No matter what you might call it – Rewilding, Wildscaping, Backyard Habitats, Acts of Restorative Kindness, Native plant habitat gardening, Homegrown National Park, Perfect Earth, 2/3rds for the Birds, Ecological Gardening, or Garden for Wildlife, the concepts of Conservation + Biodiversity + our Gardens wherever they might be is not a new idea, although it is newly imperative in our world.
These three concepts as a perfect trinity go back to at very least 1973, when the National Wildlife Federation kicked off their Garden for Wildlife Program. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of these programs, Cultivating Place is joined this week by Mary Phillips, since 2014 she has been the head of the NFW’s Garden for Wildlife and Certified Wildlife Habitat programs.
In this big anniversary year, the programs are very close to realizing 300,000 cultivated wildlife habitats and gardens.
The NWF's native plant finder and keystone plant profiles, formulated with Dr. Doug Tallamy, can be found here:
In the last few years, the NWF has also introduced the Plant With Purpose Collection, which you can find here: https://gardenforwildlife.com/collections/all-products
Join us!
You can follow the National Wildlife Federations's Garden For Wildlife and Certified Wildlife Habitats work on-line:
And on Instagram: @nationalwildlife/
HERE IS THIS WEEK'S TRANSCRIPT by Doulos Transcription Service:
Images courtesy of Mary Phillips, National Wildlife Federation
IF YOU LIKE THIS PROGAM,
you might also enjoy these Best of CP programs in our archive:
JOIN US again next week, when we continue focusing on the importance of our many kinds of gardened spaces for ensuring that the great diversity of more than human wild lives of this world thrive. We’re celebrating National Pollinator week exploring the many beloved but highly pressured species of native north American bumble bees, in conversation with Leif Richardson, Conservation Biologist, coordination the newest regional Bumble Bee Atlas this time in California with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Listen in!
Speaking of Plants and Place back next week!
Cultivating Place is made possible in part by listeners like you and by generous support from
supporting initiatives that empower women and help preserve the planet through the intersection of environmental advocacy, social justice, and creativity.
Cultivating Place is also made possible through support from
Registration is now open for all Garden Open Days June through August – plan your summer visits! New programs and gardens continue to be added to the 2023 Open Days schedule since the publication of the print Directory! New additions are noted in each Open Day's online listing. Be sure to check back for more additions as the season evolves.
Registration for subsequent Open Days will open approximately two months prior to the Open Day. Be sure to sign up for the Garden Conservancy’s email list and keep an eye on your inbox for these announcements: gardenconservancy.org!
Thinking out loud this week:
When I think about the concept of open days and garden visits alongside the idea of our gardens being crucial spaces of welcome and support for wildlife and biodiversity writ large and then we think about our gardens in their summer fullness – I wonder, who is visiting my garden?
In the early morning, in the midday in the early evening, in the dark of night? Who do I want to have visiting?
There are so many resources on how to extend these open garden invitations to the birds, the bees, the butterflies, the lizards, and frogs and dragonflies and mammals…..what are we waiting for?
Who is visiting your garden? Send us pictures, share anecdotes. Plant and plan for them and that is all the invitation they need – what are any of us waiting for? We all need less lawn, less control, and more liveliness….
Anyone who has listened to me for any length of time at all will know that one of thing that struck me in this conversation was the National Wildlife federation’s coordinating with the gardens and landscapes around places of worship – an joint endeavor with parishes and congregations of all faiths they refer to as sacred grounds.
And I would say, of course, that all of our gardens are sacred grounds – we worship what we love, what we long for, what we envision and value for the future of all the lives we love in, on and with these very sacred grounds – let us never forget or lose sight of the joy of this, the responsibility and pure privilege and being able to live our lives in support of our miraculous plant and animal and ecosystem friends.
WAYS TO SUPPORT CULTIVATING PLACE
Cultivating Place is a co-production of North State Public Radio, a service of Cap Radio, licensed to Chico State Enterprises. Cultivating place is made possible in part listeners just like you through the support button at the top right-hand corner of every page at Cultivating Place.com.
The CP team includes producer and engineer Matt Fidler, with weekly tech and web support from Angel Huracha, and this summer we're joined by communications intern Sheila Stern. We’re based on the traditional and present homelands of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria. Original theme music is by Ma Muse, accompanied by Joe Craven and Sam Bevan.
SHARE the podcast with friends: If you enjoy these conversations about these things we love and which connect us, please share them forward with others. Thank you in advance!
RATE the podcast on iTunes: Or wherever you get your podcast feed: Please submit a ranking and a review of the program on Itunes! To do so follow this link: iTunes Review and Rate (once there, click View In Itunes and go to Ratings and Reviews)
DONATE: Cultivating Place is a listener-supported co-production of North State Public Radio. To make your listener contribution – please click the donate button below. Thank you in advance for your help making these valuable conversations grow.
Or, make checks payable to: Jennifer Jewell - Cultivating Place
and mail to: Cultivating Place
PO Box 37
Durham, CA 95938