Everyone As Conservationist - Intro

Sixty or so years ago, Aldo Leopold, wrote the "Farmer as Conservationist" outlining a variety of steps that farmers could take to better support populations of waterfowl and game, noting that other species would benefit as well. In earlier essays Leopold worried over the development of roadways, the loss of wild places, and damage done to watersheds caused by agricultural practices of the time. Leopold could not have imagined the Herculean task which lies before us.

Leopold did not imagine pollinator declines with massive losses in butterfly and bee populations which today threatens our agricultural industry in addition to all flowering plants which rely on pollinators for reproduction. He did not imagine islands of plastic garbage in the oceans nor did he imagine the growing and massive deadzone in Gulf of Mexico. He did not imagine that habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, glass construction, and light pollution would decimate migratory bird populations.

Leopold did however provide an intelligent and thoughtful warning to us. He urged us to develop and use methods to protect watersheds like streams and rivers. He urged us to learn from the tragedy of Horicon Marsh and to restore our wetlands. He encouraged the restoration of wild places. And clearly outlined how man acts as god, wielding the shovel to plant and create or the axe to destroy. He demonstrated for us at his shack near Baraboo how restore to wilderness on private land and how a depleted landscape can be rejuvenated.

Today, we seem to lack a visionary who is able to so boldly call out and describe our own follies and paint a picture of path forward in plain language. Perhaps, Doug Tallamy's books present us with the clearest pictures and evidence of what good we can do. Ultimately Tallamy's work expands on the ideas shared by Leopold and puts the onus on all homeowners and not just farmers to help restore wilderness. Tallamy provides fantastic scientific evidence for the benefits of gardening with native plants. Tallamy's work has been a personal inspiration to me as noted repeatedly on the blog, and this bears repeating here.

The recurring, discouraging news about a climate in crisis can make us feel helpless, but it should instead be seen as a call to action. And if our local, state, or federal government is unable to take action, then it is empowering to know that an individual carrying a shovel holds the power to create. So as Captain Planet said, "The power is yours!"

Future posts will both identify actions you can take at home to help as well share some of our personal successes. The goals will be to tackle issues of water pollution, species declines, and climate change and may be amended to include other or more specific topics. Solutions will include do it yourself projects as well as encourage getting involved in citizen science or environment organizations.

Here are a few links which may help you get started on your journey.

3 Billion Birds.org

National Wildlife Federation - Wildlife Garden Program

Million Pollinator Garden Challenge