Tomorrow is Earth Day, a day when people try to make the world a better place by becoming better environmental stewards. Fortunately, you don’t have to travel very far to make a difference.
In fact, you can make a huge difference simply by changing how you approach your very own back yard. Here are four ways to make “Earth Day” every day on your personal property.
1. Use Native Plants
Native plants are low-maintenance because they’ve adapted to our climate and soil. That means they don’t need a lot of fertilizer to survive, and they can generally make do with the water they receive from our skies.
We’re not saying you shouldn’t ever plant a single flower that came from another area of the country. We are saying that increasing the amount of native plants in your yard is a very Earth-friendly thing to do.
2. Make it Bird and Butterfly Friendly
Butterflies are facing extinction, simply because they don’t have anywhere to go. Plant flowers that they like and make sure there’s a water source. You can read more about how to be butterfly friendly here.
A water source is a big deal for birds too. Read our other tips on how to be bird friendly here.
3. Conserve Water
Wisconsin isn’t facing a drought, but that doesn’t mean that conserving water isn’t a good idea. In addition, it’s helpful to try reduce your share of Wisconsin’s storm water runoff.
There are a variety of ways to do this besides the aforementioned native plants. One way would be to start harvesting your rain water so you can use that water to care for your plants. You could also put together a rain garden, which will reduce or eliminate storm water run off while giving you a beautiful garden that you can be proud of.
4. Reduce or eliminate pesticides
Pesticides can be an intense pollutant. Fortunately, if you’ve followed some of the other steps you won’t need them as much. Native plants have developed their own pest-tolerance, and a garden that’s full of birds is a garden that has its own natural pest control.
You can also look into companion planting, which is another natural pest control method.
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