Mary Frase, Star Volunteer!

Photo: Mary Frase, star volunteer, Bill Browning

Joan Haffey

Mary Frase, who comes from several generations of family gardeners, tells anyone who asks her about her volunteering, “I grew up playing in the dirt and I still like to play there.” She turned this love into an extraordinary commitment to native habitat. Walking in the National Arboretum in 2012, she discovered the native plant garden and has volunteered there since. An Arlington Master Gardener (certified in 2012) and a Fairfax Master Naturalist (2013) with over 2,500 hours of service, she tried various community education and native planting programs before gravitating to what she loves: getting her hands in the dirt. 

Mary Frase, photo by Bill Browning

She has educated home owners as an Audubon at Home ambassador and worked on Plant NOVA Natives projects and in several school gardens. Volunteering now includes multiple community support efforts with her church, monitoring bluebird trails, kayak river cleanups, and regular work in two demonstration gardens and the Earth Sangha plant nursery. She rescues native plants from areas immediately threatened by habitat loss and replants them, with permission, in suitable habitat. She regularly supports invasives removal at multiple parks, including the Nature Conservancy’s Fraser Preserve in Great Falls, and plants natives with Earth Sangha and Arlington County. “It is satisfying to pull weeds and invasives and to teach others to do the same.”

For over eight years, Mary has teamed with Bill Browning, the Arlington Regional Master Naturalists’ Park Steward at Powhatan Springs Skate Park, to restore that park’s natural areas. Mary both digs in herself and helps Bill guide efforts through her deep knowledge of plants. As Powhatan Springs moved towards a maintenance level, Bill and Mary expanded to creek-side habitat connecting Powhatan Springs Skate Park and Upton Hill Regional Park, which has a similar successful restoration effort led by ARMN Park Steward Jill Barker.

Stretch Our Parks yard sign

ASNV is helping expand this long-term habitat restoration project as its first Stretch Our Parks collaboration. The project embodies ASNV’s aims to extend park ecological benefits and healthy habitats into surrounding neighborhoods while engaging communities in support of their parks. The project has already added two private properties, the Dominion Hills Area Recreation Association east of Powhatan Springs and the Lockwood/Elmwood affordable senior housing complex adjacent to Upton Hill. 

Mary, no surprise, is now a mainstay in these efforts, and she was glad to share with me (and you), some lessons she has learned as a volunteer gardener and habitat restorer:

• “You don’t need to have special skills or be a member of any group to join habitat restoration efforts.” If you join a volunteer session for an invasive removal or native planting session, you will get guidance. Mary learned about native plants by doing field work over the past 12 years and by researching what she didn’t know.

• “If you want to choose this as a regular volunteer effort, you can opt for one project, or you can try a variety and see what appeals most to you.” Over time, Mary found that she preferred “hands on” restoration and understood that management positions did not appeal to her. 

• “Restoration is a long-term commitment.” Even restored properties require maintenance to avoid resurgence of invasives. For long-term success, a program, not just the project leader, can adopt the park, to ensure continuing support. We also need to use our imagination to engage the next generation in supporting our projects—young people in the 30s and 40s, at the apex of family and work responsibilities.

So, if you can volunteer a lot, or only a little, Mary and the other naturalist volunteers in northern Virginia will welcome you and help you find out what your interests are. As Mary says, “Do what you can do. Everyone can help and every little bit helps. I turned 81 this month and as long as I can do this, I will. I encourage others to do the same.”

View upcoming volunteer opportunities here.

Don’t Miss Our New Monthly Feature

Photo: Pinxter Azelea, David J. Stang, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We have added a new monthly feature to the Potomac Flier, the Wildlife Sanctuary Almanac. Each month we'll feature timely tips and observations about engaging with nature through the seasons in your own personal wildlife sanctuary.

ASNV and Plant NOVA Natives Award Ten Mini-Grants for Invasive Removal

Photo: Porcelain-berry, Olivier Vanpé via Wikimedia commons

Margaret Fisher (Plant NOVA Natives), Betsy Martin and Barbara Tuset (Audubon at Home)

This year, the Fairfax County Tree Preservation and Planting Fund (TPPF) gave Audubon at Home and Plant NOVA Natives a grant to fund mini-grants for invasive plant removal on community association or faith community common open space. In October we awarded mini-grants to 10 home owner associations (HOAs) and faith communities.

Each community will receive $3,000 on a reimbursement basis which it can use to pay for removal of invasive plants that are a threat to trees in landscaped or natural areas. The TPPF mini-grant requires a match of $1,500, which can be fulfilled either with money or volunteer labor. We encourage the use of volunteers, so that residents can gain first-hand experience of the difficulties posed by invasive plants and a sense of the value of paying people to do the work in the future. We also encouraged communities to engage their current landscaping companies in the work so as to increase the number of companies in our region that can offer invasive control services, especially of the invasive vines that threaten native trees.

Porcelain-berry, Olivier Vanpé via Wikimedia commons

We restricted mini-grants to projects focused on removal of the invasive vines and trees that most threaten native trees in Northern Virginia, namely Japanese Honeysuckle, Asian Wisteria, Asiatic Bittersweet, Wintercreeper, English Ivy, Multiflora Rose, Porcelain-berry, Kudzu, Callery Pear, Tree of Heaven, and Autumn Olive. These eleven vine and tree species overrun natural areas and overtop trees, killing and displacing native trees and plants, creating food deserts for wildlife and destroying their habitat, and creating hazards for humans. You can learn more about the threat posed by these plants, and how to control them, from the excellent fact sheets published by Blue Ridge PRISM. Mini-grant recipients will be required to educate their members about the problems caused by invasive plants and about native alternatives that residents could install on their own properties. Communities will display a sign that we will provide: “Invasive plant control area. Please don’t plant the non-native species that damage our ecosystem.” The sign will include a QR code linking to an information page on invasive plant control.

This project dovetails with the Plant NOVA Trees campaign in which volunteers count trees at risk from invasive vines and drop off literature for homeowners to warn them of the problem. This Tree Rescuer program has already increased awareness and led community associations to start looking for ways to save their trees.

A $3,000 mini-grant, when matched by a community with $1,500 in funds or volunteer labor, is sufficient to make a noticeable improvement in both the habitat value and appearance of a common area that has been overrun by invasive plants. Several companies specialize in invasive plant removal in Northern Virginia, should the job call for that level of experience and expertise. In common areas where a lower level of expertise will suffice, such as those that simply need cut stump treatment of invasive vines on trees or uprooting of easily identified plants such as Multiflora Rose, communities can handle it with a combination of volunteer labor to do the cutting or pulling and a certified pesticide applicator to apply the herbicide. Those communities will need to train the workers, whether paid or unpaid, in control techniques as well as in identification of the plants and how to distinguish them from native look-alikes.

Applicants were required to request pre-visits from Audubon at Home Ambassadors and Plant NOVA Natives volunteers who walked the property with the applicant, identified which invasives were present, and advised on developing a plan and method of control. The board of the HOA or faith community also had to approve the application.

We received 22 applications, most of them deserving of funding. We could fund only 10 of them and made the selections by weighing several criteria, including the efficacy of the plan, the degree of infestation and the habitat value of the area in question, the visibility of the property and potential to serve as a model to members and passersby, and any proximity to a disadvantaged neighborhood. 

We thank all of the applicants for the hard work they put into applying. We are very happy to learn that this grant opportunity has prompted even some of those who did not win mini-grants to start working on a long-term plan for invasive plant control in their common areas. We also encourage them (and you) to go through the process of certifying their properties as Audubon-at-Home Wildlife Sanctuaries, which requires, among other things, that the residents spot at least 10 out of a list of 41 species of wildlife using the property.

We congratulate the mini-grant winners:

Antioch Baptist Church (Fairfax Station), Chesterfield Mews Community Association (Fairfax), Crest of Alexandria Homeowners’ Association (Fairfax), Fox Lake Property Owners Association (Oakton), Lakeford Community Association (Falls Church), Little River United Church of Christ (Annandale), McLean Greens HOA (Falls Church), Poplar Heights Recreation Association (Falls Church), Ridge Road Estates HOA (Springfield), The Timbers HOA (Springfield).

UPDATED: How to Set Up a Mosquito Larvae Trap and New Mini Trap

Photo: Mosquito larvae traps, Jill Spohn

August 28, 2021 (Updated June 4, 2025)

Jill Spohn

Douglas W. Tallamy, an entomologist at the University of Delaware and author, suggests controlling mosquitoes at the larval stage instead of the adult stage. As he says in his book, Nature’s Best Hope, page 210:

Oppose mindless mosquito spraying by your township or HOA. Contrary to what the fogger operator may have told you, the pyrethroid-based insecticides used by mosquito foggers indiscriminately kill all insects, not just the mosquitos. Ironically, targeting adult mosquitos is the worst and by far the most expensive approach to mosquito control, because mosquitos are best controlled in the larval stage. Put a five-gallon bucket of water in a sunny place in your yard and add a handful of hay or straw. After a few days, the resulting brew is irresistible to gravid (egg-filled) female mosquitos. After the mosquitos have laid their eggs, add a commercially available mosquito dunk tablet that contains Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a natural larvicide, to your bucket. The eggs will hatch and the larvae will die. This way, you control mosquitos, and only mosquitos, without the use of harmful insecticides.

Insects are at the base of the food chain and, without them, birds and other creatures are challenged to find enough food for themselves and their young. When they eat sprayed insects, the insecticide can build up and affect their health and the insecticide remains in soil and water. Based on NVBA Wildlife Sanctuary Program research, it is clear to us that fogging chemicals are bad for our environment and critters. Our To Spray, or Not To Spray brochure summarizes that research.

There is an effective alternative to harmful mosquito spraying – reducing standing water on your property and building mosquito larvae traps. The most effective control of mosquito populations is at the larval stage, not the adult stage of their life cycle. The University of Maryland Extension provides advice on mosquito life cycle and control at home here. Note that you must eliminate standing water and monitor; here is a good checklist from Montgomery County.

A mosquito larvae trap works because adult mosquitoes are drawn to a fermenting solution and lay their eggs. An added Mosquito Dunk®, or similar product that releases a selective bacterium, affects only the mosquito larvae. Do NOT use Mosquito Bits® (they are quick kill and do not have the slow release that you need).

I have tried this Do-It-Yourself (DIY) method at home in Northern Virginia and in Maine and have seen an impressive lack of mosquitoes and pleasant times outdoors. Dr. Tallamy reviewed these instructions and we have updated them based on his feedback and our own and others’ experience below.

There are also commercially-available traps listed below.

How to Make Your Own Mosquito Larvae Trap: Instructions for the Original Bucket Trap

What you need:

• Bucket

• Straw or Hay - Dried; or Dried Leaves or grass (not freshly-picked green grass or leaves)

• Water – funky water from a rain barrel would also work, says Tallamy

• Mosquito Dunk® or another brand containing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bti) - for a surface area under 5 square feet, use at least a 1/4 of a Dunk

• Chicken Wire or similar screening – or critter escape ramp (such as a stick).

1. Use an empty bucket.

2. Add dried organic matter to the bucket. I used 3 or 4 handfuls here – 3 or 4 cups. I use hay in these photos.

3. Add water to the bucket. I fill the bucket up halfway. My ratio of hay to water is about 1 to 4.

4. Allow the water and organic matter to ferment for a few days. I usually let it sit for 3 days but if it’s hot, you probably need less time. (Add a cover or a critter escape ramp.)

5. After 3 days, the mixture has fermented. Add the Mosquito Dunk®. Summit Chemicals recommends at least a 1/4 of a Dunk for under 5 square feet of water surface area.

Place Mosquito Dunk® in the bucket on top of the fermenting solution. Dr. Tallamy may know when a mosquito has laid eggs, but I don’t. I place the Mosquito Dunk® in right before I set the trap.

6. Cover the bucket with chicken wire or similar screening that allows adult mosquitos into the solution, but keeps other critters out. Be careful of the sharp points on the chicken wire. Some people use sticks that can be placed in the bucket to be used as an escape ramp for critters.

7. Set in place. Dr. Tallamy recommends a sunny spot but I have placed it in dappled shade with good results. The Mosquito Dunk® lasts for about a month and I replace the solution after about 3 or 4 weeks.

I try to put the traps away from where we have had mosquito issues and keep them out of the way of our dogs. They should be out of the reach of children as well. Based on feedback and experience, I have moved the buckets farther away from people; for example, underneath the deck rather than on the deck and at the edge of the woods rather than close to the patio. See the FAQs for additional placement information.

In recent testing, I feel that the traps in shady areas have more mosquito activity with eggs and larvae.

8. Monitor Occasionally. I have not drilled drainage holes in the side of our buckets, thus when we get significant rains, I will ensure that the buckets are not overflowing. I will drain out some water when they are too full. I have only needed to do this a few times over the years. See the Commercially Available Trap section for a Maintenance Tracking Sheet.

I hope you will give all non-insecticide mosquito control methods a try. They really work, and limiting insecticide use is critically important.

Jill’s Mosquito Larvae Trap - With Bucket and Hydroponic Lid

I have tried to improve the appearance of the mosquito traps I use at home. I found plain, white 3.5 gallon food-safe buckets (with handles) that I use with a black hydroponic growing lid (snaps on to secure in place). I got sets of 6 for our home. I use 2 underneath our deck, 2 at the edge of the woods, and 2 on either side of our covered porch. I use a lid to try to keep our dogs out of the solution and to make sure that chipmunks and such do not get trapped in the solution.

Here are photos:

Jill’s Mini Mosquito Larvae Trap

To create a smaller, more aesthetically pleasing larvae trap, I am using a quart size wide mouth mason jar as the base. I found a vase “frog” insert grid to allow mosquitoes to enter the trap and to keep critters out of the water. To hide the fermented water and add black (some research shows mosquitoes are attracted to black), I used a slide on cover. For covered areas, these are the essential pieces - plus, of course, the fermented water with dried organic material and a quarter of a Mosquito Dunk®. DO NOT use Mosquito Bits® - those are just for quick kill according to Summit Chemical; therefore, if you used the Bits, you have created a breeding spot for larvae to mature after the quick kill.

The best part is that the mason jar can be tossed into the dishwasher. Before cleaning, I pull out the Dunk and then dump the solution into a dry area in the yard. I remove the cover and the grid and hand wash.

Note that you must monitor to make sure there’s fermented water and replace the Mosquito Dunk® regularly. To help myself with the maintenance, I have created an Excel spreadsheet for tracking. Commercially available on my Etsy site (see below).

In areas that are exposed to the elements, I added a shepherd’s hook, bird feeder cover, mason jar hanger, and some hooks (to keep the glass jar in place).

Here are photos:

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Could I use grass clippings or old leaves instead of straw or hay?

Laurie Tyler Dodd reports success using grass or dead leaves instead of hay.

G. Lambert reports that if you use grass or leaves, they need to be dried - not fresh green grass or leaves. (Reported after consulting with Doug Tallamy.)

Question: Can I remove the solid organic material once it’s started fermenting? 

Doug Tallamy: I think the straw or hay needs to remain in the water to keep generating the attractive smells that bring in the female mosquitoes.

Question: My traps are 3 or 4 weeks old. Do I need to dump the solution and restart the trap? Or can I just add new mosquito dunks?

Doug Tallamy: I think you can just add some water to freshen it up a bit. Maybe throw in a few more leaves. Make sure there’s enough of the mosquito dunk.

Question: If I put the dunks in before fermenting will this decrease the dunks’ amount of chemicals due to chlorine affecting Bti? 

Doug Tallamy: That's a waste of dunk. There are no mosquito eggs in there yet so why put the dunk in early. They don't last forever.

Question: Are there larvae traps that kill the females too?

Yes, passive mosquito traps can provide additional protection and they do not use pyrethroids. See links to commercial sources of such traps below.

Question: What do you recommend we do with the water that now has dead larvae, Bti, and old straw or hay in it? Can the spent dunk and straw/hay be composted? 

Doug Tallamy: Sure. It is harmless

Question:  Our property has a swamp area on it, that I cannot drain. Will the mosquito larvae traps still be effective in reducing the mosquitos somewhat or will the swamp take any benefit away?

Doug Tallamy: The reality is that the swamp will always make mosquitoes. Setting up larvae traps might reduce the population but whether that will be noticeable to someone sitting in the yard is hard to say. There is little to lose by trying, but that swamp area is a mosquito producing machine.

Summit Chemicals: The swamp/wetlands will always produce mosquitoes unless a State or County entity treats it effectively. It would be next to impossible for an individual to control.

Commercially Available Traps and Maintenance Tracker

Biogents GAT

Autocidal Gravid Ovitrap, developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and marketed as the BioCare AGO.

Jill Spohn created the Mosquito Jill’s Etsy site to sell the mini traps shown above for those who desire the convenience of a kit. A maintenance tracking sheet is also available for download.

You Can Help Stop the Spread of Invasive Plants

Photo: English Ivy, an invasive species in Northern Virginia, Wikimedia Commons

What do English ivy, barberry, butterfly bush, and mimosas (the tree, not the drink) have in common?  You can find them in most Northern Virginia neighborhoods, and you can buy them at many local nurseries, garden shops and big box stores. But they are all invasive plants in Northern Virginia and can harm the environment. Although they threaten to overwhelm us, there are some steps you can take to reduce their spread.

English Ivy, Wikimedia Commons

But before we get to actions you can take, a little background: Invasive plants are species that have been introduced by human activity into a region in which they did not evolve and cause harm to natural resources, economic activity or humans. The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation’s website states that invasive plants cause more than $120 billion each year in losses in the United States. They displace natural plant species that provide habitat and food for native animals, and some can clog waterways, cause crop losses and degrade soil. 

Passing state legislation to curb the sale of invasive plants in Virginia has so far mostly been unsuccessful, due largely to the opposition of growers and sellers. In February 2021, the legislature approved a bill creating a workgroup to evaluate various methods of reducing the sale of invasive plants. The workgroup, which included Glenda Booth representing ASNV, issued a report that largely failed to meet the objectives set out in the enabling legislation, concerns expressed at pages 24-25 of the report.  

In the 2022 regular General Assembly session, Delegates Paul Krizek and David Bulova introduced bills that, among other things, would have required retail establishments to label invasive plants to educate consumers about which plants are invasive and would have prioritized the use of native plants on state property. Unfortunately, the only legislation enacted requires the Commissioner of Agriculture to develop a brochure that retail establishments can use to explain the value of native plants and the harm caused by invasives. Retail establishments would have to reproduce the brochures at their own expense, and the law will expire on July 31, 2023.

Several legislators may introduce bills in the 2023, session which will begin in January, and we will report on them when they do.

Steps You Can Take Now

Would you like to help reduce the number of invasive plants in our region?  Here are four things you can do:

1. Educate yourself on what plants are invasive before your next trip to the plant nursery.  You can get a list of invasive plants on the website of the Virginia DCR and guides to native plants on the Plant Nova Natives website.  

2. Remove invasive plants from your yard and replace them with native plants. For guidance on making your yard a wildlife sanctuary, contact Audubon at Home for a visit.

3. Sign a petition asking Home Depot to stop selling invasives. Having failed in their efforts to achieve significant statewide action on invasive plants, some concerned residents of Northern Virginia are trying now to convince a local retail establishment to stop selling invasives.  Lauren Taylor, who participates in Fairfax County’s Invasive Management Volunteer Program, created the online asking Home Depot to stop selling invasive plants. More than 50,000 people have signed the petition so far. The petition has garnered support from Plant NOVA Natives, Blue Ridge Partnership for Regional Invasive Species Management, and other groups.  

4. Join the hundreds of volunteers working to better control invasive plants, through Fairfax County’s Invasive Management Volunteer Program, and programs sponsored by EcoAction Arlington, the  Friends of Dyke Marsh, and other organizations throughout Northern Virginia.

Learning about Native Plant Communities

Photo: New York Ironweed, Matt Bright

Audubon at Home Ambassadors held their annual Potluck Ambassadors’ Brunch at the Fairfax County Government Center on March 19—a welcome gathering, their first in two years. Thirty-two Ambassadors attended, and enjoyed a presentation on “Earth Sangha’s Native Plant Compendium, Plant Communities and Native Plant Selection” given by Matt Bright, Conservation Manager for Earth Sangha.

Plant communities are assemblages of plant species that grow in a particular habitat and interact with each other, wildlife, and the environment around them. Knowing the features of the landscape and the dominant vegetation allows us to predict what other plant species “belong” there, and provides a basis for making plant selections. Plant communities are a natural extension of “right plant, right place.”

New York Ironweed, Matt Bright

A plant community is simply the native plants that tend to grow together in any given habitat.  So, for example, different plant communities are found on a steep dry slope, or in the floodplain near a stream, or in an open area. Often the assemblage of plants present is governed by topography.  

Conserving and restoring plant communities allows us to protect plants and wildlife in ways that mirror natural environments. Restoring common, dominant native plants that are the ecosystem drivers can create ecological uplift—the drivers will create the conditions that bring along rarer, passenger species that need those conditions to thrive and reproduce. 

Plant communities can also help guide choices not only about what to plant, but how much.  For example, a floodplain forest often has a dense herbaceous layer, while a mesic to dry forest understory is often sparse, with large areas of leaf litter. The density that occurs in nature may not match gardening conventions, such as planting a single specimen surrounded by 18” of mulch. Planting for succession will create a multilayered understory, with varying age classes of mature canopy trees and young saplings. 

Plant communities can provide far greater benefit over the complete life cycle of wildlife species than focusing narrowly on a single species. For example, many people have learned that milkweeds are essential for Monarch caterpillars. While they are necessary, Milkweeds are not sufficient. They are actually relatively poor insect hosts: Goldenrods are much more important late-season nectar sources for migrating Monarch butterflies, and as hosts for specialist bees. A diversity of species within a plant community supports a greater diversity of wildlife.

Matt Bright stressed that ecological value is in the details. An example is leaf litter, which provides essential habitat to many species. He cited results from a recent study that shows large declines—by a shocking two-thirds—in lepidoptera populations when leaf litter is removed. This confirms Audubon Ambassadors’ advice to their clients to “leave the leaves!”

Reconnecting areas has tremendous ecological value. Matt cited results from an 18-year experiment showing that creating even narrow corridors between areas of habitat resulted in fewer extinctions, faster recolonization by native plants, and 14% greater biodiversity in connected sites than in isolated ones.

Matt provided good, practical (and work-saving) advice for prospective native gardeners and restorationists:

• Focus on dominant species that will create conditions to create ecological uplift. For a first round of planting, he suggests sticking to common, generalist species, which have more “right places” and are more frequently the right plant that will establish more quickly. Generalist plants often support specialist wildlife.

• Leave healthy areas of intact habitat alone. Remove invasives, and before replanting wait to see what regenerates from the seed bank. Volunteer plants are free, and can guide you towards what to plant in the future.

Although plant communities may seem daunting, Matt argued they are actually less work than picking and choosing plants individually. He provided several sources of guidance:

• Earth Sangha Native Plant Compendium: You will learn a lot about native plant communities from this text-heavy website, which provides useful advice on high-value generalist canopy trees, understory trees and shrubs, and plants for wet and dry meadows.

• Plant NOVA Natives Natural Plant Communities made easy is perhaps the most comprehensible site, which offers practical advice and will help you understand the concept of plant communities.

• Natural Ecological Communities of Northern Virginia, by Glenn Tobin—this site is more oriented to the quantitative user. Tobin has begun developing a scheme to help identify plant communities.

• Department of Conservation and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program—this site provides descriptions of each of the natural communities of Virginia, as well as its key plant species. Very data rich. Definitive and technical.

• Nature Serve Explorer—this site uses different common names for the communities than the DCR site.

Easy Plant Combinations for your Yard

Photo: Native garden, Sheryl Pollock

Plant NOVA Natives

Are you ready to brighten up your yard but not spend hours researching plant choices? You may be a candidate for a native plant “package” that includes plants that thrive in similar landscape conditions. Grouping them together will quickly beautify your property while benefitting the local ecosystem.

Native plant “package” example from Plant Nova Trees

Trees, shrubs, and groundcovers are the backbone of any landscape and are in fact all that most people want to bother with. You can find combinations for nine common situations on the Plant NOVA Trees website. If, for example, the ground in your yard gets soggy at times, you might choose a Wet Areas package and include a Sweetgum tree for shade, American Hornbeam in the understory, and a couple Smooth Hydrangea shrubs. If you underplant them with Golden Ragwort, you will have an evergreen groundcover that has the added bonus of bright yellow flowers for two months in the spring. If you don’t have room for a canopy tree, choose the Small Space Combo instead and pair the Common Witch Hazel shrub with its November blooms with the shorter spring-flowering Virginia Sweetspire.

When practical, there is a great deal to be said for planting each member of a grouping at more or less the same time, minimizing root disturbance by installing the specimens when small. Whether planting all at once or in stages, though, the healthiest landscape is one that is densely planted with native species, healing the soil and providing food and shelter from the ground to the canopy for our local birds, fireflies, butterflies, and other residents. Professional gardeners of course need to be adept at exactly matching plants to the microclimates within a landscape, but the rest of us can do quite well just using the obvious sun, soil, and water conditions as our guide.

Those with a flower garden in their yard can speed up its evolution into a native paradise by choosing combinations that will result in blooms over the course of the season. In sunny areas, if you are guided by the spring, summer, and fall packages on the Plant NOVA Natives website, the result will be a stunning combination of well-behaved plants that will attract butterflies throughout the growing season. Suggestions for shady or wet areas are included, as are ornamental grasses. You can also find locations of garden centers that stock native plants.

Are you Interested in Managing a “Before and After Photography” Contest?

Photo: E. Harvey and A. Hoffman

Audubon at Home is looking for a volunteer to manage a photo contest. The contest will solicit high-quality before and after photos of natural landscaping projects from Audubon at Home clients and ASNV members. The volunteer would assist with the contest definition, manage the submitted photos, establish the review protocols and work with the AAH team to determine the winners. If you are interested in this opportunity, respond here.

See the following examples of Before and After photos. This landscape project was designed by Native Plant Landscape Design. 

“Before” front yard, E. Harvey and A. Hoffman

“After” front yard, E. Harvey and A. Hoffman

Dominion Grants to Beautify Neighborhood Entrances with Native Plants

Photo: Margaret Fisher

Audubon at Home partnered with Plant NOVA Natives to invite homeowners’ and civic associations to apply for funds to beautify their neighborhood entrances using low maintenance native plants. The mini-grant program was funded by Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation’s Environmental Education and Stewardship Grants Program.  

AAH and Plant NOVA Natives received applications from 35 community associations and made their decisions based on the number of residents, ability to communicate with those residents, and the visibility of their new plantings. Six matching grants of $2,350 apiece were awarded to Auburn Village Condo in Arlington, Park Glen Heights HOA in Annandale, Civic Association of Hollin Hills in Alexandria, Water’s Edge at Fair Lakes HOA in Fairfax, Cascades Community Association in Loudoun, and Dominion Valley Owner’s Association in Prince William.

Congratulations to the winners!  We look forward to working with you to design a low-maintenance, wildlife-friendly, and beautifully landscaped entrance planting. Completed installations will receive a high-quality sign that says, “Native plants support birds and other wildlife.”  

The funds will go toward costs of a landscape designer to create a design and recommend native plants; purchasing and installing the plants; and removal of any invasive plants such as English ivy, Japanese Barberry, Periwinkle, etc. Each community is responsible for matching funds and/or sweat equity to cover the remaining costs. Additionally, the communities are expected to conduct educational outreach with their residents on the habitat value of native plants, and commit to maintaining the plantings for five years.  

We were heartened by the number of neighborhood associations responding to our invitation to apply for funds to support their entrance beautification projects. And, we hope those who did not win a mini-grant will continue their efforts by inviting an Audubon at Home Ambassador to visit the site and provide advice on suitable, low maintenance native plantings. Residents of Arlington/Alexandria, Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, and Rappahannock counties may submit a consultation request here.

Annual Native Plant Symposium for Landscape Professionals

Photo: Plant NOVA Natives

Annual Native Plant Symposium for Landscape Professionals

When: Tue, August 10, 2021 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Where: Virtual via Zoom
Fee: $30

Register here

Join Plant NOVA Natives and ASNV’s Audubon at Home program for their third annual symposium for landscape professionals. This conference is for professionals in the landscaping industry only: landscape designers, landscape architects, growers, nurseries, landscape maintenance, property managers, builders, etc.

Topics and presenters will include:

• Choosing pollinator plants for maximum beauty and benefits - Sam Hoadley

• Creating an edible landscape with native plants - Lincoln Smith

• Native groundcovers - Missy Fabel

For more information: Plant NOVA Natives

Audubon at Home’s Advice about Pesticides

Photo: Sheryl Pollock

Reduce pesticides for human and environmental health

Pesticides are occasionally necessary to prevent disease transmission to humans, but improper use of pesticides can have health and environmental risks. Reduce pesticide exposure by trying preventative and less toxic pest management first. On those rare occasions when a pesticide is necessary, read the product label for precautions and safety instructions and consider hiring a qualified, licensed pest management professional to apply the pesticide safely. 

Reduce unintentional harm to beneficial insects:  

Insecticides don’t just kill mosquitoes. They kill all insects, which includes fireflies, bees, butterflies, ladybugs, dragonflies and cicadas. Dragonflies eat large numbers of mosquitoes. Ladybugs living in your garden are beneficial insects that eat pests like aphids. Eliminating the beneficial insects that eat others can make pest problems worse. Bees and butterflies are important pollinators--without bees, food production suffers. Songbirds feed their babies a diet exclusively of insects and spiders. If we kill off the insects, we are killing off the birds, not to mention the frogs, bats and the rest of the ecosystem.

Smarter Pest Management: Protecting Pollinators at Home, Xerces Society

Protect water quality and reduce harm to fish and other aquatic wildlife: 

Stormwater runoff carries pesticides and other pollutants to streams via storm drains. Much of the drinking water in Northern Virginia comes from the Potomac River and the Occoquan.  Insecticidal sprays that end up in bodies of water directly harm fish and other aquatic wildlife. To reduce the harm to non-target animals, use non-chemical control methods. If that is not enough, use larvicides such as Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti), which is safer than targeting adults with insecticides. 

Pesticides and Aquatic Animals: A Guide to Reducing Impacts on Aquatic Systems, Virginia Cooperative Extension

Reduce the costs of unnecessary spraying: 

Use Integrated Pest Management to identify, prevent, and control pests efficiently and with minimal negative impacts. Choose an appropriate approach with minimal negative impacts to human and environmental health. Just as antibiotics are not the solution to every illness and overuse can cause antibiotic resistance, pesticides are often inappropriate solutions to pests. Routine use can lead to pesticide resistance and a bigger problem in the future. 

Introduction to Integrated Pest Management, Environmental Protection Agency  

Control Mosquitoes and Ticks with Integrated Pest Management:

Identification

• Identify the pest and whether it is a problem or just an annoyance. Contact a local VCE extension agent for assistance identifying the pest.

• Not all mosquitoes and ticks carry disease. The public health department sprays for mosquitoes when there is evidence of disease transmission. The benefits of spraying pesticides are weighed against the health and environmental costs.

Prevention

• Reduce mosquito habitat by dumping stagnant water collecting in downspouts, the saucers under pots, etc. Organize a community clean-up day to remove sources of standing water such as tires and plastic litter. Empty and refill birdbaths every 3-5 days.

• Promote a balanced ecosystem that supports beneficial insects by growing native plants. Remove invasive introduced plants such as English Ivy and Japanese Barberry that harbor mosquitoes and ticks.

• Keep playgrounds and other high-use areas away from the edge of woods.

• Reduce your exposure to mosquitoes and ticks – wear long sleeves, tuck your pant legs into your socks, use DEET, install a fan on your porch or patio.

Targeted use of larvicide

• If standing water cannot be dumped and chemical intervention is necessary, use a larvicide such as Bti that kills mosquito larvae in water. Larvicidal mosquito dunks are more targeted than adulticidal sprays and pose less risk to fish and bees. Only use larvicides to treat water that will not be used for drinking.

• Mosquito Control: What you need to know about Using Larvicides, CDC

Spray for mosquitoes only for a public health emergency

• Insecticides should be targeted to areas of mosquito and tick habitat such as ivy, bamboo, and brush. Never spray around fruit and vegetable gardens or flowers in bloom. People and pets should stay away from the treatment area for an hour or until the product has dried. Adulticides should be used as a last resort, not as a preventative measure.

Monitor results

• Do not sign up for routine spraying of insecticides on a set schedule. Monitor treatment results and update your pest control plan regularly based on the results.

Do more: Check out the Audubon Society of Northern Virginia’s Audubon at Home program for information on the Healthy Yard Pledge and Wildlife Sanctuary Certification. Audubon at Home Ambassadors provide complimentary, personalized advice to homeowners and communities on choosing native plants, removing invasive plants, and other actions to create wildlife habitat. 

Sanctuary Species

Photo: Carolina Chickadee, Douglas Tallamy

The Audubon at Home program helps homeowners create wildlife habitat in their own yards, with the aim of attracting and supporting beneficial species who breed and live in our area. We call these species Sanctuary Species. If a yard attracts 10 Sanctuary Species who nest, breed, forage, shelter, or use the yard in any way, then it’s a Wildlife Sanctuary—our motto is, “Let the animals decide.”

One such Sanctuary Species is the Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) that common, cheery visitor to backyard bird feeders. Chickadees are year-round residents and this small bird must contend with cold and potential heat loss. About half survive the winter. Homeowners can do plenty to bring chickadees to their yards and help them survive by providing a bird feeder.  Hang feeders a short distance (maybe 6 to 10 feet) from trees and shrubs so birds can quickly seek cover when predators like hawks appear. Birds also need to be able to spot predators approaching on the ground, such as outdoor cats. Chickadees are cavity-nester; they can excavate nests with their little bill, although they’re not as good at it as woodpeckers. So, preserve trees (dead or alive) with cavities to provide roosting and nesting sites. Chickadees will use nest boxes, too.

Carolina Chickadee, Douglas Tallamy

More than anything, though, chickadees need a yard full of native plants. How can that be?  What do chickadees have to do with native plants?

Well, native plants are required to support native insects such as caterpillars, which chickadees depend on for over half their diet. Caterpillars and other insects are especially critical when chickadees are raising young. Because the nestlings need protein to grow, they eat a diet almost exclusively of insects. Most native insects, such as caterpillars, are specialists: they eat only the host plants with which they co-evolved. Without native plants, there are fewer native insects, and without insects, birds cannot thrive, no matter how many bird feeders are available to them.

An ingenious study conducted by Douglas Tallamy and his colleagues in yards right here in the DC area confirms the effect. Scientists measured the amount of native plant material in each yard, then they observed whether chickadees nested in it and how successful their nesting efforts were.  They found that yards in which less than 70% of the plant material (trees, shrubs) was native could not support insects and did not sustain chickadee families. Chickadees were less likely to nest in such yards and those that did had less reproductive success. Yards with less than 70% native plants were “food deserts” lacking sufficient caterpillars to feed nestlings, leading to declines in chickadee populations. You can read the study here.

Fill your yard with native trees and shrubs and you will attract more chickadees (as well as other wildlife) and the birds will fledge more young.

There are 42 Audubon at Home Sanctuary Species including birds, amphibians, reptiles, insects, and mammals, listed here. Click on the thumbnail picture to learn more about them and their habitat needs.

And, if you’re a photographer who enjoys photographing wildlife, please consider submitting your photos of any of the Sanctuary Species. We are updating our website, and need more and better photos of them in their natural habitats. Send your photos to aah@audubonva.org with Sanctuary Species Photographs in the subject line. We credit all photos that we use.

Apply Soon for a Native Gardening Grant!

Photo: Native plantings, Margaret Fisher

There is still time to apply for a native gardening grant. The deadline is May 31, 2021. Audubon at Home Program, in partnership with the Plant NOVA Natives campaign, has been awarded a grant of $15,000 from the Environmental Education and Stewardship Grants Program of the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to demonstrate the concept that native plants, so critical to wildlife habitat, can fit nicely into a conventional suburban aesthetic, including formal or semi-formal settings. Read more here.

Go Green, Go Native

Photo: Native Garden and Tiger Swallotail, Glenda Booth

Mow less, mow high, grow more, choose nature.

Glenda Booth for the Mt. Vernon Gazette

“The manicured lawn may be an iconic symbol of the American suburbs, but lawns have ecological downsides, and there are alternatives, Tami Sheiffer told members of the Friends of Mason Neck at a March 7 Zoom meeting titled “Mow Less, Grow More.” Sheiffer is the coordinator of the Fairfax County Park Authority’s “Watch the Green Grow” program.”

Read the article here.

Robin Duska is Virginia Master Naturalist Volunteer of the Year

Photo: Common Milkweed, Sheryl Pollock

Robin Duska

Former Audubon at Home Co-Director and ASNV Board member, Robin Duska was recognized by the Virginia Master Naturalist state board as their 2020 Volunteer of the Year. During the year Robin contributed more than 500 hours of her time and expertise to conservation, nature education, citizen science and stewardship. Congratulations Robin, for well-earned recognition! 

You can read more about Robin’s efforts in this article from the Fairfax Master Naturalists.

Fatally Flawed Insecticides – Neonicotinoids

Photo: Vane Monte via Pixabay

Lisa Mackem

Last year, for the 10th consecutive year, Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania all received an EPA emergency exemption to use the neonicotinoid-based insecticide, Dinotefuran, on peaches, apples and nectarines for Stink Bug control. ASNV lobbied to restrict “neonic” use. In February, the Virginia legislature prohibited spraying neonics within sight of a managed beehive, subject to a civil penalty of $100. This law was not a victory for conservation.  

Neonic insecticides are now the most widely used class of insecticides worldwide, according to the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. Neonics are systemic (absorbed by the plant) and are often applied to seeds before the seeds are sown so the growing plant takes up the pesticide. Neonics are used for both farming and landscaping, exposing all pollinators to their damaging effects. 

Neonics were initially introduced as less harmful than other insecticides but research later revealed their devastating impacts on pollinators, beneficial insects and aquatic invertebrates. The Xerces Society works to reduce their use and helps California farmers create habitat to support native pollinators and protect them from neonics. They have urged California’s Department of Pesticide Regulation to ensure protections for native pollinators, aquatic invertebrates and the state’s diverse ecosystems.

In 2018, the European Union permanently banned neonics, but industries in the U.S. dug in. Lobbying documents and emails show a decade-long sophisticated effort to obstruct efforts to restrict neonic use, with sobering results. In Mead, Nebraska the company AltEn, which was supposed to be helpful to the environment, built an ethanol plant that turns corn into biofuel. AltEn’s production process uses seeds coated with fungicides and insecticides, including neonics. Residents began to notice a rotting smell and reported eye and throat irritation and nosebleeds. Colonies of bees began dying, birds and butterflies appeared disoriented, and dogs grew ill and staggered around with dilated pupils. AltEn officials have advertised the company as a “recycling” location, where agricultural companies can leave excess supplies of pesticide-treated seeds. AltEn used these seeds in its ethanol, but the waste product contained too many pesticides to feed to animals so they distributed some of these grains to farm fields as “soil conditioner” and accumulated the rest on its plant’s grounds. Researchers say that this waste is dangerously polluting water and soil, and also threatening human and animal health. State officials ordered testing and found neonics in AltEn waste many times above what is considered safe. Nebraska filed a lawsuit against AltEn on March 1 for multiple environmental violations. 

Equally alarming, the concentration of neonics in products sold for residential use on ornamental plants is as much as 30 times the allowance permitted in the agricultural sector. The American Bird Conservancy (ABC) collaborated on a Friends of the Earth (FOE) study and found that more than half of the seedlings purchased from retailers contain neonics. Heavy pressure from consumers and a consortium of conservation organizations has led retailers such as Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart, Costco, True Value and BJ's Wholesale Club to label plants treated with neonics. The ultimate hope is to remove these chemicals from their plant production altogether. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a national policy decision phasing out the use of neonics on federal wildlife refuge lands nationwide by January 2016, but in 2018, under the Trump administration, that decision was rolled back. ABC also worked to ban neonics on state refuge lands, and some local US jurisdictions have taken action to limit neonics. 

Regardless of legislation, everyone can and should take the following positive steps:

• Buy organic fruits and vegetables when available and affordable.

• Choose plantings that are labeled organic or neonic-free. Ask your local nursery to stop selling neonic pesticides and treated plants.

• Avoid treating your garden with neonic products. The Center for Food Safety published a list to help guide your choices.

• Never use pet collars that contain neonics, which are dangerous to children.

• Speak out about neonics to the EPA and Congress.

Sources:

Virginia Cooperative Extension – “Section 18 Emergency Exemption approved for dinotefuran against brown marmorated stink bug”

 Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation – “Understanding Neonicotinoids” 

Xerces Urges California to Step Up for Pollinators

The Guardian – ‘There’s a red flag here’: How an Ethanol Plant is Dangerously Polluting a US Village

American Bird Conservancy – “Neonics and Birds”

The Intercept – “The Pesticide Industry’s Playbook for Poisoning the Earth”

Union of Concerned Scientists “Trump Administration Lifts Ban on Use of Dangerous Pesticides at U.S. Wildlife Refuges” 

Center for Food Safety, “Help the Honeybees”

Thinking about Spring with Audubon at Home’s Guidance

Photo: Eastern Bluebird and Eastern Redbud Tree, Glenda Simmons/Audubon Photography Awards

As we finally begin to emerge from this dark and isolated winter, many of us are thinking about getting outdoors into the garden.

Would you like to garden to attract birds and butterflies and create habitat for wildlife in your yard?  Are you keen to make your yard more friendly to the environment, and spend less time mowing?  

Then check out ASNV’s Audubon at Home program.  

In this program, properties are eligible for certification as Wildlife Sanctuaries if the owners take steps towards managing their land in an environmentally responsible way, such as replacing lawn with native plants and trees, and reducing pesticide and fertilizer use. To be certified, they must document that their yard is being used by at least 10 out of a list of 34 Audubon at Home Sanctuary species. The list includes birds such as Baltimore Orioles and Carolina Chickadees, beneficial insects such as Monarch butterflies, as well as box turtles and other reptiles, frogs, salamanders and mammals. The Sanctuary Species are all beneficial species that can be helped by homeowners creating native habitat for them. The motto is, “let the animals decide.” If the critters show up and use your yard, then they’ve decided it’s a Wildlife Sanctuary. Information about the program can be found here. 

One nice feature of the program is that you can request a free consultation and site visit by an Audubon at Home Ambassador – a well-trained volunteer who visits your home to walk the property, discuss your goals and concerns, and give you on-the-ground guidance and recommendations for creating your own wildlife sanctuary. To arrange an appointment, make a request here.

Native plants play a key role in the Audubon at Home program because they are critical links in food webs. Native insects are adapted to feed on native plants, and those insects then provide food for birds and other animals. Once a well-functioning habitat is established, insect predators tend to balance out insect pests. 

Documenting the species using your yard would be a great summer project for kids—they are all relatively easy to identify. When 10 sanctuary species are documented on your property, then your yard can be certified as a Wildlife Sanctuary and you can receive an attractive sign to put in your yard. Of course, the sign is secondary to the pleasure of seeing birds, butterflies and other wildlife that will show up in your yard!

Where to Find Native Plants

Photo: Silky Dogwood (Cornus amomum), Sheryl Pollock

The Plant NOVA Natives website maintains a list of native-only plant sellers and updates its list of seasonal native plant sales in our 4-county region.  A growing number of local garden centers are adding natives to their inventory and we encourage you to ask about them to help get the message to plant suppliers that native plants are in increasing demand.  If you are having trouble finding native plants please contact Audubon at Home, your Audubon At Home Ambassador or one of the AAH Regional Coordinators for more information. (Contact information can be found here.) Be sure the plants you buy haven’t been treated with neonicotinoids that are harmful to our native bees and caterpillars.

Hosting Cavity Nesting Birds in your Yard

Annual Audubon At Home Ambassador’s Brunch features Larry Cartwright

Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Larry Cartwright

Encouraging cavity nesting birds in suburban yards requires knowledge of birds and insects and how to support them. Audubon at Home Ambassadors invited Larry Cartwright to share his expertise on February 20th at their Annual  Brunch. AAH Ambassadors are a trained group of volunteers who make personal visits within our region to anyone who asks for advice about how to make their property more wildlife friendly. 

Although Larry Cartwright was formally trained in Russian history, he has been a nature lover most of his life, with a special fondness for birds and bats. In addition, he is the compiler for the DC Christmas Bird Count, ASNV’s Winter Waterfowl Count, the Dyke Marsh Breeding Bird Survey and the Huntley Meadows Eastern Bluebird Nest Box Program. At home, he uses his own suburban yard as a case study in how to transform property to attract nesting birds and other wildlife. Among the lessons he’s learned: 

Avoid manicured monocultures in open spaces by planting a diversity of native plants that attract insects which in turn will attract birds. Reducing the use of pesticides is essential to encouraging a heathy balance of plants, insects and birds.

Native Plantings, Larry Cartwright

Don’t be Overly Tidy and instead, leave the leaves and dead plants for winter foraging, shelter and spring nesting materials. Adding a water source and a brush pile will attract even more birds. Sometimes neighbors or HOAs complain about naturalized landscapes they perceive as unkept. Larry’s solution is to plant colorful flowers, like Zinnias facing the street and talk with his neighbors about the purpose of his yard – to improve habitat. Loss of habitat is the most serious threat facing birds today.

Couded Sulpher with Zinnia, Larry Cartwright

Snags are essential to a healthy habitat. A snag is a dead tree or dead parts of an upright living tree. They are used by cavity nesting birds and many other animals such as Raccoons, Flying Squirrels and Big Brown Bats. Snags also attract insects, mosses and fungi when they decompose. Taller snags are especially useful to raptors such as Red-tailed Hawks as look-outs for prey and to attract potential mates.

Cavities, Larry Cartwright

Learn how to maintain snags by only removing them if they threaten homes or harbor a disease or infestation that could spread. If they do fall to the ground in a wooded area they will return nutrients to the soil which aids the growth of new plants. Even if you must remove a dead tree, you can leave the stump for ground foraging cavity nesters like Pileated Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers. Larry recommends having at least 3 snags per acre.

Understand the two groups of cavity nesting birds. In the U.S. and Canada there are over 85 avian species that use cavities for food, shelter and nesting and 25 of them can be found in Northern Virginia. 

• Primary cavity nesters, including all woodpeckers, excavate their own cavities. Some smaller birds such as Carolina Chickadees and White-breasted Nuthatches can enlarge existing holes if the wood is rotten enough.

Pileated Woodpeckers, Larry Cartwright

• Secondary cavity nesters do not excavate their own cavities but rely on broken off limbs or those created by other birds. Larry’s backyard favorites are the Great Crested Flycatchers who use dried plant material and snakeskins in their nests. The snakeskins are probably used to deter predators. Barred Owls have found homes in his neighborhood too, but not Eastern Screech-Owls even though they are also secondary cavity nesters. Wood Ducks and Hooded Mergansers use cavities but they need to live near water. Another cavity nester that prefers water is the Prothonotary Warbler. They nest along the Potomac, larger tributaries and inland marshes. Other species you might attract if you have enough open space are Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.

Great Crested Flycatcher, Gary Rasmussen/Audubon Photography Awards

Using nest boxes to attract birds requires the right habitat. Most residential areas do not offer enough foraging areas for birds that need open spaces and often there is severe competition from introduced species like House Sparrows. Larry’s yard does not have enough open space for blue birds and swallows but he does host nesting House Wrens and Mason Bees.

Eastern Bluebird, Hazel Erikson/Audubon Photography Awards

Be aware of what your habitat will support and the challenges for you and the birds. Northern Virginia is a rich home for numerous cavity nesting birds but it is also overrun with non-native plants like Porcelain Berry and English Ivy that degrade habitat. Learning about these invasive plants and removing them is an ongoing effort in Larry’s yard. 

After habitat loss, the 2nd most serious threat to birds is free-roaming cats which kill about 2.4 billion birds per year in the U.S. Discussing your concerns with neighbors is a good beginning. 

The effect of deer browsing on tree seedlings has degraded our woodlands. If seedlings do not grow then there will be no replacement oaks and other large trees to support cavity nesters in the future. 

Read more about Larry’s talk and the value of dead wood in this article by Glenda Booth.

Do you want to make your yard more wildlife friendly and attract to cavity-nesting birds?  Visit our Audubon at Home page and request a consultation with an Ambassador. 

Audubon at Home Invites Grant Applications

Photo: Native Plantings, Margaret Fisher

We are very pleased to announce that ASNV’s Audubon at Home Program, in partnership with the Plant NOVA Natives campaign, has been awarded a grant of $15,000 from the Environmental Education and Stewardship Grants Program of the Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation to demonstrate the concept that native plants, so critical to wildlife habitat, can fit nicely into a conventional suburban aesthetic, including formal or semi-formal settings. 

The Audubon at Home program invites homeowners’ and civic associations to apply for funds to beautify their neighborhood entrances using low maintenance native plants. Six one-to-one matching grants of $2,350 apiece will be given to cover costs of a landscape designer to create a design and recommend native plants, prepare the site including removing any invasive plants present such as English Ivy, Periwinkle, and others, purchase and install the plants. The terms of the grant will require matching funds or sweat equity from the applicant. Funds will be granted contingent on the community association conducting educational outreach on the value of native plants to their residents. Completed installations will receive a high-quality sign that says, “Native plants support birds and other wildlife.” Community associations are expected to commit to maintaining the plantings for 5 years.  

Applications are due May 31,  2021. Click here for more information and to apply.

Do you live in a community that would benefit from these funds? You are welcome to pass this information along. Questions? Contact Audubon at Home.