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Help Local Wildlife

Each of us in Branford has an opportunity to create what author Dr. Douglas Tallamy calls a “Homegrown National Park” in our yards and/or by volunteering with local organizations working on open spaces in Branford. There are three specific actions we can start with to help local wildlife, including adding to the Pollinator Pathway project (www.pollinator-pathway.org) by planting native species and reducing the use of pesticides. Native plants are critical to our native insects; 96 percent of birds feed insects to their young.

We can shrink the eco-deserts of our lawns. Yearly, across the country, lawns consume nearly 200 million gallons of gas for mowing and 70 million pounds of pesticides, some of which are carcinogens. Lawn irrigation consumes 30 percent of all water used in the summer in the east.

We can also leave the leaves in the garden beds and under the trees until 50-degree temperatures are reached in early April, so that over-wintering queen bumblebees, butterflies, amphibians, and other animals have departed. Similarly, we should leave the stalks of our native plants since bee larvae can over-winter inside, butterfly chrysalises can anchor on the outside, and birds can eat the seeds.

Your readers can visit several Pollinator Pathway gardens appearing around town, including the Fire Headquarters, Branford High School, Anderson Lookout on Montowese Street, Foote and Foote Riverside parks, and along the Shoreline Greenway Trail behind the Early Learning Center.

Peggy Carpenter

Branford