Part 3: At-Home Conservation

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.

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Read the article at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/national/home/?cid=STELPRDB1186046.

9 Ways You Can Help Bees and Other Pollinators At Home

In 2015, the White House released new strategies to boost the insects so crucial to our food supply. Here's how you can do your part to support pollinators at home.

BY JENNIFER S. HOLLAND

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

PUBLISHED MAY 24, 2015

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If you like to eat, you can thank insects—in particular, pollinators such as honeybees, which provide much of the U.S. food supply. Sadly, pollinators in the United States have been in crisis for more than a decade.

Beekeepers continue to report major hive losses each year, while many native bees and other pollinating insects are likely in steep decline—for a host of reasons. This week the White House weighed in on how to make things better, releasing a new National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. (Related: "Obama Unveils Plan to Reverse Alarming Decline of Honeybees.")

Meanwhile, are there things the rest of us can do to help relieve pollinators' plight?

Absolutely, says Ed Spevak, curator of invertebrates and director of the Center for Native Pollinator Conservation at the St. Louis Zoo in Missouri. He talked to National Geographic about the best ways regular folks with lawns and gardens, wherever they live, can help the birds and the bees (and the butterflies).  

Go Native

Choose native plants in a variety of shapes and colors to encourage diversity. Remember that native wildflowers will be better adapted to your climate than exotics. And one size doesn't fit all: There are over 4,000 bee species in North America (some 20,000 worldwide) ranging from two millimeters to an inch (2.5 centimeters) long, so blossoms should vary in species and size, too. (Read "Quest for a Superbee" in National Geographic magazine.)

Keep It Blooming

Among your native plants, make sure something is blooming each season (spring, summer, and fall). Some bee species are active all year, others only in April and May, still others in July and August, and all need to feed regardless of the date.

Save the Queen

Newly emerging bumblebee queens need spring-blooming flowers, shrubs, and trees. Bumblebees, unlike, honeybees, have an annual cycle. New queens are born in the fall, and after breeding they find a place to hibernate for the winter. When the insects emerge in spring, they need nectar and pollen sources—or they can't start their colonies. (See beautiful, intimate portraits of bees.)

Plant Milkweed

Adding milkweed to your garden provides food for monarch butterfly caterpillars, but don’t forget nectar sources for the adults, such as flowers that bloom in late summer. Adults get especially hungry in the fall as they head south to their overwintering sites in Mexico.

Save Money on Mulch

Leave a little bare ground. Most species of bees are solitary, and some 70 percent of them dig a nest in the ground to raise their young—something they can't do if mulch is in the way (Read more about creating a sustainable home and garden.)

Bret Adee opens a beehive in Lost Hills, California, home to Adee Honey Farms, the world's largest commercial beekeeping operation.

Offer Bee Real Estate

Install a bee block or bee hotel, which are available online or at some garden stores. (Or, build one yourself.) You could also drill holes of varying sizes in a dead tree that's still standing (if beetles haven't done it for you). This offers habitat to the many bee species that nest in pre-existing holes.

Make a Border

By bordering your fruits and vegetables with native flowers, you'll improve pollination of your crops and also support bees when the crops stop blooming. It will also attract and support other pollinators such as wasps and hover flies that control crop pests. (See National Geographic's list of the world's top 10 gardens.)

Go Easy on the Chemicals

Pesticides can affect more than pests. Adding plants that draw natural pest-eaters (see above) and "companion planting"—including plants that naturally repel pests, such as garlic for aphids and basil for tomatoes—are good strategies to reduce chemical needs, according to organic gardeners. Maintaining healthy soil to keep plants' immune systems strong can also help.

Get Involved

Learn more about organizations that support pollinators and their habitats, such as Pollinator Partnership or the Honeybee Health Coalition. You can also participate in citizen-science programs for pollinators such as Bumble Bee Watch (Xerces Society), The Great Sunflower Project (San Francisco State University), Fourth of July Butterfly Count (North American Butterfly Association), and the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project (Monarch Watch).

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Read the article at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/150524-bees-pollinators-animals-science-gardens-plants.

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