Saturday, October 10, 2009
Turn your back yard into a wildlife habitat
From the RoundTable blog
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Martha Sawyer
Sawyer, of Christiansburg, is a retired special education teacher. She taught for 30 years in the city of Richmond and Henrico County.
As this fall season begins, I'm thinking about the land underfoot, a topic about which we rarely hear enough in the news.
In a devotional book called "Sacred Journeys," Jan Richardson writes, "May you know the embrace of Earth. May she teach you the wisdom of time: The unfolding of spring, the ripening of summer, the turning of autumn, the shedding of winter."
How many of us can still say we know the turning of autumn -- much less the Earth's embrace? We hurt for the ills of the Earth and our collective part in contributing to its present state. How can we help heal this beleaguered Earth? It can appear to be an overwhelming task if we think in terms of a global assignment.
Every journey, however, begins with the first step, and we can take this first step in an individual way by establishing and maintaining a backyard wildlife habitat. Even though that might sound a bit involved, it is relatively easy, affordable and immensely rewarding.
Food, water, cover and places to raise young are the elements needed for a successful wildlife habitat. The National Wildlife Federation provides excellent information about all of this on its Web site: www.nwf.org/bwh.
As the NWF explains in its brochure, you don't need a large space; you can create a wildlife habitat on an apartment balcony. It doesn't have to be expensive, beautiful or elaborate to be effective.
In fact, one of our hanging suet feeders has been mauled by a black bear and no longer has all of its original parts, but it still works. Your area, wherever it is or however large or small it is, will be naturally beautiful once you provide the items needed to sustain life for the critters and creatures that surround and help sustain us, as well.
Food can grow from native trees, shrubs and other plants that supply berries, acorns and other seeds -- or simple birdfeeders containing a seed mix. Offer water in a birdbath, even a shallow dish or bowl. Cover can be anything that provides protection: shrubs with dense branches, rock piles, brush piles, evergreens or tall grasses.
If you have trees, shrubs or simple birdhouses, you have places for wildlife to raise young. You can start with some bird seed and a large bowl of water and just see what happens. You will be amazed at the response you get from one simple act of conservation, consideration and caring about the part of the Earth that's right outside your door.
My husband and I decided to certify our yard as a backyard wildlife habitat through the NWF. The simple, clear application can be found on the NWF Web site.
To say that we have been rewarded for our efforts is an extreme understatement. We have witnessed the beauty, individuality and uniqueness of all kinds of birds, mammals, butterflies, amphibians, reptiles and insects, many of which I had never seen up close and personal.
Not one of these animals has been a pest. They've been welcome, useful guests. Sound too good to be true? Not so. It happens every day right outside our doors.
It all works together for the good of the Earth and those who dwell therein. God's system really does work, not only for the creatures who benefit from the life-sustaining elements provided by human hands, but also for the humans who do the providing.
Even if intentions are completely altruistic, motivated by that love of the Earth and a determination to have a part in its sustenance, you will be rewarded all the time as you watch all that happens in your wildlife habitat.
None of this may seem like big news these days, in the throes of health care debates, a difficult war, environmental degradation and Virginia political campaigns. But it's just these kinds of under-covered events that sustain our life on Earth.
And you can view this kind of breaking news -- good news, I might add -- each day in your own yard. I promise that any effort you make in creating a habitat for our wild friends will bring this news to your doorstep and will give you a reason to hope.
