Nature is in trouble. Bird, insect, and other wildlife populations are in steep decline. Habitats have been fragmented, invasives are pushing out native plants, use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is harming soil and water, and extreme heat, storms, rising sea levels, and wildfires are adding to the destruction. Yet we depend on healthy, diverse ecosystems to cool our neighborhoods, manage stormwater and reduce flooding, and pollinate our food crops—and that is not to mention the benefits of access to nature to our physical and mental health.
We can all play a role in helping to restore these essential ecological services in our urban and suburban landscapes, including those of us with modest garden space. Inspired by Doug Tallamy’s Nature’s Best Hope and Sarah Jayne’s Nature’s Action Guide, our Restoring Nature series offers practical actions to create natural landscapes that will:
- Support wildlife food webs with dense native plants that provide food, shelter, and nesting sites.
- Support pollinators by providing nesting sites and a variety of plants that bloom from early spring to late fall.
- Protect our watershed by replacing lawn with dense plant layers and adding rain gardens where needed to prevent erosion and keep water on our properties.
- Build healthy soil and sequester carbon by leaving leaf litter, branches, snags, and other organic materials to decompose naturally and keeping soil covered with dense plant layers or mulch.
Actions
We will be publishing monthly articles throughout 2026 laying out the following seasonally appropriate action items:
- Design a layered landscape filled with plants
- Cultivate healthy soil
- Identify and add keystone plants
- Choose plants to support pollinators
- Manage mosquitoes without harming pollinators
- Protect wildlife habitat
- Use nontoxic home and yard products
- Remove invasive plants
- Shrink the lawn
- Preserve and protect pupation and nesting sites
- Include water features and protect the watershed
- Build acceptance for nature’s natural look
Most of all, we can share our experiences with friends and neighbors and encourage them to join this movement or join local organizations to help spread the word.
Other Resources
- Caring for Your Native Plants Garden
- Homegrown National Park, MGNV article
- Homegrown National Park, Doug Tallamy’s website
- Nature’s Action Guide
- Sustainable Gardening & Landscaping
- Virginia Cooperative Extension, Creating Inviting Habitats
