#Canada - Here's how you can make your #garden a safe and #biodiverse space for #urban #wildlife
by Ann Dale, Sabrina Careri, The Conversation
"Supporting biodiversity in your garden
"Together, we've created a series of free, fact-based guides to help people learn how to cultivate biodiversity and support for wildlife habitat in private gardens.
"This series currently includes four comprehensive booklets, each focusing on key aspects of biodiversity gardening:
- Yard Naturalization: A How-to Guide
- Myths & Misconceptions: Naturalized Gardens, Ticks, Mice, Rats & Other Pests
- Bird-Friendly Gardens: Supporting Bird Habitat in Every Season
- Good Garden Practices: Underrated Practices & Top Plant Picks.
"While there are plenty of great garden practices out there, these are five easy and impactful ways to boost biodiversity and cultivate a garden safe for urban wildlife, taken directly from our booklets.
"Use alternatives to pesticides
"#Pesticides in your garden can harm beneficial insects and can be detrimental to the environment, wildlife and human health. Instead of using chemical-based pesticides, try natural alternatives like #biopesticides, #HorticulturalOils and #InsecticidalSoaps that can be just as effective.
"Likewise, attracting predatory insects and wildlife into your garden who will actively feed on the harmful pest is also an effective starting point as this is a process of pest-control that occurs naturally in healthy ecosystems.
"There are also DIY pesticides, such as sea salt spray, water-vinegar mixtures and coffee grounds.
"Decomposing plant litter, like fallen dead leaves, tree bark, needles and twigs, is an important component of maintaining soil health, nutrient cycling and biodiversity.
"By choosing to leave the leaves in your garden, you will support the variety of species who overwinter in them, from #bees and #caterpillars, to #butterflies, #spiders and more.
"Prioritize #pollinator-attractive plants
"In addition to pollination, insects are beneficial for a variety of other reasons, including for pest control, seed dispersal and decomposition.
"The best way to attract insects largely depends on which insect you are trying to attract. But as a general rule, it is always a good practice to source plants locally and prioritize #NativeSpecies.
"Next best to native plants are benign ornamentals and non-natives. Cultivating a diverse range of flowers, especially native plants and herbs, promotes a resilient ecosystem. It also helps natives out-compete invasive species and to reverse the downward trends of mass species decline.
"Make your garden safe for birds
"#Birds contribute to healthy ecosystems: they pollinate plants, disperse seeds and prey on insects. Unfortunately, North American bird populations are experiencing a rapid decline due to habitat loss, degradation and other global pressures.
"Adopting bird-safe gardening practices offers a powerful way to combat these threats and support biodiversity conservation on a local scale. Beyond core habitat elements, additional practices can enhance the garden's appeal to birds.
"Organic gardening without pesticides or herbicides, keeping cats indoors, removing potential entanglement hazards and using bird-collision prevention markers on reflective surfaces can not only attract birds, but also ensure their safety as well.
"Advocate for biodiversity
"Although there's been a growing movement toward more biodiversity-supporting practices, outdated municipal bylaws and enforcement policies continue to limit the potential of habitat gardens.
"These disputes over the scope and application of bylaws have brought attention to various legal contradictions and outcomes that negatively impact progress on biodiversity recovery, all the while undermining and negating related environmental objectives on private land.
"By advocating and encouraging your municipal leaders to adopt science-based biodiversity-supportive bylaws, you help to establish the legal frameworks and political agendas that directly impact long-term ecological health and promote sustainable development and the regeneration of biodiversity."
Read more:
https://phys.org/news/2025-08-garden-safe-biodiverse-space-urban.html
#UrbanGardening #Gardening #Biodiversity #SolarPunkSunday #GardeningForPollinators #GardeningForButterflies
RT by @Plants_EFSA: #Biocontrol can be part of #IPM, as can #innovative #biopesticides, like the ones BIOVEXO is developing. #farming #Europe #sustainable #SUR #agriculture #research #science #xylella 🌱💚🇪🇺
@AgroEcoDiv @Bio_Markets @bug_beastie @BioEcoFacts @Plants_EFSA @CBE_JU @biconsortium @IPBES
🐦🔗: https://nitter.cz/BiovexoProject/status/1725083245958529137#m
[2023-11-16 09:27 UTC]
RT by @cinea_EU: Presentation of the ALGAENAUTS project at the SESSION - BLUE ECONOMY PROJECTS ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN, organised by @cinea_EU (@EU_Commission ) in the framework of @Ecomondo 2023, in #Rimini (#Italy).
@LIFEprogramme @aga_kempny #circulareconomy #biopesticides @BiorizonBiotech
🐦🔗: https://nitter.cz/Algaenauts/status/1722574968410530280#m
[2023-11-09 11:20 UTC]
#Biopesticides should be preferred over chemical #pesticides for fall #armyworm control, study suggests.
https://phys.org/news/2023-03-biopesticides-chemical-pesticides-fall-armyworm.html
Safer-to-use and more environmentally-friendly biopesticides should be preferred to fight the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) pest instead of more harmful chemical pesticides, a new CABI-led study published in the Journal of Pest Science suggests.
Great to see that today #EU #EMFF @Algaenauts is at @AlgaeCongresss 👀
Don't miss the presentation on their sustainable and eco-friendly #biopesticides for agriculture from microalgae biomass ♻️🌱
🐦🔗: https://n.respublicae.eu/cinea_eu/status/1602607688856240128
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