Why You Should Plant a Native Tree or Shrub

by Eoin Carroll

Birds need our help.  Habitat loss is the number one threat facing birds and we can do something about it in our outdoor spaces, gardens, and landscapes.

Reproduction success is closely tied to food availability.  For 95 to 98 percent of songbirds the main food that they feed their young are caterpillars.  If there are not enough caterpillars then the babies will starve.

Insect populations are declining across many regions, especially the species that ecosystems depend on most. One major reason is the loss of the plants they need to survive.

The vast majority of North American caterpillar species can only feed on a small number of specific plants. They cannot develop on most other types of vegetation.  This is because most plants have created various defenses to keep from being eaten.  Only certain caterpillars have evolved the various enzymes that are necessary to break down these defenses.  If those plants are missing, caterpillars cannot survive, and the food web begins to break down. Caterpillars are especially important because they transfer energy from plants to other animals, making them a critical link between plants and wildlife.

Thus you can have what appears to be a very beautiful yard that is full of healthy plants but if they are not native plants then what you have is a caterpillar desert and is no help for our hungry bird babies.

The same logic holds for the rest of the insect kingdom.  One example, which most people know, is the dependence that monarch butterflies have with milkweed plants.  This is the only plant that the monarch butterfly will lay her eggs on as it is the only plant that will make both the monarch butterfly and its caterpillar taste really bad and thus avoid being eaten.

One place that you can get native trees and shrubs is from the Master Watershed Stewards annual fundraising sale which is in progress now.  There is a link to the site in our weekly announcements.  The catalog on the website has lots of information on the 24 varieties of trees and shrubs to help you understand if it would do well in your yard.  Proceeds support Master Watershed Steward projects and educational programs in the selected region, including stream restoration efforts, tree plantings, youth education initiatives, and other community-based conservation activities.  

You place your order online and then need to pick up your purchase from the site you designate.  The closest sites to our church are at the Wyoming County Conservation District in Tunkhannock or at Sweeneys Beach in Scranton.  If you come to the Wyoming Country site then your plants will be personally loaded into your car by either me or my wife.