Doing Right for the Backyard Creatures
By Roxanne Paul
National Wildlife Federation
I work for the National Wildlife Federation® in the Certified Wildlife HabitatTM Program. I’d like to tell you a little about what I’ve done in my own backyard, because you may be interested in doing the same thing to green your yard and community.
I have created a mini-sanctuary for wildlife in my yard by providing the four elements that all wildlife need: Food, water, cover and places to raise young. My yard is definitely a work in progress and I am learning as I go.
Water: The first thing I did 10 years ago was to put in a birdbath. You wouldn’t believe how many more birds started coming to my yard, just because of this small step. A few years later, I had a pond installed. I notice that some of the birds prefer the moving water in the pond. Others like the calmer waters of the bird bath.
Food: The next thing I did was to put native plants around the pond. Some of these plants are excellent sources of nectar for pollinators like bees and butterflies. Others have tubular flowers for hummingbirds. I also have a lot of mature holly and dogwood trees in my yard. Both have berries in the winter, which birds and small mammals can use during this leanest time of year.
Cover and Places to Raise Young: All of the trees in my yard provide cover for birds and other animals, as do the evergreen bushes in my front yard and the thick brush in the woods in the back. Birds can also use them for nesting sites
I also try to use as many sustainable (or environmentally-friendly) gardening practices as possible. My rain barrel catches rain water from my roof and I can use it to water my plants. I also mulch my garden beds to conserve water. I don’t use any pesticides in my yard to make it safer for the pollinators, and the fertilizer I use on the lawn is organic dried chicken manure pellets. I have a compost bin where I produce organic fertilizer.
When I have friends over, they are always amazed at the number of birds and butterflies that visit my yard. It’s a good feeling to know that I am helping the wildlife, and also having the pleasure of seeing all these creatures.
In 2003, I applied to have my yard recognized by the National Wildlife Federation as a Certified Wildlife Habitat. I have habitat number 38,605. Now, there are actually over 107,000 Certified Wildlife Habitat sites around the country! If you would like to get your yard certified, click here to learn more.
In addition to getting private yards certified as wildlife habitats, a homeowner’s association can go one step further to green their community by working to get the community certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat. Getting a community certified takes an average of two years and involves working with a team within the community itself. Community Wildlife Habitat certification takes the basic certification to a higher level, requiring that a certain number of homes and common areas (and schools, if they are present in the community) become Certified Wildlife Habitats, in addition to hosting various workshops and community projects.
Currently, there are 27 certified communities in the country and another thirty-five communities working towards certification. If your homeowner’s association is interested in this community-building opportunity, visit www.nwf.org/community. You can also visit www.nwf.org/gardenforwildlife. If you have questions or would like to get started on your registration, call (703) 438-6586.
My Green Community—Ron Smith and a Clean Beach
Ron and Bebs Smith lived and traveled throughout Europe and Asia before moving to Connecticut and settling on Kiawah Island. Ron is a Midwesterner, and Bebs grew up in the Philippines, and each values a clean living environment. In their opin-ion, the model city for cleanliness is Singapore, which they described as “very clean and green.” Singaporeans are proud of their city and “would not dream of throwing a piece of gum on the street,” say the Smiths. Also, Singapore has no mosquito problem because no standing water is allowed to accumulate.
When the Smith family first came to Kiawah on vacation in 1996, they were captivated by the island and by Charleston. Ron and Bebs bought a lot, and when Ron retired in 2004, after 34 years of service with Citi-group, they moved to Kiawah. The family rented until their new house was completed last spring. They considered living in town, nearer to the children’s school and to the College of Charleston where Ron teaches macro-economics, but the family preferred to live on the island.
Shortly after coming to Kiawah, the Smiths were walking on the beach after a storm. “There was so much garbage,” they recall. “Even the kids were aghast.” They began to fill a large garbage bag with the debris from the beach, and it was soon full—mostly of Styrofoam. After this experience, they often brought a trash bag along on their beach walks. They have found Styrofoam to be the most common beach trash; but they’ve also found cans, broken coolers, caps, broken glass and not-quite-empty oilcans. Once they disposed of a ruined beach chair. Unfortunately, they can’t do anything about the pieces of wooden piers they find, so they leave them to disintegrate.
Ron and Bebs must sometimes strongly encourage their three teen-agers to join them on their trash-pickup walks, but they have noticed a benefit. The constructive activity seems to subdue normal teen angst and contribute to happier, more pleasant dispositions.
The Smiths find most trash after winter storms and little in the sum-mer. They suspect boaters generate more trash than summer tour-ists—possibly because limited parking allows tourists to bring to the beach only what they can carry.
Still, the Smiths would like to see more trash cans along the beach. Ron and Bebs encourage everyone to fill a bag occasionally while out enjoying the weather. A little effort can help keep Kiawah Island clean.
My Green Community: Norm Shea and Pond Water Quality
Association staff member Norm Shea, Director of Lakes Manage-ment, thinks that the community has only just started to work on purifying water in its ponds, rivers and creeks.
In the summer of 2006, the South Carolina Oyster Restoration and Enhancement (SCORE) project, a community-based volunteer effort with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, deployed 210 bags of oyster shell on the inter-tidal banks of Bass Creek (across from Willet Pond) on Kiawah Island. Twenty-five volunteers from the com-munity deployed the bags, which weighed more than three tons!
These bags of shells provide a hard surface to which juvenile oysters, called spat, will attach and create new oyster reefs. Oysters provide critical habitat for crabs, fish, shrimp, birds and a host of other animals. An adult oyster can filter 2.5 gallons of water an hour, thus improving the water quality in South Carolina’s estuaries. Oyster beds also act as natural breakwaters to protect adjacent shorelines from erosion.
In 2004, Norm was instrumental in constructing three reefs in commu-nity waterways-again with volunteer help-at nearby Bass Creek to establish oysters and to curb some of the erosion that was occurring in the area. To find out more about SCORE visit http://score.dnr.sc.gov
Norm uses other water purification techniques for the association’s 117 ponds. He controls aquatic plants including duckweed and monostroma algae, but he’s opposed to applying chemicals to remove them. As al-ternatives, he stocks fish, manipulates water salinity and waits for the annual influx of migratory ducks, who are voracious eaters.
As an added measure, Norm also established lakes-edge mowing guidelines. The association used to mow to the water’s edge. Now, mowing stops at least three feet from the bank. Vegetation along the banks-both in and out of the water-grows undisturbed. The elim-ination of wholesale mowing has reduced chemical runoff and in-creased the opportunities for juvenile wading birds to learn to fish.
Planting native grasses at the water’s edge, like Spartina grass, can rebuild eroded areas along pond edges.
For more information about specific management techniques, including erosion control methods using plants, go to http://www.kica.us/PDFs/LandAndLakesSOP.pdf
Norm is proud to be a part of a community where residents are willing to trade the manicured look for a more natural look. Working with na-ture has made Kiowa Island a better place-wildlife is abundant and residents are happy.
Meanwhile, the oysters are thriving on relatively new reef homes. Norm may be reached at Norm.Shea@kica.us
Management Company Adopts Green Building Initiative
In an effort to increase environmental awareness among employees and clients, Legum & Norman has joined the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) as part of the company’s implementation of its Green Initiative program. The USGBC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to transforming the built environment through green building practices so they become more environmentally and socially responsible.
As a member of the USGBC, L&N’s goal is to educate community managers and board members on how to apply environmental friendly practices in their communities. In working toward this goal, L&N’s Consulting and Business Development Department acts as a resource for community managers to provide information to share with client boards, and assist client associations with the implementation of community-based green activities.
The built environment has a profound impact on our natural environment, economy, health and productivity. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, in the United States alone buildings account for:
- 65 percent of electricity consumption
- 36 percent of all energy used
- 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions
- 30 percent of raw materials use
- 30 percent of waste output
- 12 percent of potable water consumption
Legum & Norman recently increased its efforts to incorporate more programs highlighting environmentally friendly practices as part of our regular training program, including presentations by industry service providers and hands-on activities. In recognition of Earth Day 2008, a group of Legum & Norman employees volunteered with the Maryland-National Montgomery County Parks and Planning Commission (M-NMCPPC) to assist with the removal of a non-native, invasive plant that is attacking local parklands’ native plants and trees. Involvement with this kind of activity increases our knowledge of similar circumstances in client communities.
My Green Community: Joan Avioli and Land Conservation
Joan Avioli believes in the power of cooperation to make good things happen. She is the chair of the board of trustees of the Kiawah Island Natural Habitat Conservancy, and she assures that the community and its several organizations understand the import-ance of that common good. Dedicated to keeping Kiawah unique in America through identification, preservation and stewardship of the Island’s natural communities, the Conservancy provides information and conserves undeveloped land.
The Conservancy was es-tablished by community association members in 1997 to preserve natural habitat. Because it’s a chartered, non-profit org-anization, it can act as a land trust. Since its incep-tion, it has preserved 16 properties and 300 acres of pristine barrier island habitat. Land donations, easements and smart land purchases-which provide tax incentives to sellers-have contributed to the Conservancy’s suc-cess. The Town of Kiawah Island has donated $100,000 to the Con-servancy to purchase good habitat each of the last five years. 
The Conservancy has also received unprecedented support from the community association. In 2007, the association’s board of directors made $500,000 in grants available to the Conservancy to purchase land. The association budgeted $575,000 for land acquisition in 2008.
As a member of the Land Trust Alliance, the Conservancy has adopted and subscribes to the Land Trust Standards and Practices as a guide for its organization and operations. To access those standards, go to http://www.lta.org/sp/index.html.
Conservancy staff have mapped the island and supported field studies of the behaviors and needs of wildlife to help them select appropriate properties. “Our mission,” says Joan, “is to acquire key properties and keep them in an undeveloped state in order to preserve maritime forest and good habitat for native and migrating species.” The Con-servancy tries to preserve lots adjacent to ponds, marsh, or com-munity property that is already reserved for native vegetation.
Sharing information with residents sustains support for preservation. The Conservancy publishes a magazine twice a year, Naturally Kiawah, and produces maps, videos and brochures to encourage residents to learn about conservation opportunities on and around their properties. It also provides a maritime forest trail and offers a free lecture series, Conservation Matters monthly from November to May. For more infor-mation about the work of the Conservancy, contact Executive Director, Donna Windham at http://www.kiawahconservancy.org
Working with Nature—and Saving Time and Money
By Jean Schwab and Ginny Fornillo
Organic Materials Management Team
Office of Solid Waste
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Our mission is to help Americans see value in what many consider to be “waste”-that is, how to work with nature in reusing these materials instead of trashing them. Many people don’t realize by doing this they can save both time and money!
We know a lot of people aren’t too excited about waste and organic materials, but that doesn’t dampen our enthusiasm. We love taking about the benefits of landscaping in conjunction with nature. We refer to it as GreenScaping and the benefits of the “4 R’s”: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rebuy.
We know your community association common areas and individual yards are your outdoor homes: fun, beautiful and great spaces for relaxing. By taking care of lawns and gardens properly, you can save money and time-and help the environment. GreenScaping encompasses landscaping practices that can improve the health and appearance of your community’s lawns and gardens while protecting and preserving natural resources. You will find that you’ll save money by eliminating unnecessary water and chemical use and save time by landscaping with plants that require less care.
At the same time, you will be protecting the environment by conserving water supplies, using chemicals properly, and only when necessary to keep waterways and drinking water clean, and by reducing yard waste by recycling yard trimmings into free fertilizer and mulch.
By working with nature, you’ll have a great-looking grounds that are easier to care for, cheaper to maintain and healthier for families, pets, wildlife and the environment.
Visit our website www.epa.gov/GreenScapes to review the five easy steps to start.
