide storm protection to lower Dorchester County, including the town of Cambridge.

Blackwater is currently home to the largest remaining natural population of endangered Delmarva fox squirrels and is also home to the largest breeding population of American bald eagles on the East Coast, north of Florida.

The Refuge has been referred to as the “Everglades of the North,” and has been called one of the “Last Great Places” by the Nature Conservancy.

I’d never been to this wildlife refuge before, and I was looking forward to seeing some hopeful signs of spring after the bitter cold and snowy Polar Vortex winter we’ve endured this year.

We pulled into the visitor’s center and were immediately treated to a flock of thousands of Snow Geese taking off all at once across the impoundment.

After using the facilities and doing a little shopping to support the refuge, we headed out to Wildlife Drive, a 5 mile auto loop with various walking trails to explore on foot.

Our first excitement came almost immediately, when we spotted a muskrat swimming along in the mud-colored water.

And then we observed several muskrat lodges among the grasses in the impoundments.

As we drove along the road by the impoundment, we got great views of an American Coot

And the Tundra Swans have yet to return to their arctic breeding grounds.

But then came some real excitement! My first Osprey of the season. Can it really be possible that spring really will return this year?

Another sign that spring will return, the Great Blue Herons are starting to sport their pretty breeding plumes.

But the major excitement of the day came when we got to watch a Bald Eagle hold off 6 Turkey Vultures as it stole their carrion lunch from them.

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge is an amazing place for birders, and I can’t wait until I get the chance to return again. It’s the kind of place where you will get to observe something new every day.

Sure, I had noticed that the ridge behind the house, Stony Ridge, was covered with dead trees, that the mountain in front of the house, Blue Mountain/Kittatinny Ridge had huge spots that were completely devoid of vegetation, and we had discussed our confusion about why we had not seen any mammals on the ridge (no chipmunks, no squirrels, no deer) but I hadn’t completely connected the dots until the last day. The new, shrubby habitat that was growing on the ridge was actually great for one endangered species, the American Kestrel, whose population has plummeted in recent years. We were blessed every evening by the sight of several Kestrels perched around a shrubby field on the upper tips of the dead trees.

New Jersey Zinc

It seems Palmerton has a checkered past. The town was established in 1898 as a company town for New Jersey Zinc, and named for then president, Stephen S. Palmer. It was located at the junction of the Lehigh River and the Aquashicola Creek to take advantage of this proximity to the anthracite coal being mined just to the north and the zinc mines in Franklin, NJ.

It is evident from the name “Aquashicola” that this land was the home of Native Americans from the Lenni Lenape tribe until the time of European settlement. The taking of this land from the native tribes was the subject of a contentious dispute, called The Walking Purchase, in which the Lenape tribes felt they had been horribly wronged by the European participants.

New Jersey Zinc opened two zinc smelting plants in the town of Palmerton. Although several garment manufacturing plants also came to Palmerton, the zinc plants were the primary employer of the town’s residents. These plants were in operation from 1898 until 1980, when the main plant was shut down because of a poor zinc market and new environmental regulations. The smaller plant continues operations today in a reduced capacity, processing electric arc furnace dust into zinc calcine.

One of the first EPA Superfund Sites

Due to the geography of this site (between two mountain ridges) and a lack of pollution control technology at the time, pollution from these zinc smelters destroyed vegetation on 3,000 acres surrounding the town, much of it on the Kittatinny Ridge at Lehigh Gap. In 1983, the site was designated one of the nation’s first Superfund sites, making it the target of a U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated clean-up. Toxic heavy metals from the smelting contaminated the top 6-8 inches of topsoil, rendering it sterile.

This contamination had a devastating impact, not only on the vegetation, but on salamanders, frogs, toads, birds, and mammals, as well as contaminating the groundwater and local streams. Over 300 homes also had to be decontaminated as part of the clean-up because of high levels of lead and arsenic.

Now, I know at this point you are thinking “what can this possibly have to do with my garden?” And I want to share the hopeful side of this story: the restoration. Keep in mind that the smelter was shut down in 1980, and the deforestation, erosion, and lack of vegetation from the contamination is still in evidence now, 29 years later (remember all those dead trees I noticed).

Hope and Restoration: the Lehigh Gap Nature Center

Beginning in 2002, the Lehigh Gap Nature Center was established and has embarked on an ambitious restoration plan which has three phases: 1) acquire more than 750 acres of land along the Kittatinny Ridge at Lehigh Gap; 2) restore degraded portions of the refuge and manage habitats for maximum biodiversity; and 3) open the Refuge to the public and create a community nature center for environmental education, ecological research, and outdoor recreation.

I’m happy to report that Lehigh Gap Nature Center now owns this land, restoration is under way, and the nature center is being built and will be opening soon. This organization has devoted itself to the ecological restoration and habitat enhancement along this mountain ridge, the protection of this hawk migration corridor (Hawk Mountain Sanctuary and Bake Oven Knob Hawkwatch are located along this ridge), promoting wildlife-friendly habitat gardens, promoting sound land use, providing public education on environmental issues, and advocating preservation of biodiversity.

Using innovative methods of planting, the Nature Center, in partnership with EPA and responsible party Viacom International (now CBS operations), was able to establish native, warm-season, zinc tolerant, prairie grasses on its part of the Superfund site. These methods have been used on most of the other land in the Palmerton Superfund area, which is becoming green again for the first time in 50 years. Research is now under way to study the progression of ecological succession from these prairie grasses to an environment which has re-established fully functioning ecosystem services.

You can view a slideshow of the restoration at the Lehigh Gap Nature Center site. Keep in mind that this restoration is enormously expensive, and the Nature Center is dependent on member contributions. Please support them if you can.

Follow updates of the clean-up at the PA EPA site .

Hope in Your Conservation Garden

The above story is an illustration of human action gone horribly wrong to the environment, but also a story of hope and restoration (albeit enormously expensive). Your Conservation Garden can also become a story of hope and restoration: a giving back to the environment and the wildlife that depends on it.

I’ve been telling stories of Libby (8), Penny (6), and Emmett (3) for several years now, and many of you have remarked about how much you’ve enjoyed watching them grow up.

Libby, age 8, has been passionate about learning more about nature since she was about 4 years old, and often reads one of the Golden Guides nature books as a bedtime story.

On this trip, Libby was using her Mom’s old iPhone’s camera to document our adventure. And today, with Libby’s permission (and her parents), we’re going to take a look at this adventure through her eyes. Teaching young children about the nature in our wildlife gardens, and exploring nature at parks and preserves is one of life’s greatest joys for me. And seeing nature through Libby’s eyes will be a blessing to you, too.

The following photos were all taken by Libby during our adventure at J Heinz Wildlife Refuge.

The Visitor Center Is Really Fun

Snapping Turtle

The Wild Turkey

Fun Shadows

The Educational Signs Are Fun to Read

Our Wildlife List for the Day

Libby’s list of fun stuff we saw:

• Wild Turkey
• Mallard mommy and daddy
• Tree swallow mommy and daddy choosing a nest house
• Robin
• Sparrow
• Dead Turtle
• Live Turtle
• Pigeon Poop

A big tip of my hat to Libby, Penny, and Emmett’s parents
Dean and Mary who have prioritized spending time in nature since Libby was first born. Mary is a pediatrician and Dean is a stay-at-home dad who found a new outdoor or nature adventure every day for these kids to explore.

I am blessed to have watched these kids grow up, and thrilled that Dean and Mary continue to invite us to share their lives.

Teaching kids about nature is one of the best gifts we can give them!

Here’s the story of this adventure through my eyes, Kids Adventures at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

See more of my favorite nature kids:

• Kids and Nature Enliven Your Life
• Sharing Nature With Kids in Winter
• Big Bugs at Morris Arboretum
]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/healing-wounds-to-wildlife-3-habitat-fragmentation.html Wed, 08 Mar 2017 03:19:21 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1991 Ecosystem Gardening is about giving something back to wildlife by healing the wounds caused by human activity in the environment. We can help by creating welcoming habitat for wildlife in our gardens, and when we band together with our neighbors and communities, we can create habitat corridors that give back so much more.

This is part 3 of my series on healing these wounds, and today we’ll be talking about the wound of habitat fragmentation.

Habitat fragmentation endangers wildlife by chopping their available habitat into smaller and smaller pieces, cutting them off from their biological processes.

Many birds are habitat specialists, needing specific habitat elements for their survival. As these habitats are cut into smaller and smaller pieces, many of these birds are now in great danger.

Fortunately, there are things we can do that will help heal the wound of habitat fragmentation.

Protect and restore habitats: Preserving existing habitats and restoring degraded areas can help connect fragmented habitats and provide wildlife with the resources they need to thrive.

Plant native species: Planting native species of trees, shrubs, and wildflowers can help to create new habitats and provide food and shelter for wildlife.

Create wildlife corridors: By planting vegetation in areas between fragmented habitats, wildlife can move more easily between habitats and avoid isolation.

Reduce the use of pesticides: The use of pesticides can reduce the food sources available to wildlife, so reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides can help to create healthier habitats.

Support conservation organizations: Supporting local and national conservation organizations that work to protect and restore habitats can help to ensure that these efforts are sustained over time.

Educate others: By sharing information about the importance of habitat fragmentation and the steps that can be taken to address it, you can help to raise awareness and mobilize others to take action.

By taking these steps and working together, we can help to heal the wounds caused by habitat fragmentation and ensure a healthier and more resilient ecosystem for generations to come.

]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/one-million-gardens.html Wed, 08 Mar 2017 03:16:59 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1989 Here at Ecosystem Gardening we know the value of a garden.

We work to create welcoming habitats for wildlife with native plants. We know that when we all create healthy gardens this helps create healthy ecosystems. And healthy ecosystems create a healthy planet.

We know that native plants support local foodwebs which feed the wildlife and increases biodiversity.

We know that providing opportunities for children to be connected to nature is healthy for them, and teaches them to respect the earth and its creatures. And provides the spark that will produce our next generation of environmentalists, conservationists, and stewards of the earth.

Stewardship is defined as the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care.

The health of our planet has been entrusted to our care. Do you think we’re practicing careful and responsible management? Maybe not so much, but we can learn to do better.

But this cannot happen unless each of us takes responsibility to become a steward of their own little piece of the earth…

]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/growing-nature-loving-kids.html Sat, 18 Feb 2017 01:25:56 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1764 Teaching kids to love nature, and providing lots of experiences in nature, whether in your own wildlife garden or by visiting local parks and nature centers is one of the best gifts you can give them.

The fact is that we will want to protect what we know, and learning about nature and wildlife from a young age will give children a wonderful foundation. And these nature-knowledgeable kids will be our future scientists, naturalists, ornithologists, entomologists, environmentalists, and maybe even a president. Wouldn’t you just love to have a president with a love of nature and a desire to protect it?

My friends and neighbors, Mary and Dean, are fabulous examples of making nature experiences a priority for their 3 children: Libby (8), Penny (6), and Emmett (3). Stay at home dad Dean has actively sought out a wide variety of nature experiences for these kids from the time they were very little.

Every day brings a new outdoor adventure: they go fishing, visit the zoo, play at Morris Arboretum, go to the aquarium, and learn to create their own fun at many local parks.

TV and small-screen time is minimal for these kids, but outdoor playtime, reading, and learning about nature are the norm.

It has been my honor and joy to participate in many of these adventures with them, and such a blessing to watch them grow up…

]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/tree-swallows-return.html Fri, 17 Feb 2017 05:28:56 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1619 Tree Swallows are one of my favorite birds because they are one of the earliest birds to return from their southern wintering grounds. When I see my first Tree Swallow I truly know that the warmer, sunnier days of spring really are coming.
Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) are birds of marshes and open fields, and I often see them over the impoundments at my local wildlife Refuge. They hawk insects from the air, and since there are always lots of insects above the water in these ponds, the swallows have plenty to eat.


Tree Swallows nest in boxes, often in boxes placed out in the water. They will also use tree cavities, but it’s quite easy to attract them to a properly sized nest box.

I really enjoy this time of year when their flashes of iridescent blue sparkle above the water. They are amazing flyers, and I’ve spent a lot of time watching them scoop insects from the air.

They can also be seen chasing down other birds feathers, which they use to line their nests. Maybe they are the originators of the down blanket? When you open a box to clean out last years nests, you will see that they have woven a lot of feathers into each nest, maybe to keep their eggs and nestlings warm, since they return north.

One reason that Tree Swallows are able to return so early and get their nests built and eggs laid before the other swallows return is that they don’t go that far south for the winter, staying in Mexico and Central America as well as the Caribbean, but not venturing very far into South America.

After breeding season, these swallows gather together in large flocks, which can most easily be spotted around dusk as the flock swirls around over the water until all of them have dropped down to roost for the night.

]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/raising-awareness-of-invasive-species.html Fri, 17 Feb 2017 05:19:02 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1612 I don’t think I can say “Happy” Invasive Species Awareness Week, because it’s not really such a happy thing to make people aware of, but it is Invasive Species Awareness Week, so I thought I’d bring it to your attention.

We’ve been having quite a debate about invasive plants here at Ecosystem Gardening, and to all of you who’ve contributed to that discussion, thank you! Keep those comments coming, because I’m going to be writing about that soon.

You may know that I have a hit list where I’m making a list of the worst offenders when it comes to invasive plants. I’d love to know which species are on your “Most Hated Plants” list as well. Leave a comment below to let me know.

I learned a lot about Garlic Mustard from this post at Beautiful Wildlife Garden. The funny thing is, some people are suggesting that this one could be controlled if we all started to eat it. Make some pesto. Add it to a salad. I’m all for that, because that is one really hard plant to get under control.

The thing is, and I know this may seem like an unwinable battle, we all need to educate our friends and neighbors as well as the local nurseries who are still selling these plants.

Education is crucial. Your friends probably don’t know that Burning Bush they just planted is invasive (and the nursery owner may not know it either).

Help your neighbors and friends choose better native alternatives to these invasive plants. Tell them (nicely, of course) how much harm can come from adding these plants to their landscapes.

Even if each of us could only help one person gain awareness of the damage that is caused when these garden plants escape into our natural ecosystems, that would be a good thing. There are a lot of us. Let’s all get to work bringing education and awareness of invasive plants to those that are closest to us!

Who are you going to bring awareness to first?

]]> https://www.ecosystemgardening.com/invasive-plants-beneficial-really.html Fri, 17 Feb 2017 04:47:01 +0000 http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/?p=1579 I asked for your opinions last week about an article that proclaimed that invasive plants can have beneficial ecological impacts. And boy did you have opinions! Thank you for sharing them.

The article was a study of Japanese Honeysuckle in areas of Pennsylvania in October. The short version is that these researchers concluded that since Robins and Catbirds were abundant in these areas, and they eat fruit, then this plant must be good for these birds.

Some of you very astute readers noticed several huge flaws in the premise of this study and were quick to point them out, while others of you defended this position.

Later today I’m going to be interviewing Doug Tallamy about this since some nurseries have chosen to use this very limited “research” to trash his book “Bringing Nature Home” and to proclaim that this study gives them a free pass to continue to sell these plants that are wreaking havoc on natural ecosystems.

I’ll be posting that interview later this week, but before then I want to share with you all what some of you have to say about this. I appreciate your passion about the subject of invasive plants and to those of you involved in the work of ecological restoration, a huge thank you for the tireless and thankless work you do every day.
And stay tuned, because tomorrow I have some really exciting news

The main reaction to this article is very well summed up by Ursula V from Squash’s Garden:
The area around Chernobyl is a wildlife mecca. It’s got scads of species scarce elsewhere in Russia, which survive reasonably well in an area still considered unsuitable for long-term human habitation.

Therefore, nuclear accidents are good for wildlife! Everybody grab a crowbar and head for the power plant, we’re gonna save us some wildlife!

…Or, y’know, that could be a short-sighted conclusion based on observation of a limited number of species making the best of a less than optimal situation, kinda like this article.

Here are some comments from you, my dedicated and passionate readers:

Adrian Ayres Fisher at Ecological Gardening:
One of the problems with trying to conduct scientific experiments out of doors is that while the experimenters are trying to limit observed factors, the overall system is way too complex to take into account all possible influences. Therefore it is very dangerous to arrive at a generalized conclusion.

Furthermore, most conservationists that I know, both volunteer and professional, understand that a.) most landscapes are human-influenced (duh!) and b.) it is impossible to restore landscapes to “pre-settlement” conditions. That term is fraught with political implications anyway, since, of course, there were people here for thousands of years since the glaciers receded, and it’s thanks to their efforts that we have historic prairies and savannas here in Illinois. Out east, the noted travels of botanist William Bartram were not, as he thought, through a howling wilderness, but through a human-managed landscape. Those chestnut tree groves did not occur simply by accident.

Thus, the article’s argument, is something of a straw man anyway, and historically something of a reprise of the USDA offering multiflora rose whips at reduced prices to farmers and wildlife managers–good cover for and game for birds and other game, don’t you know.

Vincent Vizachero at Roland Park Native:
Having now read the original paper by Gleditsch and Carlo, my conclusion is that their research isn’t actually very interesting.

I do agree with Davis on one point, which is that more data is a good thing. However, I also think that folks like Davis (and, apparently, Gleditsch and Carlo) are working so hard to establish their skeptic “cred” that they are taking some very limited observations as the basis for (unfounded) broad conclusions.

For, example, the design of this paper was very narrowly constructed. They looked only at frugivores, only in disturbed habitat, and only in a short window of time (September/October 2009) that was purposely chosen to coincide with peak the fruiting season. In other words their study amounts to the narrowest and briefest of snapshots. These invasive-laden habitats could be the deadliest of ecological traps and the authors wouldn’t have a clue about whether that being the case.
I think this paper may serve as fuel for those people would would prefer – for whatever reason – to try to undermine the anti-invasive movement. All reasonable people will look at the research and probably dismiss it as provocative but poorly conceived and overly narrow.

Scott Hokunson at Blue Heron Landscapes
Thanks for bringing this article to our attention. This article looks solely at one part of the ecosystem (fruit eating birds), which can be troublesome. Without future projections of what the effect of rising populations in fruit eating birds will have on the ecosystem as a whole, we cannot and should not draw conclusions positive or negative. The topic of invasive species and their affect on ecosystems is being rethought in many discussions across the country/world. My first reaction to these discussions has been to recoil with worry, but I am starting to listen to the dialog and the digest the information before reacting. The final conclusion might turn out to be that we cannot reverse the invasive problem, so looking for positives may be our only answer. I do not subscribe to that view as of yet. Next week this topic will be discussed at the ELA conference in Springfield, MA. I will report back on the information shared.

Rachel at Hummingbird Way:
I have heard arguments about the potential benefits of invasives, though not this particular argument. The one I’m familiar with is the idea that invasive plants have a place in urban areas (not natural areas) because some, like Ailanthus altisimma, are able to better withstand tough city conditions like pollutants, road salt, poor soil, sidewalks growing over roots, etc. I don’t buy that argument, and I don’t buy this one, not without a lot more convincing evidence.
The article talks about fruit-eating birds, and mentions robins and catbirds. I like robins and catbirds, but are they really the birds that we should be most worried about? Just based on what I see in my own yard, these still seem to be fairly abundant. It seems to me that some of the less common neo-tropical migrants are the species of greater concern. The summary of this article mentions greater diversity of birds in the area with honeysuckle, but doesn’t mention species other than these two–I assume the original paper does(?)

The argument that holds weight with me is the one made by entomologist Doug Tallamy: that native plants are critical because they support native insects, most of which are specialists rather than generalists and will not feed on non-natives. Insects are critical because they are an important food source for a variety of birds and other animals. So…one article that talks about the value of a particular non-native plant to fruit-eating birds is not convincing to me. The business about the non-native also benefiting a native plant species via facilitation – well that probably would happen with a fruiting native plant, no?

Josh Skolnick at Trillium Native Landscapes:
Fruit-eating birds and fruiting invasive species are only one component of an ecological system. You also have to consider native insects and the birds that depend on them as well. The research data on this contradicts this other study. Invasive shrubs are very poor hosts for native insects. I can’t see how a monoculture of invasive shrubs is good for the long term for all but the few fruit eating species that benefit.

I think the conclusions of the linked article only tell half the story and omit critical data. Plus there are fruiting native shrubs that can be planted to replace the invasive species in order for the birds to benefit.

Virginia Rettig:
This seems to be a growing field. I was in VT a few months ago and came across a book that touted the virtues of invasive plants in the ecosystem (e.g., water filtration). That book seemed to ignore the habitat destruction angle altogether. I’d like to know what this honeysuckle field in Happy Valley was before it was cleared and turned into honeysuckle haven!

Katharine Patterson at Mount Cuba Center:
So strange you would mention this now, Carole. Someone just gave me a copy of “Invasive Plant Medicine: the Ecological Benefits and Healing Abilities of Invasives”, written by an herbalist and accupuncturist in VT (may be the same book, Vir…ginia!) w/ a masters in Chinese medicine. I get the healing properties but it’s hard to wrap my head around statements like “invasives perform an essential ecological function that serves to heal the land” and “restore natural balance and biodiversity to the environment..” It’s been an interesting read.

Sue Sweeney at Scalzi Riverwalk Nature Preserve:
I wonder: who is funding this sudden rash of pro-invasives studies? The one sited above shows the very common generalist birds are doing OK(but dfont they usually?) but what about the birds and other critters that depended on the now-missing native plants and their insects? Nature is way too complex for a study like this to be meaningful without a lot more factors being considered, including the method and timing of removal of the invasives.

Julie Craves, field ecologist at the University of Michigan:
This is also my area of research and although I don’t want to speak for the authors, I think we share a similar philosophy, so I’ll try to sum it up. We aren’t proponents of invasive species. But invaded areas are complex systems that need …to be understood. The bulk of research (and funding) for invasive species research goes to prevention and eradication, with much less towards how wildlife uses non-native species. If we can better understand how these systems work, we can better work to manage the preservation of ecosystem function. There are many disturbed sites in urban areas where invasives will never be eradicated. We need to know how to best evaluate them.

I completely endorse marketing, selling, and planting only natives. My perspective is working in and understanding already invaded and largely unmanaged sites. It’s kind of like you’re the doctor making sure everyone has preventative medicine and stays healthy, and I’m the oncologist!

I’d just like to also thank Carole for her indulgence with all these comments. She’s one of the few people I know who could attract such a great group of people to have this informed and civil conversation!

Ginny Stibolt, author of Sustainable Gardening for Florida:
Interesting that this comes now when Invasives Awareness week starts this Saturday. Florida has the most problems with invasives beause of our warm climate and lots of rain.

Someone wondered why people were part of the problem when it comes to the Australian pines. It’s because groups of people objected to a planned removal of these invasives, so the trees remained where they could have been removed.

Birds love the invasive Chinese tallow tree (imported by Ben Franklin to provide wax for candles). I’m not worried about the birds, but I am worried about our wooded areas.

Ellen Honeycutt:
A nursery in NC just sent out their e-newsletter with a link to this study and the comment: “Finally, if you or your friends have been jumping on the all-native plant bandwagon after reading emotion-wrenching books like Bringing Nature Home, you’ll enjoy this scientific article that cast things in a much different light. ” So I guess this nursery supports invasives …..

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