Bay-Friendly Landscaping Principles and Practices - StopWaste.org

7. Create & Protect Wildlife Habitat
Plant and animal diversity is one of the many factors that make the San Francisco Bay Watershed unique
and beautiful. More than 1,500 local plant species bloom throughout the year, supporting hundreds of
native pollinators, beneficial insects and other organisms that can reduce the need for pesticides. Birds &
butterflies are attracted, bringing with them beauty, song and interest to a landscape.
Biodiversity is crucial to the health and resiliency of the local landscape, the Bay area ecosystem and its inhabitants.
Yet the loss of habitat is threatening local biodiversity. The population of the Bay Area is growing and expected to
continue to do so. With increased populations comes development, which is too often done without regard for
wildlife habitat.
And although we tend to rely on parks and open space for preserving wildlife habitat, both residential and
commercial landscapes can also play an important role. Developed landscapes can provide food, water, shelter and
nesting sites for birds, butterflies, beneficial insects and other creatures, thus helping to conserve valuable wildlife
resources and restore damaged ecosystems. Small spaces or corridors, patched together over the entire Bay Area,
add up to a great opportunity for encouraging and protecting wildlife.
Offer your skill and expertise to your customers through the following practices for creating wildlife habitat:
1. Diversify
Description
A diverse landscape includes annuals,
biennials and perennials of many different
sizes, shapes, colors and textures. It
includes evergreens and deciduous plants,
species that bloom at different times
of the year and those that bear fruit or
berries. And it includes plants that occupy
different canopy levels and root zones.
Applications
n Educate your customers and
encourage them to embrace diversity.
n Start with a trial zone, then plan for
increasing diversity throughout the
landscape over time.
n Recommend to your clients that they
convert a lawn that no one uses, or
that they replace part of it with a
diverse border.
n Select a rich array of plant species
that includes many, if not all, California
natives.
n Specify layers of groundcovers, shrubs
and trees that provide a variety of
nesting sites or flower and bear fruit
at different times of the year. Refer to
the Tips for Success: Flowering Periods of
Beneficial Insects Plants in this section.
n Do not plant invasive species as they
often damage or destroy habitat.
Benefits
Biodiversity is fostered. A diverse
landscape may resist disease and insect
pests better than those with little variety,
while providing a higher habitat value. A
single insect or disease infestation is less
likely to be devastating.
Survey Says...
More than 1/2 of single-family
households with yards or gardens
are interested in creating habitat
for birds and pollinators in their
yard.
photos: kwai lam
3 Principles
& Practices
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