Turning Lifeless Commercial Landscapes and Non-Native Gardens into Rich and Vibrant Ecosystems
We can do this! As a community, we can commit
to redefining “nature” as welcome and beautiful,
rather than something we must dominate
and keep at bay.
The Alliance for Cape Fear Trees and NHC Cooperative Extension are launching Nature at Work to shift our urban landscaping from a reliance on grass and invasives to a more sustainable model of landscaping that relies on native plants and trees.
Our modern delight in the “perfect lawn” has robbed our native pollinators of adequate food and habitat, while requiring use of pesticides and irrigation that diminish our biodiversity and degrade our coastal watershed.
Nature at Work is intentionally broad in scope, encouraging everyone to reconsider how they manage their landscapes: business owners, developers, HOAs, government, schools, neighborhoods and communities of faith – each reside on natural spaces that, without this shift, will continue to welcome fewer pollinators, diminish biodiversity and degrade our region’s sustainability.
Even container gardens and gardeners can contribute
with more thoughtful plant choices.
In fact, check out this comprehensive guide produced by the Coastal Landscape Initiative on creating eco-friendly container gardens.
Nature at Work introduces our community to the benefits of native trees and plants and provides resources to support a transition to more sustainable landscaping practices.
Why Natives?
Native plants and trees are those that occur naturally in our region and serve as the foundation of our coastal ecosystem. Our native plants and trees have evolved in tandem with local insects on which birds depend for food. Indeed, there is a mutually dependent relationship between plants, insects and birds that is interrupted with non-native and invasive species.
Not all plants and trees are equal.
A live oak, for example, can sustain thousands (yes!)
of species, including insects, fungi, caterpillars,
birds and mammals. No other species can claim such
astounding impact on biodiversity. But even oaks
must be carefully sourced to assure they are a native variety.
Simply put: for nature-conscious urban design, plant choice matters. By continuing to design our landscapes to meet aesthetic demands, we are overlooking this real and urgent fact: landscapes must meet ecological demands. Plants that are native to our region are nearly always far better at performing their ecological roles than plants which come from somewhere else.
| Doug Tallamy: “In the past, we have asked one thing of our gardens: that they be pretty. Now they have to support life, sequester carbon, feed pollinators and manage water.” |
Let’s Learn Together: Join our community read of Nature’s Best Hope
Nature at Work will officially launch with a community read of Nature’s Best Hope, Dr. Doug Tallamy’s seminal work calling for a grassroots commitment to restoring biodiversity through our individual landscaping practices.
Nature’s Best Hope and its companion version, written for middle-school age readers, are available at Pomegranate Books, Old Books on Front and Barnes & Noble, and at the New Hanover County Public Library.
The library also has e-books and eAudio versions available for download through the Libby app, and Spotify and Audible offer both versions for subscribers.
The New Hanover County Arboretum gift shop is distributing free copies for those with fewer available resources. To register for a free book, click here. Once registered, people may pick up their book at the Arboretum’s gift shop, 6206 Oleander Dr, Monday through Friday, 10 AM to 4 PM. We are grateful to the Friends of the Arboretum for making these free books available – 500 copies of the original version and 500 of the young reader. Those who reserve a free copy are asked to:
1. Commit to finish reading the book by the end of September.
2. Promise to pass the book on to a friend, neighbor or family member.
3. Commit to adopting more native plants and trees in your landscaping.
Local Resources
Unfortunately, most of the landscaping plants sold in local garden stores are non-native. But the Cape Fear Region also has tremendous resources – even garden shops -- to support our collective shift toward putting nature back to work.
The Arboretum and New Hanover County Cooperative Extension
The Arboretum features native gardens and plant specimens to explore the rich variety of plant material. The Extension Service Master Gardener℠ program, Nature at Home, also provides expertise to guide homeowners toward more sustainable and biodiverse landscaping. The Nature at Home website is full of information, links and plant lists.
Native Plant Society
The Annual Native Plant Festival also offers opportunities to learn more and shop for native plants and trees. The Festival is held every September, but resources are available year round.
Coastal Landscapes Initiative
The Coastal Landscapes Initiative, a program of Sea Grant North Carolina, is a collaborative effort to address landscaping at every stage of the process, from planning and design to installation and management. The ultimate goal is to foster coastal landscapes that are beautiful, functional, cost-efficient and environmentally friendly. This is a terrific resource for more information.
Garden Shops
These garden shops offer native plant inventory:
· Pender Pines Garden Center – 20949 Hwy 17, Hampstead, 28443
· Blooms & Branches Garden Center – 5523 Oleander Dr, Wilmington, 28403
· Wild Bird and Garden – 3501 Oleander Dr, Wilmington, 28403
· The Garden Shop on Moss – 1942 Moss St, Wilmington, 28403
· Shelton Herb Farm – 340 Goodman Rd NE, Leland, 28451
What plants and trees are native?
We're so glad you asked. Here are terrific resources to guide your landscaping plans and plant or tree selection.
The Alliance for Cape Fear Trees offers valuable information about trees that are native to our coastal plain along with important information about when and how to plant trees. https://www.allianceforcapefeartrees.com/trees
And, the Extension Master Gardener ℠ Nature at Home page, referenced earlier, includes this specific list of native plants recommended for our area.
Cape Fear Going Green Environmental Book Club
Want to read more? Visit Cape Fear Going Green's Environmental Book Club. The club meets monthly, both virtually and in person at Old Books on Front, downtown. No long term commitment necessary; join when time allows and title intrigues. Having met since 2011, CFGG's reading list, available on the website, is impressive and a great resource for those who want to learn more.
Homegrown National Park
Nature at Work is a project that supports Dr. Tallamy’s nationwide campaign, Homegrown National Park. In his words:
“Our National Parks, no matter how grand in scale, are too small and separated from one another to preserve (native) species to the levels needed. Thus, the concept for Homegrown National Park, a bottom-up call-to-action to restore habitat where we live and work, and to a lesser extent where we farm and graze, extending national parks to our yards and communities.”
Let’s do this together!
We are looking for volunteers for these committees.
Email natureatwork@acftrees.org and we’ll be in touch!
Neighborhood Captains:
Neighborhood Captains will encourage their neighbors to understand the relative ease and undeniable reward that comes from replacing their invasives and (at least some) turf with native plants and trees. Inspiring your neighbors to do this together is where the real joy in Nature at Work happens. We’ll help with materials and conversation starters.
HOA's:
Neighbors are one thing, but if you live in an HOA community, you know there is a lot of shared green space to consider. If you would like to see less grass and more natives, let us know. We’ll work with you to get the conversation started. Also, if your neighborhood is flooding, you need more trees. So, let’s start there.
Communities of Faith:
So many churches are surrounded by swaths of grass and community volunteerism drives their youth groups. If you would like to engage your church or faith community, we can help you get started with materials and a presentation to leadership.
Youth:
We have several young people eager to engage their clubs, schools, scouting troops, friends and neighborhoods. We will also develop specific tasks and activities to allow young people a chance to get their hands dirty. If you are part of a youth organization that you’d like to engage, let us know. And, if you’re a kid who wants to be a part of this exciting campaign, we want to hear from you!
Businesses:
Do you have landscaping that just seems to exist, but doesn’t really make a statement? Would you like landscaping that turns heads and adds value and establishes your leadership in this movement? We’ll help you create a plan that saves water, avoids pesticides, requires less labor, welcomes pollinators and is pretty year-round.
Tree Stewards:
This is an Alliance for Cape Fear Trees program that trains volunteers about basic tree biology and early tree care practices. Those who complete the program help lead volunteer planting teams during the fall and winter. During spring and summer, Tree Stewards assess, prune, mulch, water, stake and monitor a group of trees. Learn more and register your interesthere.
Email and Newsletter
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