Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard
by Douglas W. Tallamy
Rating: 4.0 / 5 · Read · Finished 2021-10-05
Great intro to the “no lawns” philosophy. Substantively changed my opinions on what I should plant.
Main argument: We’ve really destroyed most habitat in the North America. We can get back a lot of the benefits by converting our lawns into native meadow ecosystems.
A little more detailed:
- Dividing habitat nonlinearly hurts populations. Better to join small areas than make each bigger
- Lawns use water, harmful chemical weedkiller, provide no habitat to anything, provide no shade, retain little rainwater, sequester little carbon
- Native plants have evolved for a long time to interact with native animals. Invasive plants provide food to very few native animals. Ecosystems won’t reach a new equilibrium for thousands of generations.
- Insects are a foundational layer in the food web, so the plants you plant should support insects
Other points
- Bringing nature into your yard increases your empathy for nature. Animals become like pets. You can see daily and seasonal patterns you wouldn’t see by visiting parks
- Leaving on bright lights at night kills insects by making it impossible to navigate (insects are a foundational layer in the food web)