Every yard, large or small, can provide valuable natural habitat. Native plant garden choices include rain gardens, butterfly gardens, native plant borders, stop-over habitats for migrating birds, woodland gardens or formal plantings using natives.
Backyard native plant gardening is an important component of noted naturalist Doug Tallamy’s vision which he calls a “Backyard National Park”, eventually covering millions of acres. The WPPC invites and encourages you to tell us about your backyard garden so we can demonstrate patterns, numbers and sizes of properties that are already sharing in this effort.
This mapping project is an important tool to reveal locations, pathways and connectedness of properties with native plantings. It also identifies where there are gaps. The WPPC’s map has become integrated into a larger, Chicago area-wide map as part of the Chicago Living Corridors.
There is significant national interest in Tallamy’s habitat corridor concept. This budding Chicagoland region-wide initiative could serve as an example and inspiration for the rest of the country!
Help make this vision a reality, add your garden, large or small, to the WPPC Garden Mapping Project map! Tell us about your backyard native garden by downloading and returning our questionnaire today.
My property is in a newer "conservation design" subdivision which has about 25 acres of well-managed prairie plantings. The non-turf areas of my 1/2 acre yard feature almost entirely native species arranged in planting beds, three rain gardens and a backyard prairie as well as a nice mix of native […]
