Homegrown National Park - Native plants to support biodiversity!

A few weeks ago a friend sent me a link to Homegrown National Park, a site that issues 

A GRASSROOTS CALL-TO-ACTION TO RESTORE BIODIVERSITY
- NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY -

The dream is really an invitation: Restore native plants to our human dominated spaces in order to provide food and shelter for all the creatures in local ecosystems.  

I had never thought about this, but what we grow has a huge impact on  all the diverse creatures - from the micro organisms in the soil to the pollinators, nesting birds, amphibians and mammals that balance our ecosystems.  

This article in Yes! explains all of this much better than I can do here, but the upshot of it is that those of us who are fortunate to have land in our care, have an incredible opportunity (dare I say a responsibility) to be part of the solution.  

A great benefit of spending time and energy restoring biodiversity in your space, however big or small, is that it makes home so much more interesting!  Feeding birds, watching things grow, observing nature close to home is really good for the soul and the environment! 

I'm dreaming about native plantings now, literally, and watching carefully how the birds and insects interact with what is growing in our yard.  We have work to do!  Let's get to it!

Once again, small steps with hope!

If you're interested in reading more about native planting, here are a few sites and resources I've discovered.  If you have more suggestions, please put them in the comments or email me and I can share them here. 

Bringing Nature Home: how you can sustain wildlife with native plants, by Douglas W Tallamy

A video by the David Suzuki Foundation about a project in Toronto that's greening up the city and supporting biodiversity.  Don't let your urban location stop you from exploring these ideas!  Our towns and cities need biodiversity too.

Prairie Originals is a Manitoba business that supplies native plants.

This site provides a nice simple list of native plants for our region, as well as links to some local businesses that supply plants. 


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