On Bringing Nature Home

In the 28 years I’ve lived in my home I’ve watched the surrounding hills logged acre by acre making way to vineyard land. I used to live out in the country.  Now I say I live in the “wine country” to add a reference point to the location.  To some this is no big deal, but for me losing our forests is a tragic loss of shady walks, natural habitat, and carbon storage.  We shame the loss of tropical rainforests but turn a blind eye to the logging of our own temperate forests.

When this happens nothing is left for wildlife, no corridors for migrating birds for deer, or any of our native species to survive on.  Where do all the creatures go that made those forests home?  Most die.  It’s all for human profit now.  This collateral damage is met with barely a shrug. Add to that the recent catastrophic wildfires in Oregon have left thousands of acres of forest graveyards.  I was heartsick on a recent camping trip to the Cascade Range where we drove through miles of blackened mountains, burnt towns, and majestic forests turned to black matchsticks.  This was once verdant scenery.  Rampant salvage logging is only making matters worse for long-term recovery.

I have written letters to editors, congresspeople, and blogged about the environmental issues at hand but reciprocity to nature is not a concept our culture embraces.  It’s about profit.  There is a total disconnect in our relationship to the earth and the long-term consequences of our consumerism.  We take without giving back and that will be our ultimate demise.  I’ve realized through all this the only real power we have is through our actions and not those of governments or corporations.  This includes our own piece of ground.

So in an act of defiance, I am bringing nature home to my one little acre in Oregon.  I am starting the slow process to convert my land into a tiny nature sanctuary by planting native plants and creating a wildlife friendly habitat.  Until recently I landscaped my yard the way everybody does-by what would look nice.  That meant planting common cultivars from Asia without a thought to what nutrition and cover they would provide to native species including pollinators, butterflies, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

Will this make a difference?  Well to me it does! To future furred and feathered visitors it will, and if enough other homeowners join in it will make a huge difference.  All I know is that when we recently planted a big leaf maple in our yard and planted my overgrown planter barrel by the porch entrance with milkweed, and native wildflowers I felt empowered.  If you would like to join me on my radical gardening journey, tune into my other blog, One Sweet Earth where I will be sharing my process bit by bit.