As our human population grows and more of our natural landscape is converted by development, we are losing biodiversity, or the variety of life forms, in our ecosystems. Each native animal and plant has a role in the ecosystem, and once removed, the system is disrupted. Biodiversity is what provides us with clean air, clean water, fertile soil, and buffers us against extreme weather events.
Here in Roswell, providing habitat for plants and animals is especially important because of our position along a migratory pathway for birds and some insects. Maintaining wildlife habitat also reduces littering and improves the quality of life for all. We must remember that humans will not be able to survive on this planet alone – it is other species that provide the services that we depend on.
The best way to restore biodiversity is to create habitat and cultivate native plants in our suburban landscape. Turf lawn and non-native ornamental trees create a mostly sterile environment that lacks a diversity of insects. While many people think of insects as pests, they are actually the group of organisms most directly responsible for transferring energy from plants to the upper levels of the food web – namely, us.
Take away native plants, and you take away these vital insects. Every time we plant a non-native ornamental instead of a native plant, we are reducing the amount of food in the ecosystem. As a bonus, native plants are adapted to survive in our clay soils and drought-prone climate. They require less maintenance and watering and can be just as beautiful as ornamental plants.
Our advice is start small! Identify an area of your yard where you could reduce the amount of lawn, install different plants, or enjoy a view from your house or porch. Read about the criteria to create good quality habitat National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife webpage. Next, download this checklist from National Wildlife Federation and take a walk in the area that you want to create or improve habitat to see what criteria you already meet. From there, make a plan and fill out the certification application. There is a lot to learn along the way; check out the resources below relevant to Georgia.
There are many other national and regional habitat certification programs available including Homegrown National Park, Monarchs Across Georgia’s Certified Pollinator Habitat, Georgia Audubon’s Wildlife Sanctuary Program, and Georgia Native Plant Society’s Native Plant Habitat Certification. We suggest starting with National Wildlife Federation because the criteria is simple and your property would count towards Roswell’s Community Wildlife Habitat network.
