~
“Butterflies used to reproduce
on the native plants that grew in our yards
before the plants were bulldozed and replaced with lawn.
To have butterflies in our future,
we need to replace those lost host plants,
no if’s, and’s or but’s.
If we do not, butterfly populations
will continue to decline
with every new house that is built.”
.
~
~
“We were the product and beneficiary
of a vibrant natural world,
rather than its master.”
.
~
~
“Knowledge generates interest,
and interest generates compassion.”
.
~
~
“We can no longer afford
to consider air and water common property,
free to be abused by anyone
without regard to the consequences.
Instead, we should begin now
to treat them as scarce resources,
which we are no more free to contaminate
than we are free to throw garbage
into our neighbor’s yard.”
.
~
~
“Our privately owned land
and the ecosystems upon it are essential
to everyone’s well-being, not just our own.
Abusing land anywhere has negative ramifications
for people everywhere.”
.
~
~
“My point is this:
each of the acres we have developed for specific human goals
is an opportunity to add to Homegrown National Park.
We already are actively managing
nearly all of our privately owned lands
and much of the public spaces in the United States.
We simply need to include ecological function
in our management plans
to keep the sixth mass extinction at bay.”
.
~
~
Photos by Woodland Gnome 2020
.
“Conservation biology . . .
[is] a discipline with a deadline.”
.
E. O. Wilson
~
~
To Learn More (These books should top the reading list of every serious naturalist and gardener…. Woodland Gnome)
Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens by Douglas W. Tallamy
Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy
Forest Garden 