WOWTA - benefits of backyard wildlife habitats
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
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Nan Skinner (right) and associates at the 2012 WOWTA tour |
Habitat - A Little Coop and Garden
Host - Leslie Vietmeier
Educators - John Ruby (Diggin' Shoreline and owner of Magic Landscapes) and Nan Skinner
Steward - NanSkinner (Real Estate consultant and Habitat Steward)
By Nan Skinner
As a member of the Where Our Wild Things Are (WOWTA) Wildlife Habitat Tour 2012, I was honored to educate visitors on the benefits of creating and maintaining a wildlife habitat in their own yards. During my research, I discovered that there are also economic benefits as well as recreational, educational, and ecological benefits.
Recreational (Get your kids involved. They will love learning about plants and animals.)
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Places feel more private and relaxing
- Bird watching
- Walking
- Gardening
Educational (Workplace, schoolyard and backyard habitats)
- Bring people and nature together
- Workplace habitats give employees a calm place to take a break
- Provides more area for picnicking, walking, and learning
- Foster relationships between land owners and community
Ecological (We need a healthier planet)
- Land suitable for native plants and animals are healthy for people
- Vegetation filters pollutants, shades, and stabilizes stream banks
- Wetlands help control run-off, prevent erosion, and filter pollutants
- Forests produce oxygen and remove carbon dioxide
Economic Benefits to Homeowners
- Trees increase property values up to 20%
- Decreasing the amount of lawn saves time and money
- Homebuyers value energy conserving landscape and environmentally friendly community features
- Property values near wildlife habitats and refuges are higher and properties are more desirable
- Trees increase property values by $7.1 million, save $6.8 million in energy and $9.1 million in storm-water treatment costs annually – USFS
- #1 green home improvement recommended by REALTORS® is planting native trees and flowers – the foundation of a healthy and beautiful backyard habitat – USFS
Good Ways to Grow Green – National Wildlife Federation
- Plant native shrubs to shade your air conditioner to increase the unit’s efficiency up to 10%
- Plant on the south and west sides of your home
- Replace most of your lawn with regional native plantings
- Document your regional native plantings to impress potential buyers
- Make sure your garden is well-designed
- Consider working with a “green” broker and stager to market your home when it’s time to sell
A few Native Plant ideas from King County
- Big-leaf maple
- Madrone
- Black cap raspberry
- Bleeding heart
- Maidenhair fern
- Hairy honeysuckle
Resources
1 comments:
Love that the gentleman on the left is wearing his Shoreline Farmers Market tshirt!
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