Homegrown National Park In The Carolina Foothills
Never before has the need to preserve and protect biodiversity and healthy habitats been so great. Really, it goes beyond preserving and protecting though. We have so dramatically altered the natural landscape in such vast areas that the first step actually demands, in many cases, that we recreate what once was healthy habitat.
Sounds daunting I know, but here is the great news - there is a movement afoot that has begun turning the tides. While our National Park System was designed to preserve some of our country’s most precious natural areas, we cannot rely on these lands to make up for the lack of biodiversity elsewhere. Our native species, wildlife and insects need robust biodiversity to survive. With this awareness, and with a sense of urgency, the Homegrown National Park program began. It is a call to action for anyone and everyone to extend our national parks right into our yards, businesses and communities. No experience is necessary and you can start with simple steps today!
Many folks are familiar with the idea of a wildlife corridor. It is basically a strip of natural habitat connecting populations of wildlife otherwise separated by cultivated land, roads, etc. Imagine that each of our homes could become a little “pocket habitat corridor”. Whether you have a pot of flowers on a balcony or you own a big booming farm, you can take simple steps to support our plant, wildlife and insect populations. Now, imagine pocket after pocket after pocket emerging across the county - that is our Homegrown National Park and it is happening coast to coast. And back to the great news - you can be a part of this solution!
Here is a little of the backstory … now that I’ve got you hooked. Douglas Tallamy is a renowned entomologist and ecologist and he is spreading the word about the need for us all to pitch in and plant more native plants and remove invasive plants. He has written many critically acclaimed books and research papers, including the NY Times bestseller, Nature’s Best Hope. At one of his talks Michelle Alfandari, a business owner and entrepreneur, sat up, took notice and decided she needed to act. Together, scientist and entrepreneur identified the problems and created Homegrown National Park to address that need.
Here is how it works - you begin this journey by visiting the website which provides the resources, tools and information to get you started. Once you begin this adventure, you can add your tiny (or large) patch of soil to the Homegrown National Park map. One by one by one our little “pocket habitat corridors” are joining up and spreading far and wide.
The Gardening For Life Project came to life in response to hearing Doug’s passionate call “We are Nature’s Best Hope” and it has been fueled by the Homegrown National Park initiative. It is our goal to spread that message of hope and the call to action with our friends, families and communities.
We invite you to join us!
Here are two ways to get started:
1) Register now to attend the Gardening for Life Celebration on March 4th, 2023. Doug Tallamy is the keynote speaker. There will also be educational exhibits, community resources and more.
2) Join Homegrown National Park and explore tips, tools and resources that will support you in making the spaces you live, work and play in more habitat friendly.
Together let’s celebrate biodiversity by creating the nation’s largest national park - our collective Homegrown National Park!
