Giving Back to Wildlife: 8 Free Ways to Make a Big Difference

More and more these days animals large and small are facing incredible challenges. Fractured habitat, the necessity of crossing dangerous roads, water shortages, extreme temperatures, exposure to chemicals and poisons (from pesticides, insecticides, etc.) lack of food, and on. The list could take up pages.

There are many things we all can do to help wildlife, and much of those don’t cost a penny. Here are 8:

1. Turn off your outdoor lights at night.

There are numerous posts about the reasons we all need to fight for darkness.It’s something that just doesn’t occur to many people. But outdoor lights that are on all the time negatively impact animals, from fireflies, to moths, birds, frogs, bats and others. And you may not realize this but plants exposed to light at night also suffer. For example, trees exposed to all night lights live shorter lives. It’s SO EASY to just turn your lights off until you need them.

2. Don’t burn your brush.

When branches, trees, and leaves fall to the ground, they will decompose and return a wealth of nutrients back to the soil. It’s Mother Nature’s way of recycling. When you burn your brush, you are sending unnecessary carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and other particulate matter into the atmosphere. And even worse, you are not allowing those organic materials to be returned to the soil, or wildlife to shelter in them. Instead of burning your brush, or hauling it away, rake it up and leave it on the ground in a designated “wild” area. Brush piles are wonderful for all kinds of wildlife.

3. Provide Water.

There are many ways to do this, from bird baths, to ponds, to a simple bucket put outside and filled regularly. Wildlife needs water year-round, and sometimes in nature, with fragmented habitats and highways, parking lots and houses, it’s hard to find. You can make a difference by adding a water source, and it can be a bucket or shallow pan you already own.  

4. Leave those nuts on the ground!

I’m so saddened when I see or hear about people collecting all the nuts in their yards and either throwing them in the trash, or using them all for themselves. You may be tempted to pick up those hickory nuts, black walnuts, acorns and others, but guess what? Many, many animals NEED and depend on those nuts!! It’s easy to leave the nuts for the animals. If you don’t want to leave them where they fall, rake them up and put them in a wild area near your yard.

5. Leave dead trees standing.

(when it’s safe to do so.) Sometimes the dead tree may be too close to your house, too close to your neighbor’s house, or too close to a road or sidewalk, or may pose a hazard. Obviously in those cases, safety should take priority. But when the tree is far away from buildings, consider leaving it standing. Standing dead trees, or snags as they are called, provide habitat for a lot of animals, and are essential in the ecosystem. Many birds like bluebirds are cavity nesters, requiring hollows to raise their babies. Snags actually are more valuable to wildlife than live trees. If it’s not safe to leave the tree standing, consider cutting the top 1/3 off so woodpeckers, cavity nesting birds, and other animals can still use it. Or, if you must, cut it down and create a brush pile with the wood. Many animals will take shelter there.

6. Leave stems standing in the winter.

Many traditional gardeners will cut everything back to the ground in the fall, to get ready for winter, without really having a good reason for this, other than that’s what they’ve always done. But in doing so, many animals will lose a shelter, or food supply. Instead, leave your stems standing through winter.  Birds will feed on the seed heads. Bees can shelter in the hollow stems.  

7. Leave your leaves.

This might be the easiest one of all to do as it requires you to do nothing! Just leave your leaves where they fall. Many animals require fallen leaves as part of their lifecycle including moths, butterflies, fireflies and more. If you can’t leave them where they fall, then rake them up and put them around your trees or in a designated “wild” space in your yard. Don’t shred them first as this too will kill all of the animals that are sheltering in the leaves.

8. Change your attitude.

This might be the easiest and most impactful of all, especially if you go out into the world and share what you’ve learned with everyone you know. We all need to stop thinking of everything as US against them when it comes to wildlife and plants. And we need to allow some wildness, and imperfection in our yards. Neatness doesn’t offer much to wildlife and just because we’ve always done something that way isn’t a good reason to continue doing it that way. I know you’ll help me spread the word that it IS possible to coexist with nature, rather than treat everything as a battle.

Tags: Education, Habitat at Home