August 22, 2023 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
This August 22nd learn how to create a beautiful and diverse wooded environment in your own yard in a presentation by Deborah Simmons, Fredericksburg chapter president. Deborah and her husband Paul have spent 15 years restoring meadows, removing invasive species, adding biodiversity to the woodland areas, and maintaining the riparian areas along the creek under a wildlife management program on their 90-acre conservation ranch in Doss.
The question is: how does a natural woodland habitat in its native state – an open meadow dotted with dense clumps of trees, shrubs, vines, and ground covers.- fit into an average yard!?
“If you think of your neighbors’ lawns as meadows,” Deborah answered, “and you create a dense planting in your small yard, you mimic this natural landscape, creating a rich habitat for birds, small mammals, lizards, butterflies, and bees.”
To make the space inviting to creatures, the vegetation must be sufficiently thick that you cannot see through it. A 12’x12’ square is about as small as you can successfully go; so a small yard is sufficient to mimic a rich woodland habitat.
Deborah learned about creating woodland habitat quite by accident, adding to trees and shrubs that were already on the ranch, and later finding resources to help the projects along. These small clumps of woodland are now full of songbirds, lizards, toads, and butterflies. In this talk she’ll share what she has learned to help you create a beautiful wooded habitat in your yard.
