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The park/conservancy by my house has well over a hundred acres of natural prairie, filled with tons of milkweed - which is the only plant that monarch caterpill

The park/conservancy by my house has well over a hundred acres of natural prairie, filled with tons of milkweed - which is the only plant that monarch caterpillars feed on. You would think our little suburban neighborhood would be packed with monarchs, but I can definitely confirm there I see fewer and fewer with every passing year. It's incredibly sad. I feel absolutely defeated every time I think about the decline of various natural species I've seen in my short lifetime so far.

SQueeeeeL 4y ago
Don't feel defeated, feel angry! Read lots of literature, understand the nature of the cause of ecological damage, organize, resist! Sadness and resignation are the ultimate tools of those who seek to exploit the natural world unchecked!
bmitc 4y ago
I've taken it upon myself to turn my own yard and plot into a conservation area (more like restoration though). It is very fun and satisfying. This is my first year of ownership and my first spring, summer, fall season for planting. I didn't do everything I could have but still made some progress. I'll be even more prepared this year. What I did was basically let whatever wanted to grow in the spring grow. Then as it got bigger, I used the app PictureThis to identify the plants and see if they were native, non-native, or invasive. We left a few pretty non-native plants and removed all invasive plants. Then I signed up for a couple native plant societies in my area and attended one of their spring sales, where I purchase around 18 different plants to plant. For the most part, these have done really well (no real surprise given you are planting them in their native soil). I anticipate that once they get situated, they will require basically no maintenance. And since I didn't place down mulch and let last year's mulch deteriorate, several native plant species arose without any action on my parent, including common milkweed, which monarchs love. Some goldenrod (I forget which exact species) popped out of nowhere, and now it is a big party every day for pollinators. It's fun watching all the bumblebees, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, wasps, etc. just go at it, doing their thing. I plan on installing a little library in my front yard and fill it up with so-called propaganda. It's sad, because most of my neighbors have turned their land into lawns, which should be looked at as wastelands. Another simple thing you can do is mow your yard less frequently and let some of the wildflowers come up. These help bees when they can't find other things. I've noticed the bees using them. https://littlefreelibrary.org/ https://littlefreelibrary.org/ https://www.monarchgard.com/ https://www.monarchgard.com/ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist... This is all something we can do today instead of waiting on our governments to do something, which will not happen.

SQueeeeeL 4y ago

Don't feel defeated, feel angry! Read lots of literature, understand the nature of the cause of ecological damage, organize, resist! Sadness and resignation are the ultimate tools of those who seek to exploit the natural world unchecked!

bmitc 4y ago

I've taken it upon myself to turn my own yard and plot into a conservation area (more like restoration though). It is very fun and satisfying. This is my first year of ownership and my first spring, summer, fall season for planting. I didn't do everything I could have but still made some progress. I'll be even more prepared this year. What I did was basically let whatever wanted to grow in the spring grow. Then as it got bigger, I used the app PictureThis to identify the plants and see if they were native, non-native, or invasive. We left a few pretty non-native plants and removed all invasive plants. Then I signed up for a couple native plant societies in my area and attended one of their spring sales, where I purchase around 18 different plants to plant. For the most part, these have done really well (no real surprise given you are planting them in their native soil). I anticipate that once they get situated, they will require basically no maintenance. And since I didn't place down mulch and let last year's mulch deteriorate, several native plant species arose without any action on my parent, including common milkweed, which monarchs love. Some goldenrod (I forget which exact species) popped out of nowhere, and now it is a big party every day for pollinators. It's fun watching all the bumblebees, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, wasps, etc. just go at it, doing their thing. I plan on installing a little library in my front yard and fill it up with so-called propaganda. It's sad, because most of my neighbors have turned their land into lawns, which should be looked at as wastelands. Another simple thing you can do is mow your yard less frequently and let some of the wildflowers come up. These help bees when they can't find other things. I've noticed the bees using them. https://littlefreelibrary.org/ https://littlefreelibrary.org/ https://www.monarchgard.com/ https://www.monarchgard.com/ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ https://homegrownnationalpark.org/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist-who-wants-unleash-wild-backyard-180974372/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-ecologist... This is all something we can do today instead of waiting on our governments to do something, which will not happen.