Nature in my Backyard
Robin Schachat and Jane Ellison
You heard about it at our Annual Meeting. Now here’s the scoop!
Nature in my Backyard is a joint pilot program of the Shaker Lakes Garden Club and the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland. We have been working together to develop this program for many months, and it is now in operation! Hurrah!
So WHAT exactly is this program?
It is an education and certification program designed to help you understand the most essential steps to building biodiversity in your backyard. Birds, fireflies, butterflies, ladybugs, and their native friends can once again become regular visitors and residents in your garden. Native plants will return birdsong and fluttering wings to fill your very own yard. Here are the basics:
The Five Cardinal Considerations when you engage with Nature in my Backyard:
Yes, we will show you how to bring life to your home with beautiful flowers, shrubs, and trees that improve biodiversity by feeding birds and pollinators right in your own backyard.
No, you do not have to remove your most beloved non-native plants from your garden. There is always room in the world for your peonies, your English holly, or your Japanese pine tree.
Yes, you can maintain a beautiful, low-impact lawn for your children and pets to play upon – we can show you how.
No, we do not love pesticides. Reducing and even eliminating the use of pesticides will actually benefit your world. The cost/benefit analyses that justify using these are based on research for large agricultural organizations, not for your home.
Yes, you begin by planting a native tree if you have more room than a balcony.
The program is free, and sets forward your actions in easy-to-follow steps to reach the certification of your garden. And if you would like help in taking those steps, you may request the help of a team of experienced gardeners who will come to your home and make suggestions to improve biodiversity in accord with the landscape you desire.
Resources for native plant nurseries, seed sources, books, videos, apps, and field trips are available at the program pages at the website noted above.
You can sign up or read more at https://clevelandaudubon.org/nature-in-my-backyard/.
As experienced gardeners, members of the SLGC are needed as program ambassadors. It is easy! We will train you to identify the most common invasive plant species, and what homeowners might replace them with. We would love to have you join our team in this important endeavor!