Presentation Notes SESSION 3: Slide 1 – Cover slide Slide 2 – Welcome and overview of lessons Welcome to Session 3 of the ‘What’s In Your WILD Backyard?’ Workshop! How do your basemaps look? Did anyone do some backyard exploring? Did anyone find something they weren’t expecting in their yard? Today we are going to talk a bit more about attracting specific kinds of wildlife into your yard, we’ll look at some native plant lists , and lastly, we’ll put the finishing touches on your basemap plans. Specifically, we’ll be covering: Lesson 9: Strategies for Specific Wildlife Lesson 10: Identify Your Goals and Pick the Best Techniques Lesson 11: Start Creating Your Wildlife Haven! Slide 3 – Lesson 9: Strategies for Specific Wildlife Are you fascinated by the birds of Indiana? Or maybe you feel passionately about pollinators and the challenges they are facing? In this lesson, we will look at some of the things you can do to attract certain types of wildlife into your yard. Slide 4 – Attracting Butterflies and Pollinators POLLINATOR 101 - Pollinators transfer pollen from plant to plant. They’re ESSENTIAL for our food supply! Without pollinators, our diets and the diets of wildlife would change dramatically! Native pollinators include: bees, butterflies, wasps, hummingbirds, moths, bats and more Their populations are drastically declining because of habitat loss, pesticides and introduced diseases. HOW TO HELP - Use native plants! How many times have we talked about this throughout these sessions? Are you convinced yet? Native pollinators are specifically adapted to native plants.
Use a variety of plants and mix colors, sizes and shapes Leave fallen or dead vegetation for shelter and nesting Avoid pesticides Key point: Pollinators are critical for our food supply and that of all wildlife! Population loss for these important contributors is increasing, but we can help by using native plants, leaving fallen and dead vegetation, and skipping pesticides. Slide 5 – Attracting Birds to Your WILD Backyard What can you do to attract birds to your WILD backyard? All together… Plant native plants! These will offer food and shelter all year long Provide a water source – preferably moving, but any effort is appreciated! Keeping Feeder Thieves Away Set feeders on tall poles away from branches and rooflines Make sure feeders have a tray so seeds don’t fall to the ground and attract other wildlife Choose or build a feeder with squirrel or raccoon barriers Store trash inside a garage or shed Key point : To draw more or a greater variety of birds to your yard, plant a variety of natives! Other important attractions are a water source and a safe place to feed, away from squirrels and raccoons who like to steal birdseed. Slide 6 – Attracting Amphibians and Reptiles WHY DO I WANT THEM IN MY YARD? - Amphibians and reptiles are important contributors to local food chains! Some species can eat hundreds or thousands of insects every day. They can be excellent for mosquito control in your yard! Reptiles help keep rodent populations in check and also eat aphids and slugs that might be bothersome to your plants. Much like pollinators, amphibian populations have seen drastic declines in recent years. Offering them a safe home in your backyard can make a big difference! Amphibians and reptiles are cold-blooded so they need flat, warm places to sun themselves early in the day and cool, shady places to rest when it becomes too hot in the afternoon. They
are especially dependent on water – they use it for breeding, hibernating and controlling their temperature. Key point : Amphibians and reptiles are helpful for controlling rodent and insect populations. Make room for them in your yard by providing water, a place for sun (like a flat rock), and a place for shade (underside of rocks and brushpiles). Slide 7 – Attracting Beneficial Bugs THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY?- There are many, many, many insects species! A few of the “bad” bugs have given the “good” bugs and insects overall a bad rap. Insects are extremely important in ecosystems and food chains. As we mentioned earlier, insects like butterflies, bees and moths are pollinators and are essential for human food supplies. Humans also use many other products created by insects such as honey and silk. Insects are also very important in the breakdown and decomposition or waste or dead materials. A few of the “good” bugs: Lacewings – larva eat aphids, leafhoppers, whiteflies and more! Parasitic wasps lay eggs in pesky moths and caterpillars Dragonflies, damselflies and damsel bugs prey on ants, termites, aphids, mosquitoes and flies. Blow flies and carrion beetles eat dead animals and fungi Diving beetles are aquatic species that eat other insects Native plants will make your yard more inviting for good bugs. Many bugs prefer to lay their eggs on native plants or under fallen leaves or branches. Brush piles are welcoming for these bugs. Try to avoid pesticides, as these will kill the “good” and helpful insects in addition to the pe sky ones! Key point : Welcoming beneficial insects will actually improve the health of your backyard and help keep harmful bugs away. Lacewings, dragonflies, some wasps and many others provide invaluable services! Make them feel at home by avoiding pesticides, planting natives, and leaving brush piles. Slide 8 – Native Plants
Page 40 in your manual has several lists that suggest native plants for different purposes such as attracting birds or pollinators and also for different areas such as wetland, woodland or prairie. Slide 9 – Lesson 10: Identifying Your Goals and Pick the Best Techniques Lesson cover slide only Slides 10-12 – Food / Water / Shelter & Nesting Places *These slides are simply checklists to help the participants make sure they’ve covered the 4 basic needs in their WILD backyards. They can refer back to them as they continue designing their basemap and applying changes in their yards. Slide 13 – Lesson 11: Start Creating Your Wildlife Haven As you can see, there are many ways to make small changes in your yard that can produce great results for wildlife. Remember to take one step at a time and use your basemap as a guide! In this lesson, we’ll review how to customize your basemap, showcase some local native landscape inspiration, and provide tips for including the entire family. Slide 14 – Putting Your Basemap to Work! Add a new tracing paper layer to your basemap and begin adding the wildlife friendly elements you plan to create in your yard. You can use different layers of tracing paper, different colors and textures and take these tips into consideration: Draw plants full size so you can estimate how much space they will require when established Consider the conditions of each area and choose plants accordingly Plant by height – trees and shrubs can be used to block sun and wind Use plants that do double-duty as food and shelter/nesting sources Highlight invasive vegetation that needs to be removed Think about where moisture is most needed in your yard and situate your water features accordingly Don’t forget storage – if you plan on storing your landscaping materials, consider which location would cause the least disturbance to wildlife and plant Slide 15 – Local Examples of Native Landscapes
There are probably many local examples of native landscapes near your home or place of work that you may not have noticed. There are several in the Indianapolis metro area: Carmel Clay Parks – Central Park, West Park, Founder’s Park The Nature Conservancy’s Efroymson Conservation Center in downtown Indianapolis The Indiana Museum of Art’s Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park in Indianapolis Geist Christian Church North in Fishers Shamrock Springs Elementary School in Westfield Ridgefield Subdivison ’s common areas in Fishers Lilly Sustainable Gardens in Indianapolis The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis Welcome Center rain garden and Schaefer Rooftop garden in Indianapolis Butler University’s Cloewes Hall rain garden in Indianapolis Cold Spring Environmental Studies Magnet School in Indianapolis The Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society(INPAWS) also does a free annual garden tour(usually in the fall) Key point : Indiana offers many opportunities for visiting beautiful and interesting native landscapes. You may be surprised to find them only a short drive away! Slide 16 – Tips for Involving Your Family Tips for getting your WHOLE family excited about exploring your WILD backyard: Choose native plants that delight the 5 senses – bright colored flowers, soft, textured leaves and pleasant smelling herbs Pick plants that will flower or produce fruit quickly so that kids can see the results Help kids select a spot in your yard for their own garden – a small 3 ft wide spot or a window box works well. Assist them in choosing and maintaining plants. Play games in your backyard like I-spy or help kids track the progress of growing plants and or animals Build additional shelters for wildlife with kids like toad abodes, bug houses, brush piles, etc Set aside 30 minutes(or more!) each week for adding a new entry to their nature notebook Encourage free playtime in the backyard so kids can explore on their own and then share their experiences Encourage questions! Nature offers terrific opportunities for teaching.
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