Readers of this column understand the urgency behind Operation Pollination. After all, preserving pollinator habitats is self-sustaining. We are working to preserve human food sources and improve public health.
This column also exposes readers to many ways to push back on climate change – so many ways, in fact, that the enormity of the problem and array of solutions can feel overwhelming at times.
In a recent opinion column published by The New York Times, author Margaret Renkl coaxes readers out of the high grass of options to remind them that they can make a difference in their own backyards. The nonprofit Homegrown National Park, which promotes replacing invasive plants with native ones to reduce atmospheric carbon, distilled Renkl’s column into four of her most inspiring quotes, as follows:
“Preventing habitat loss on a global scale is complicated, but converting garden space into a wildlife sanctuary is not.”
“The bumblebees and butterflies will come. So will the songbirds, tree frogs, and box turtles. You’ll be making a visible difference to the struggling natural world.”
“Making a discernible, measurable difference to my wild neighbors is an act of resistance. I may not save zebras and leopards, but I can help zebra swallowtails and giant leopard moths in my own yard.”
“Homegrown National Park inspires the creation of a network of wildlife sanctuaries - one yard, flowerpot, or sidewalk margin at a time - to stem biodiversity loss.”
Can you tend one more flower pot in the new year? Extend your garden plot by a few feet? Think about what that can amount to in a club of 70-plus members.
To learn more about Homegrown National Park, click here: Home - Homegrown National Park - Regenerate Biodiversity
To learn more about the writings and passions of Margaret Renkl, click here: Home - Margaret Renkl
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