Part 3: At-Home Conservation
Help our Environment from home.
If you were unable to join us at the Orono Nature Center, that doesn't mean you can not help our Environment. Get out and do some conservation in and outside of your house.
Take a walk through your yard and see what you can do. Instead of pulling Buckthorn, trimming trees, picking up trash, dividing plants, and collecting brush with fellow scouts at the Nature Center, have fun with your family and beautify your yard.
Check your birdhouses, bird feeders, and bird baths to prepare them for the return of your feathered friends.
Dividing Pollinators
One of the activities at Unite for Earth Day 2023 was dividing plants in the pollinator garden near the learning pavilion. (Note: This garden was planted as an Eagle Scout project.) The excess plants will be replanted around the Orono Schools as part of an activity with the Orono School Forestry Committee. You may have plants around your home that need some dividing.
How To Divide Perennials
from How to divide plants: multiply perennials, bulbs and more | Homes & Gardens (homesandgardens.com)
Perennials are some of the most populous plants, and will likely make up a significant proportion of your flower bed ideas.
According to the Royal Horticultural Society(opens in new tab), perennials can be divided successfully at almost any time of year as long as they are kept well-watered afterwards. However, to ensure success, it’s best to do it when the plants are dormant.
Summer-flowering perennials are best divided in the fall, before the harsh winter weather sets in, or from the beginning of spring, when the garden is showing signs of new life. But don't allow the new shoots to become too big.
Spring-flowering perennials, however, are best divided in the summer, once they have faded and begun to grow new roots.
Focus your attention on those that have spread out a lot and are becoming congested, rather than smaller, newer plants.
‘You can tell which ones you need to attend to by the large clumps that are pushing outwards from the ground with fresh young shoots at the edge of the clump,’ says plantswoman Sarah Raven.
To divide clump-forming perennials that have spread out, you can use a garden fork to remove whole sections, without disturbing the rest of the plant – simply cut right down through the roots, and lever out the section.
These sections may need to be further divided down into smaller plants – aim to create clumps that are roughly the size of your fist.
For perennial plants centered around a closer-growing crown, such as hellebores, you will first need to carefully dig up the parent plant, then use a sharp knife to cut away new sections, going between the growth buds. You want clumps with 3-5 good shoots.
Perennials with fibrous roots, such as hostas and heucheras, can usually be separated by hand – you will need to carefully remove them from the soil and then tease the sections apart.
The newly divided plants can either be planted directly into their new positions, or into plant pots.
Enrich the soil with blood, fish and bone, to help the new plants thrive.
Water well until established.
Conservation work has a place in your backyard
Tips from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Services
Article by ByMichelle Banks and Ciji Taylor.
Whether you live in the country, on an average-sized suburban yard, or on a tiny plot in the city you can help protect the environment and add beauty and interest to your surroundings with backyard conservation.
USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service works with farmers and ranchers to make conservation improvements to their land, resulting in cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better habitat for wildlife.
“Conservation work is not just for farmers or ranchers. Anyone can help protect natural resources, whether your place is measured in acres, feet or flower pots,” said Kathy Pendergrass, NRCS plant materials specialist in Oregon.
In celebration of USDA’s conservation month, NRCS experts are sharing tips on how to create a conservation haven in your own backyard.
Planting trees provides homes for wildlife, lower heating and cooling costs, clean air, adds beauty and color, provides shelter from the wind and the sun and improves property values.
Welcome birds, butterflies, beneficial insects, bats and other wildlife to your yard by selecting the right plants. Certain trees, shrubs and flowers – especially those that are native to the area – can give wildlife the perfect food and sanctuary.
“Many people don’t realize how a single bush in their backyard can provide the necessary shelter and food for birds to survive through the winter,” said Jason Keenan, an NRCS wildlife biologist in Mississippi. “Even something as simple as a bird bath and bird feeder can open the opportunities up for our children to view and enjoy wildlife that are not normally seen in our growing urban environment.”
Another good way to invite wildlife to your yard is by creating a small backyard pond. Water provides habitat for birds, butterflies, frogs and fish. Plus, it’s a scenic addition to the yard.
Many yards can support a backyard wetland that benefits you and your community. Letting runoff from your roof, parking area and yard slowly filter through a mini-wetland helps prevent pollution of neighboring creeks and may help prevent flooding.
Wetlands also help recharge underground aquifers and, like the right plants or a pond, provide good homes for wildlife.
“Wetlands are the most efficient multifunctional environmental asset this country has,” said Cindy Neal, NRCS easements and Wetlands Reserve Program and coordinator in Arkansas.
Since all organic matter eventually decomposes, why not spare trash bags and town’s landfill by composting yard and food scraps? Composting, even with a simple compost pile, speeds the process by providing an ideal environment for bacteria and other decomposing micro-organisms.
“The final product, humus or compost, looks and feels like fertile garden soil and is perfect for your garden,” Pendergrass said.
Read the article at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/home/?cid=STELPRDB1186046.
Pulling Buckthorn
Buckthorn is an invasive species of plant which can take over an area and stop other plants and trees from growing. We make an effort during Unite for Earth Day to help take out some of the Buckthorn.
Check around your property and see if you have any that may need to be removed.
We borrow Wood Weed Wrenches from the City of Orono for our event. If you are an Orono, MN resident, you can call the City of Orono and get put on the list to borrow one of their five from them.
Celebrated every year on July 28th, World Nature Conservation Day is a reminder that a healthy environment can only be maintained if we learn to use our natural resources sustainably. By consuming less and conserving more, we can leave behind a healthy planet for future generations.
Check out this article posted on Budget Dumpster by Sara Cifani at
https://www.budgetdumpster.com/blog/world-nature-conservation-day/.