Doug Tallamy has written a number of fantastic books. ‘Bringing Nature Home‘ is the book that set me on this course. The following are a few quotes from him.
“Another misconception is that we don’t need to worry about the local supply of insects because insects are everywhere all the time. If this is true, where do all those insects come from and what do they eat? Do they just appear out of nowhere? Is Aristotle’s theory of spontaneous generation alive and well in our popular culture? I hope not. The fact is that all insects, every last one of them, are produced directly or indirectly by plants. They either eat some plant part, or they eat another animal that ate some plant part. What follows logically, then, is that when we reduce the amount of plants in any given place, we reduce the diversity and abundance of insects. Alarming headlines from around the world are reminding us of the critical linkage between plants and insects; we have removed more than half of the forests on earth and, not surprisingly, insect populations have declined globally by at least 45% since 1979”
― Douglas W. Tallamy, The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees
The link between insects and birds is irrefutable. If we get rid of places where insects thrive with development and introducing plants that the native insects ignore, you have a crash in bird populations.
“…humans now occupy or have seriously altered nearly all of the spaces outside our parks and preserves. Each of us carries an inherent responsibility to preserve the quality of earth’s ecosystems. When we leave the responsibility to a few experts (none of whom hold political office), the rest of us remain largely ignorant of earth stewardship and how to practice it. The conservation of Earth’s resources, including its living biological systems, must become part of the everyday culture of us all, worldwide.”
― Douglas W. Tallamy, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard
“Restrict turf to wide paths that guide pedestrians through your landscape, that draw the eye to a featured aspect of your design, or that define beds, tree groves, or various hardscapes as being purposeful and cared for. In their 2015 book, Planting in a Post-Wild World, Thomas Rainer and Claudia West suggest that we think of lawn as an area rug, not wall-to-wall carpeting. Superb advice!”
― Douglas W. Tallamy, Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard