The following is an article that was originally published in the pages of our magazine, The Baby Boomer News. If you’re in the Mooresville/Hickory area in North Carolina, you can get the Baby Boomer News at these locations. If you’re not, you can still ‘remember the way we were and celebrate the way we are’ by getting your very own subscription.
Revive Your ‘Inner Hippie’
By Julie Higgie, LNWC Habitat Steward
Remember the ecology movement of the 1960’s and early ‘70’s? Remember when young people longed for a simple life of food, co-ops, organic farming and living in harmony with nature?
Of course you do. You’re a Boomer, after all.
But then, what happened? Our idealistic fantasies were abandoned for a shot at the real world of earning wages and raising families. Well, guess what—your “inner hippie” can again come out to play by creating your own Certified Wildlife Habitat in your very own yard.
Ecology is reincarnated as today’s “Green Movement” and once again folks are focusing on co-ops and organic farming, and thankfully, have added native plants and recycling to the mix of popular—and oftentimes, required—behaviors.
If today’s “sustainable living “ sounds to complicated to tackle, I have a suggestion. Start small by focusing on your own yard to create a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
Also known as Backyard Habitat Certification, this program was founded by the National Wildlife Federation in 1994 to plant the seeds of conservation and to help people realize they can preserve their very own piece of Mother Earth.
A few years ago, the program was changed from a focus on backyards to include businesses, churches, parks and other public areas, and even entire communities. But it’s still the same simple components. And now that the kids are gone and you have all that time on your hands, you can get involved!
A Certified Wildlife Habitat is a place where wildlife can find:
Food: seeds, fruit, insects, nuts flowers| Water: a birdbath, pond, simple (unembellished) water feature, butterly dish, mister, puddles, ditch| Cover: trees, shrubs, wood piles, brush piles, leaves| Places to Raise Young: nesting boxes, trees, shrubs, pond, ditch, rocks
It’s also a place where the landowner uses sustainable gardening practices to maintain those components, such as: Limit use of chemicals-Limit law-grass areas-Compost leaves and plant waste-Favor native plants and trees-Apply mulch to conserve moisture-Now doesn’t that sound easy?
While it might take some work to remove some of your grass—not all of it, I emphasize—and replace it with native shrubs, ground-covering plants and natural materials, you’ll end up spending less time mowing and more time enjoying the butterflies and other wildlife that come to visit.
Also, you will conserve water and discharge fewer fumes into the atmosphere.
Now you can place a comfortable bench in the shade of your native North Carolina Redbud or Flowering Dogwood tree and read “Mother Goose” stories to your grandchildren.
Or, you can add a hot tub to your naturescape and gaze at the stars.
Visit the NWF at www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife to get more tips on attracting wildlife and www.nwf.org/certify to get your Certified Wildlife Habitat application. The low cost of $15 makes you a proud member of the NWF.
While you’re at it, go ahead and buy a yard sign from the federation that proclaims your status to your neighbors. You’ll be doing them and the neighborhood critters a huge favor!
Julie Higgie is a founding member of the Lake Norman Wildlife Conservationists, a chapter of NWF’s state affiliate, the North Carolina Wildlife Federation, LNWC holds free nature programs 7-8:30 p.m. the second Thursday of each month, September through May, at Mooresville Public Library, 304 S. Main St. Contact her at jchiggie@yahoo.com for advice on gardening for wildlife. Visit www.lakenormanwildlife.org for information on LNWC.
