Planting Native SpeciesIf you live in the city or country and have a garden, there’s something that you can do to protect local species. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Mizejewski: It’s really important to plant native plants, even in the middle of the city. I mean, we’re in the middle of Man hattan right now. Because native plants are the plants that wildlife need to survive. We are gobbling up over a million acres of natural habitat every year with human development. Over a million species on this planet are going extinct. So if everybody gets involved by planting natives locally, we can all boost wildlife populations.David Mizejewski is a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation.Mizejewski: Ordinary people can plant beautiful native wildflower. It’s literally as simple as that. Wildlife habitat starts with plants. And those native plants are the plants that the wildlife co-evolved with. They provide food and nesting resources and shelter. So it’s a simple as that. If everybody did that, even one or two native plants, a huge difference for wildlife will be made.I think the easiest thing for people to do when it comes to planting a wildlife garden, is to find one or two native wildflowers or shrubs that have flowers and/or berries. That’s going to feed the pollinators, like the bees and the butterflies. It’s also going to feed the birds. And it really depends on where you live. If you live in the south, I like Bayberry or Wax Myrtle – great fragrant leaves, have beautiful berries. In other parts of the country think about planting things like purple coneflowers – beautiful native wildflowers over much of eastern North America are native. If you’re out west, I would plant something like Showy Milkweed or Narrow-leaf Milkweed. This is the only caterpillar host plant for the monarch butterfly. The western population is down over 99%. If you plant those milkweeds, you’re going to help that species.For more information on planting native species, check out David Mizejewski’s book, “Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife.” I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.
Planting Native Species
There's something we all can do to help protect local animals and plants.
Air Date:07/01/2019
Scientist:
Transcript:
Planting Native SpeciesIf you live in the city or country and have a garden, there's something that you can do to protect local species. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.Mizejewski: It's really important to plant native plants, even in the middle of the city. I mean, we're in the middle of Man hattan right now. Because native plants are the plants that wildlife need to survive. We are gobbling up over a million acres of natural habitat every year with human development. Over a million species on this planet are going extinct. So if everybody gets involved by planting natives locally, we can all boost wildlife populations.David Mizejewski is a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation.Mizejewski: Ordinary people can plant beautiful native wildflower. It's literally as simple as that. Wildlife habitat starts with plants. And those native plants are the plants that the wildlife co-evolved with. They provide food and nesting resources and shelter. So it's a simple as that. If everybody did that, even one or two native plants, a huge difference for wildlife will be made.I think the easiest thing for people to do when it comes to planting a wildlife garden, is to find one or two native wildflowers or shrubs that have flowers and/or berries. That's going to feed the pollinators, like the bees and the butterflies. It's also going to feed the birds. And it really depends on where you live. If you live in the south, I like Bayberry or Wax Myrtle - great fragrant leaves, have beautiful berries. In other parts of the country think about planting things like purple coneflowers - beautiful native wildflowers over much of eastern North America are native. If you're out west, I would plant something like Showy Milkweed or Narrow-leaf Milkweed. This is the only caterpillar host plant for the monarch butterfly. The western population is down over 99%. If you plant those milkweeds, you're going to help that species.For more information on planting native species, check out David Mizejewski's book, "Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife." I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.