We had an unexpected visitor the other day that reminded me about diversity.
But before I show you, I wanted to point something out.
Although green building is typically focused on built stuff like your house, the design of your yard and garden with its natural elements have a significant environmental impact too.
Good garden design decisions produce attractive, easy-to-maintain landscaping that protect native plants and animals. It’s true that the greater diversity you have in your garden, the more diverse the birds and animal visitors will be.
Green builders call these yards “Sustainable Sites“.
And if you persuade your neighbors to join you, everybody’s property value will increase. Having a variety of plants and animals increases your Neighborhood’s health and quality. Regional habitats even benefit too.
Here are 5 Key Elements to Attract Diverse Wildlife :
- Landscape with native plants – To provide food for the animal natives.
- Limit use of pesticides and herbicides – To encourage beneficial insects to manage other insect pests and support nontoxic food chains.
- Leave dead trees or logs – To provide shelter for critters.
- Provide fresh water (without breeding mosquitoes) – What animal wants to eat without a drink?
- Control your family pets – Best to keep the cat inside, and let Fido visit the Dog Park.
Which brings me to our unexpected visitor - It was a Great Egret! For fun, I shot this quick video for you. Enjoy!
Great Egret just flew in
(click this video link)