featured

Article

Rewilding

What is it? Why do we care?

BY JANICE WILES, OWNER GO NATIVE! PERENNIALS/DOCE LUME FARM PHOTOS BY J. WILES, V. MEYER, J. BOLSTER

ReWilding is the process of turning lawns, farm fields, streambanks, and gardens into functional, beautiful, vibrant eco-systems by replacing invasive and non-native trees, bushes and plants of all types, including turf grass, with native perennial plants that have been here since the last ice age, but were nearly driven to extinction
by agriculture, and sprawling urban and suburban development. The typical American lawn or farm field
is the food equivalent of an interstate truck stop for most self-respecting insects and birds. Take a look at the
average lawn and think about it. If you are a pollinator insect flying around looking for something to eat, a vast
expanse of tightly clipped turf grass is worse than trying to do the weekly grocery shopping at Kwik Fill. Natives, on the other hand, offer an abundance of food, nesting, and breeding sites to declining numbers of
bugs, birds and butterflies. But it doesn’t stop there. Our region’s native plants have co-evolved with insects and other
wildlife since the glaciers receded. If we want to put down resilient plants that can deal with rising temperatures and more extreme rainfall, we should go with candidates that have withstood the test of time And there is more! Perennials protect water quality by covering and holding soil from washing into ditches, creeks
and our lake. Their deep roots, often many feet deep after several years, create millions of tiny vertical drains for water to go down and infiltrate,