Reforestation: Backyard Habitat Restoration Project 1A

Above is a female mockingbird feeding a skipper caterpiller to a recent fledgling from a nest in our exotic camellia bush. This caterpiller came from our front yard meadow garden which attracts grassland and woodland animals. This is an example of what native plants can bring to our yard.

One of my largest projects that I completed during my teen years was not school related or involved volunteering or a job it was working in my yard. Since my mom told me about the Backyard Habitat show that the National Wildlife Federation did in 2008 when it came on Animal Planet she has always recommended that we create a backyard habitat and certify it. It took several years for my mother to convince me to clear the brush and vines in the backyard and restore the garden. After participating in some Audubon tours and classes at the State Park, learned about invasive plants and how they damage a natural ecosystem. It was disheartening to find out the Wisteria climbing in to the woods and the dense patches of Ivy was a invasive import that has little wildlife benefit and can strangle the native trees in our neighborhood. I also found out the woody growth and the "meadows" in our backyard consisted of exotic privet, buckthorn, Japanese Honeysuckle and Popcorn tree. Our garden once contained native plants, herbs like mints, Prairie Phlox and Gladiola and Irises from my Grandmother's Garden. I wanted to salvage these plants because we inherited house after she passed and I want to preserve a piece of her garden. Our goal was to have no lawn by the end of this process and we slowly converted our front lawn in to a flower beds and meadow gardens. The week after going on summer vacation after completing the tenth grade, me and my mom started clearing out the backyard. I cut down all of the wisteria and treated with bush begone bush killer. We also removed most of the privet, ivy, honeysuckle, all of the buckthrorn and popcorn trees. We also mow the area, cleared the former flowerbeds of exotic grass and shrubs and salvaged all of the native plants and garden survivors. One that weekend we removed 95% of the invasive plants and cleared out four beds. Over the next year we eradicated or reduced the rest of the invasive plants except for the tall glossy privet trees and unwanted sweetgums and maples that sprouted along the fences. As we cleared out the gardens we moved most of the garden plants and wildflowers that were in the way of the tools or pesticides. Once the weeds and invasive plants were under control I started using salt and vinegar to control the sprouts of wisteria, autumn clematis, and honeysuckle. Although less destructive than chemical treatments vinegar quickly shutdown the plants but can permanently alter the soil's acidity. Once I got my hand saw I began cutting down the large privet trees one by one and used the shovel to dig up the younger trees or Chinese or European Privet shrubs. In 2011 we added several plant communities including old field/ early succession, meadows and a prairie/Savannah bed. Before we cleared out the yard there was one cedar bluebird house from a hardware store, now there are five nest boxes for chickadees, bluebirds, wrens, flycatchers a martin house, mason and bumble bee shelters and even a bat house. This project saved a 50 year old crape myrtle, native redbuds, cherrylaurels and red mulberries as well as a potted southern crabapple tree. Without human intervention the vines would have strangled these trees and damaged the native canopy trees. This projects has brought new species of wildlife to the neighborhood and encouraged others to plant a small patch of wildflowers or native trees.