Embedded Files
I was delighted to see this article in our local online news source, especially because it was written by a friend in my LWVE Climate Group! And who could resist that cute bird pic!
How to make a bird-friendly garden with a birdbath
Late summer tips from a backyard birder
by Elizabeth Kinney August 20th, 2025
https://evanstonroundtable.com/2025/08/20/birdbath-tips-for-summer/
While cleaning up the archives, I found this advice from Audubon:
Help Birds Beat the Heat
A simple bird bath makes a big difference, especially with recent scorching temperatures. Provide fresh water for bathing and drinking with Audubon’s bird baths! Offering both beauty and function, this bird bath’s reflective, multi-colored tiles play off the water to attract a variety of birds. The 16-inch diameter bowl sits atop a sturdy steel 22.8-inch-high decorative base, placing the basin at the perfect height for bathing birds.
When you get a bird bath, be sure to clean it regularly to help prevent the spread of disease.
Here is a link to Audubon's birdbath site, but it doesn't need to be their brand: https://www.audubon.org/.../birdhouses-feeders-and...
More importantly, here is their advice for care of a birdbath: https://www.audubon.org/magazine/why-you-should-keep-your-birdbath-clean
It's Pollinator Week!
Pollinator week is this week, June 16-22!
Did you know that about 75% of all flowering plant species need animal pollinators for reproduction? As a result, pollinators contribute to ecosystem health and a sustainable food supply.
Pollinator week is the perfect time to recognize the importance of your own garden and its amazing impact on wildlife. From hummingbirds to bees, even the smallest garden can support and attract pollinators!
This was from our City of Evanston June Sustainability Newsletter.
Protecting trees has deep roots in Evanston history
Ordinance would apply to trees on private property
by Wendy Pollock
Does your city or town have laws protecting its trees? Evanston does, and my former home, Walden, did too. Here is a recent article about trees from our local newspaper, and why they are so important to our environment.
https://evanstonroundtable.com/2023/09/10/protecting-trees-has-deep-roots-in-evanston-history/
It's time to start thinking about planting a garden again! Here are some ideas and encouragement from the League of Women Voters Waste Not Want Not ladies to help you get started!
Plant a Garden, Save the Planet
"During WWI and WWII, people were encouraged to plant gardens to supplement their food rations. While the bulk of the plantings were vegetables, fruit and herbs, the gardens also included flowers to attract birds, which eat pests, and bees and butterflies, to do the pollinating work. The gardens came to represent so much more than food. They instilled national pride. They boosted morale. They nourished the senses and souls as well as the bodies of our nation. They came to be known as Victory Gardens. "
Here is some great and timely info from The Nature Conservancy. While it is titled "Stories in the Great Lakes," it has links for whatever region you live in.
Create a Buzzworthy Backyard
Spring is finally here! Well, officially calendar-wise, that is. The weather is still cold one day warm the next. But trees are starting to bud, flowers are starting to pop up, and robins are hopping around. Time to plan a garden?
Here's a timely article from Sustainable Jungle:
Gardening Season is Coming
GARDENING ISN’T JUST A WAY TO BRIGHTEN YOUR YARD OR GROW YOUR OWN FOOD—IT’S A POWERFUL ACT OF SUSTAINABILITY
https://preview.mailerlite.com/l2g0v6g6e5/2700985169472394844/s4x8/
How to rewild your lawn
Here is a really cool project from One5C to start preparing for spring, which I believe is coming soon (and can't come soon enough!)
A week-by-week guide to turning a patch of grass into a native meadow
By Leslie Horn Peterson March 3, 2025
The next step can be found by clicking on the same link!
March 3: Hoard your cardboard
March 3: Hoard your cardboard
Mar. 25: Lay down your cardboard
Mar. 25: Lay down your cardboard
I really like Sustainable Jungle! Here is another post from them about composting, specifically:
"5 Indoor Compost Bins For
A Low Waste Household."
Do you want to know more about composting: what you can compost, what you can?
Here is an article about it from Sustainable Jungle
"Urban Gardening as a
Means to Go Green...Literally!"
City-based humans globally produced a staggering 1.3 billion tons of waste a decade ago.
Much of it went into landfills, despite 25-50% of it being “organic”.
Given how humanity has "progressed" over the last 10 years, just imagine what that waste profile looks like today!
Composting is a much better means of dealing with this organic matter—
and it also has a whole laundry list of other benefits.
https://preview.mailerlite.com/j0m8w9c2l0/2646946572763403557/l6r4/
Here's a real treasure I found while cleaning up the "archives" I get so many from Audubon, mostly asking for donations, that I don't always check them out! This one is about using native plants to "bring all the birds to the yard": It's an actual guide!
Get to Know These 20 Common Types of Native Plants
Get to Know These 20 Common Types of Native Plants
Whether you’re looking to increase your awareness outdoors or attract more birds to your home, let this primer be your guide. https://www.audubon.org/news/get-know-these-20-common-types-native-plants
Oct. 7, 2024
One5C is another is another online climate advice site that I have been receiving emails from. I have fond childhood memories of raking leaves in the fall into big piles, then running and jumping in them with my friends. As I got older I enjoyed being outside, but the raking got more tiring each year. Eventually we got a mulching mower. Here is the climate friendly perspective:
You never have to rake leaves again
Happy fall, y’all! By Leslie Horn Peterson October 3, 2024
“You want all the water that falls on your property to stay on your property, and you want all the leaves that fall on your property to stay on your property.”
Spicing up the garden
Sept. 29, 2024
It may seem like an odd time for a story about gardening, but I wanted to share the part about herbs, that can be grown indoors in the winter. This story is from Axios Chicago.
The benefits of growing your own herbs are far-reaching, from the simple joy of a new hobby to becoming a bit more self-sufficient.
https://www.axios.com/newsletters/axios-chicago-4f855050-6b74-11ef-92bd-5928a85ccfc6.html
Utilities Kingston
Water Conservation Garden
While traveling in Ontario, Canada, we spent some time with friends in Westport, Ontario. We visited this interesting place in Kingston, that they found out about. It was tucked away next to a parking lot, and we almost missed it!
www.utilitieskingston.com/water/conservation/garden
July 20, 2024
Looking for more lawn alternatives? My husband helped me out by taking photos of these yards and parkways he saw on his walk today! They are really spectacular! Thank you, Honey!
Here is another example of a front yard that is more than just grass. Lots of perennials, so they come back year after year, and something is always in bloom. They also just landscaped the "parkway".
Here's another great lawn alternative I saw on my walk yesterday!
Do you know that piece of land between the sidewalk and the street? Around here, in Evanston, they call it a "parkway"! There is a movement to put something besides grass there, similar to planting something other than grass yards or lawns. I think it's a great idea! Besides saving a lot of water and time spent on mowing and weeding, just to have it dry out and turn brown, they look better! I took pictures around town of some, and you can see if you agree. Most are the parkways, but there were some good examples of what might be done with front yards. One looks like it was just started.
Blossoms Over Blades: Embrace "No Mow Summer" for a Buzz-Worthy Lawn
Blossoms Over Blades: Embrace "No Mow Summer" for a Buzz-Worthy Lawn
Have you heard about "No Mow May"? In my city of Evanston, this is popular, and I recently heard it is in Schenectady, too. Here is an article from Sierra about that and more options.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/blossoms-over-blades-embrace-slow-mow-summer-buzz-worthy-lawn
Just when you were ready to take a hike- here comes another article from the Sierra Club! When I lived in NY, I knew a few people who got Lime Disease. I'm not happy to learn that it is spreading. This article explains how and why.
What’s Behind the Rise of Ticks and Tick-Borne Illnesses?
It’s not just climate change. Land use change, forest fragmentation, and suburbanization are also driving this public health issue.
By Ellyn Lapointe June 27, 2023
Going native: For garden stewards,
Going native: For garden stewards,
an unexpected lesson from the plants themselves
an unexpected lesson from the plants themselves
by Doug Macdonald April 1st, 2024
by Doug Macdonald April 1st, 2024
This article from our Evanston Roundtable may be of interest to my gardening friends. While it is about my local area, I think it applies to most areas, and the way we think about soil, planting, and controlling nature.
This story from The Chicago Sun Times is about more than just local effects of climate change; the loss of these butterflies will be felt all over the country and beyond.
"Monarch butterfly’s long reign as everyday Chicago summer treat could flutter away
Chicago residents can support monarch populations by planting milkweed and reducing pesticide use, experts say."
By Audrey Hettleman Feb 19, 2024, 9:00am CST
"New Maryland Law Is a Boon for Wildlife
"New Maryland Law Is a Boon for Wildlife
How the acres below power lines could be a lifeline to animals on the move"
How the acres below power lines could be a lifeline to animals on the move"
By Ashley Stimpson June 28, 2023
Here's an article from Sierra about how a good idea and the courage to ask, changed things for the better
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/new-maryland-law-boon-wildlife
Here's an interesting article from Sierra Club's magazine:
Can Outdoor Access Reduce the Risk of Dementia?
A new study links nearby green spaces to lower hospitalizations
By Kim Brown Seely for Sierra
"...fine particulate matter (PM2.5), essentially soot, has long been associated with increased rates of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Exposure to pesticides and heavy metals has also been implicated. One study in Scotland found that spending time in woodlands led to increased feelings of well-being for people with dementia..."
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/can-outdoor-access-reduce-risk-dementia
Sierra, The Sierra Club's magazine, has an article in it's most recent issue about creating a haven for wildlife, especially birds, butterflies and bees. Using plants that are native to the area we live in are one good way to do that. Audubon and the National Wildlife Federation have handy native-plant finders based on zip-codes.
"Yet another pollinator, the monarch butterfly, is being threatened by toxic pesticides
"Yet another pollinator, the monarch butterfly, is being threatened by toxic pesticides
In the past two decades, the number of monarch butterflies has decreased steadily. According to a new report from the World Wildlife Fund, or WWF, those found in their winter grounds in Mexico fell by 22 percent just this past year. "
Here is a link to the entire article from EWG, and in it their links to further info:
Backyard Gardens
Backyard Gardens
My husband has had a garden for as long as I have known him. I think it's something he inherited from his Italian grandfather. We have had fresh produce all summer and enough to freeze for the winter for many years. We have grown lettuce, spinach, chard, kale, beans, squash, eggplant, brussels sprouts, carrots, onions, garlic, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and herbs.
Community Gardens
My husband joined Town of Montgomery Community Garden in 2009, and became it's first president. It gave us a lot more space for all that produce, and we also made many new and lasting friendships. Since there is often more of a vegetable than some gardeners want, we shared and donated to the local food pantry. If there is a community garden in your area, you should think about joining; if there isn't, maybe you could start one. It's a lot of work, but the rewards are great! Also, celebrate all your hard work with a potluck supper. It's delicious fun! My husband also created a website for them; check it out for more pictures:
https://sites.google.com/site/tomcommgarden/home
In case you are wondering, my husband joined a community garden in our new home of Evanston, IL.
Alternatives to Lawns
Lawns of turf are, or probably should be, becoming a thing of the past.
These links will help to explain why:
Here is another great article from Sierra! For the entire article (and you should really check it out, even if it doesn't sound like something you would do) click the link at the bottom.
The Art of Modern Foraging
The Art of Modern Foraging
Your next big discovery could be right in your backyard
Your next big discovery could be right in your backyard
"Do your research before popping anything into your mouth."
Don'ts
Don'ts
» Never forage on other people's property without permission.
» Don't collect, uproot, or destroy rare or protected species.
» Avoid harvesting before plants or fungi are mature (plants should be ripe; fungi become firmer and fleshier as they age).
» Never take more than needed for you or your family.
» Don't destroy the entire plant.
Dos
Dos
» Check local laws and regulations for public parks and spaces.
» Don hardy footwear, long sleeves, pants, and gloves. And bring a sturdy knife, a digging tool, and a basket or bag for collecting.
» Leave plenty behind—at least two-thirds of the plant's leaves and fruits.
» Know and go slow—correctly identify species, and consume only one at a time
to avoid potential allergic reactions.
» Share with friends! Have a fruit tree that produces more than you can use? Invite others to collect what's left.
https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/2023-2-summer/material-world/art-modern-foraging
Rain Barrels
Water usage and scarcity due to droughts, is becoming a problem in many parts of the country. If you have a garden and you don't get enough rain, you need to water it. If your water is metered and you have to pay for it, it can get expensive.
When my husband was in the Town of Montgomery Conservation Advisory Council, they had a Rain Barrel Workshop, where people could pay a nominal fee, get the materials to make a rain barrel and a demonstration on how to put it together. They also were entered in a raffle for 2 hand painted barrels. I painted one of them!
Here's a link to more info:
Helping Birds Beat the Heat
Helping Birds Beat the Heat
Here is a timely article from the National Audubon Society explaining how extreme temperatures add stress to already-fragile ecosystems, and how you can help birds stay cool.
https://www.audubon.org/news/how-help-birds-beat-heat
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