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About how we unschool at +40.933360,-124.116689
Sun Setting On Our Field, by Rainer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How
Did the rose
Ever open its heart
And give this world
All its
Beauty?
It felt the encouragement of light
Against its
Being,
Otherwise,
We all remain
Too
Frightened
-Hafiz
Welcome to our family blog about getting more wild
Nine years ago we moved to this 3/4 acre of horse pasture on the coastal prairie in northern Humboldt County, CA. We started with two measly trees and packed but well-fertilized soil. Now there are at least 60 more trees, an ever-expanding berry patch, vegetable gardens. And four frog ponds.
In the Summer of 2008 we started to get our yard ready to be certified as a wildlife habitat. The National Wildlife Federation's backyard wildlife habitat program is our model. Below is a list of their requirements. Since then we've achieved certification as wild backyard #126,046.
We're compiling in this blog a list of critters, plants, books and resources, and will post it as it comes.
-Kris, Zak, Rainer and Frida, Spring 2014
In the Summer of 2008 we started to get our yard ready to be certified as a wildlife habitat. The National Wildlife Federation's backyard wildlife habitat program is our model. Below is a list of their requirements. Since then we've achieved certification as wild backyard #126,046.
We're compiling in this blog a list of critters, plants, books and resources, and will post it as it comes.
-Kris, Zak, Rainer and Frida, Spring 2014
Eternity, by William Blake
He who binds to himself a joy
Does the winged life destroy.
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
lives in eternity's sun rise.
Does the winged life destroy.
But he who kisses the joy as it flies
lives in eternity's sun rise.
This child knows that fennel tastes like licorice
If you have a garden and a library, you have all you need. -Cicero, 106-43 B.C.
Backyard, September, 2005
Backyard, September, 2008
Backyard, Summer 2010
Backyard, Spring, 2013
National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat Program Requirements ( * = we got it covered)
Food Sources (minimum three):
Plant foods-
berries *, nuts, nectar *, foliage/twigs/seed/sap *, pollen *
Supplemental Feeders/Foods-
seed, suet, squirrel, hummingbird*, butterfly
Water Sources (minimum 1):
birdbath *, lake, stream, seasonal pond, ocean, water garden/pond*, river, butterfly puddling area, rain garden, spring
Places for Cover (minimum 2):
wooded area, bramble patch *, ground cover *, rock pile/wall *, cave, roosting box, dense shrubs/thicket *, evergreens, brush/log pile *, burrow, meadow/prairie *, water garden/pond*
Places to Raise Young (minimum 2):
mature trees *, meadow/prairie *, nesting box, wetland, cave, host plants for caterpillars *, dead trees/snags, dense shrubs/thicket *, water garden/pond*, burrow
Sustainable Gardening Practices (minimum 2):
Soil and water conservation-
riparian buffer, capture rain water from roof*, xeriscape (water-wise landscaping) *, drip or soaker hose for irrigation, limit water use *, reduce erosion (ground cover, terraces) *, use mulch *, rain garden
Controlling exotic species-
practice integrated pest management *, remove non-native plants and animals, use native plants *, reduce lawn areas *
Organic practices-
eliminate chemical pesticides *, eliminate chemical fertilizers *, compost *
Plant foods-
berries *, nuts, nectar *, foliage/twigs/seed/sap *, pollen *
Supplemental Feeders/Foods-
seed, suet, squirrel, hummingbird*, butterfly
Water Sources (minimum 1):
birdbath *, lake, stream, seasonal pond, ocean, water garden/pond*, river, butterfly puddling area, rain garden, spring
Places for Cover (minimum 2):
wooded area, bramble patch *, ground cover *, rock pile/wall *, cave, roosting box, dense shrubs/thicket *, evergreens, brush/log pile *, burrow, meadow/prairie *, water garden/pond*
Places to Raise Young (minimum 2):
mature trees *, meadow/prairie *, nesting box, wetland, cave, host plants for caterpillars *, dead trees/snags, dense shrubs/thicket *, water garden/pond*, burrow
Sustainable Gardening Practices (minimum 2):
Soil and water conservation-
riparian buffer, capture rain water from roof*, xeriscape (water-wise landscaping) *, drip or soaker hose for irrigation, limit water use *, reduce erosion (ground cover, terraces) *, use mulch *, rain garden
Controlling exotic species-
practice integrated pest management *, remove non-native plants and animals, use native plants *, reduce lawn areas *
Organic practices-
eliminate chemical pesticides *, eliminate chemical fertilizers *, compost *
Look deep into Nature, then you will understand everything better.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Inspiring Books and Other Resources
- Adventures Among Ants: A Global Safari with a Cast of Trillions, by Mark W. Moffett
- American Wildflowers Coloring Book, by Paul Kennedy
- Amphibian, DK Eyewitness Books, by Barry Clarke
- An Unlikely Vineyard: the education of a farmer and her quest for terroir, by Deirdre Heekin
- Ants: Nature's Secret Power, 2006, 54 minutes
- Bio-Dynamic Agriculture: An Introduction, by Koepf, Pettersson and Schaumann
- Botany in a Day: The Patterns and Methods of Plant Identification, by Thomas Elpel
- Carrots Love Tomatoes: Secrets of Companion Planting for Succesful Gardening, by Louise Riotte
- Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by McDonough and Braumgart
- Design Outlaws: On the Ecological Frontier, a Companion Book to the film Ecological Design: Inventing the Future, by Editors Zelov and Cousineau
- Dirt! The Movie, by Benenson and Rosow
- Family Herbal, by Rosemary Gladstar
- From Plant to Seed, by Gail Gibbons
- Full Moon Feast, by Jessica Prentice
- Giants in the Earth: the California Redwoods, ed. by Johnstone
- Healing Wise, by Susan Weed
Honeysuckle Sipping: The Plant Lore of Childhood, by Jeanne R. Chesanow- In Search of Nature, by Edward O. Wilson
- Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants Through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children, by Michael Caduto and Joseph Bruchac
- Mushrooms DeMystified, by David Arora
- My Backyard Jungle: the adventures of an urban wildlife lover who turned his yard into habitat and learned to live with it, by James Barilla
- National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians, by Bebler and King
- Nature in Your Backyard: Simple Activities for Children, by Susan Lang
- Nova: Lord of the Ants, PBS, 2008, 52 minutes
- Planet Ant: Life Inside the Colony, 2013, BBC, 88 minutes
- Plants That Never Bloom, by Ruth Heller
- Redwoods: The World's Tallest Trees, by Jeremy Joan Hewes
- Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots: Gardening Together With Children, by Sharon Lovejoy
- Small is Still Beautiful, by Joseph Pearce
- Sol Viva: How to Grow $500,000 on One Acre, and Peace on Earth, by Anna Edey
- Sunset New Western Garden Book, by Editors of Sunset Books and
Sunset Magazine - The Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Birds, Western Region, by Miklos D. F. Udvardy
- The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers, Western Region
- The Private Life of Plants, 1995 BBC film presented by David Attenborough
- The Reason for a Flower, by Ruth Heller
- The Sustainable Vegetable Garden: A Backyard Guide to Healthy Soil and Higher Yields, by Jeavons and Cox
- The Tree of Time: a Story of a Special
Sequoia , by Kathy Baron - Wholeness: On Education, Buckminster Fuller and Tao, by Alex Gerber, Jr.
- Wicked Bugs: the Louse that Conquered Napoleon's Army & Other Diabolical Insects,, by Amy Stewart
- Wicked Plants: the Weed that Killed Lincoln's Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities, by Amy Stewart
Links
- Amy Stewart - Eureka, CA , garden writer's home page
- Animal Planet's BackYard Habitat site
- Botany Unit Study Resources
- BugGuide.net
- Butterfly-attracting plants
- Culture Change
- Down on the Garm: Adventures in the Dirt
- Edible Forest Gardens
- First Ways: Urban Foraging and Other Wilderness Adventures (blog)
- Guerilla Gardening
- Paul Stamets TED talk: "6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World"
- The Great Sunflower Project
- ebird survey
- kidsgardening.org, link to section "Cultivating Literacy in the Garden"
Plants in our yard:
- "money" plant
- Brussels sprouts
- California poppy
- Chinese elm
- Chinese mugwort
- Cleome
- alder trees
- alfalfa
- amaranth
- artichoke
- avocado
- baby bok choy
- baby rose
- bamboo
- black currant
- blackberry
- blue eucalyptus
- blueberry
- borage
- broccoli
- burdock
- buttercup
- butterfly bush
- cherry tomatos
- cherry tree
- chocolate mint
- cilantro
- clover, red and white
- cobra plant (carnivorous)
- cosmos
- crocosmia
- curly willow
- daffodil
- daisy
- dandelion
- dianthus
- echinacea
- ecium
- elephant garlic
- fava beans
- fennel
- french lavender
- fuschsia
- garlic
- geraniums, several kinds
- giant sequoia
- grapes
- green onion
- green pepper
- heavenly bamboo
- huckleberry
- kale
- lemon balm
- lemon verbena
- lilac
- lobelia
- mallow
- mexican sage
- milk thistle
- mint
- morning glory
- nasturtium
- nicotiana
- onion
- orange poppy
- oregano
- parsley
- peonies
- pineapple weed
- plantain
- plum trees
- poplar tree
- potato
- pumpkin
- purple willow
- raspberry
- red poppy
- redwood tree
- river willow
- rose
- rosemary
- scarlet pimpernel
- self-heal
- snow peas
- strawberry
- sunflower
- tayberry
- thuja
- thyme
- toyon
- verbena
- western dock
- wild strawberry
- woolly lamb's ear
- yarrow
- yellow and orange calendula
Invasive plants of Humboldt County: "A" list, most harmful
- bull thistle and Canada thistle
- Cape ivy (or German ivy)
- Chilean cordgrass
- common reed
- English Ivy
- European beachgrass
- gorse
- Himalaya berry
- iceplant
- pampas grass
- Scotch broom (and other brooms)
- Spanish heath
- spotted and diffuse knapweed
- yellow bush lupine
- yellow star thistle
Invasive plants "B" List, also of concern
- butterfuly bush
- cottoneaster
- English holly
- fennel
- foxglove
- Klamath weed
- parrot's feather
- pennyroyal
- periwinkle
- pittosporum
- poison hemlock
- teasel
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2 comments:
Every bird has certain requirements: size of entry, nest size to fit cavity, height from ground, depth of box to exit, exposure (cover for new fliers if necessary), outside perches, inside cleats and perhaps even in your case, heavy winds (?), preditor access. Explore what type of bird you are trying to lure and go from there -- best of luck! Here's hoping more people follow your lead!!
Thank you, sheila. These are the questions we have as we try to lure animals. As we plant things and put up our climbing structures, etc., we have micro climates within our little yard. This bird house is in a very open spot, very close to where we garden. Are we crazy to think they'd trust us to be within arm's length of their babies? I think so...
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