The mission statement of Naples Garden Club is to provide opportunities for learning about horticulture, floral design, and THE ENVIRONMENT and sharing in a congenial, supportive atmosphere. “Going Green” is our club’s effort to learn about THE ENVIRONMENT and share this season.
We’ve got a whole season to touch upon things we can do to help the environment and examine why each step is important. So stay tuned at every membership meeting for “Going Green.”
Until then, I’d like to share with you what over one hundred conservation groups worldwide are celebrating in 2018: the “Year of the Bird”.
In the early 1900’s we may well have come to a garden club meeting donning hats of the latest fashion – those adorned with showy plumes and bird feathers, many from shorebirds. This brought on a sharp decline in bird populations. Women started a feather boycott, and their efforts resulted in The Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918, which stopped this commercial fashion feather trade. “Year of the Bird” commemorates this Act.
Birds are very much gardeners’ friends – they pollinate, spread seeds and manage all kinds of pests. They play an integral role in the Environment. Plus imagine a world without the beauty of a bird in flight or in song.
How can we help birds in 2018?
- Add native plants to your yard as a safe place for birds to nest or perch.
- Cut back on plastic materials. Ingestion and entrapment in plastic is a huge problem for birds.
- Drink shade-grown coffee. Coffee groves are tropical habitat for migratory songbirds.
- Use fewer chemicals and pesticides in your garden. They pollute waterways, reduce insects as a food source, and are toxic.
- Donate old binoculars to groups that educate children
- Add bird houses, bird baths, and bird feeders to your yard.
Keep a daily log of birds. The eBird project can use these to better understand migration.
How about adopting at least one of these practices as your participation in the “Year of The Bird.”