Going native: How to revive your landscape

Sustainable Riverdale

By Mary Bandziukas

Even avid birders in Riverdale may not know that Riverdale was the boyhood home and first training ground of Ludlow Griscom, considered the father of modern birding.

A lot has changed in Riverdale since the early 1900s, when young Ludlow tramped the woods with his field glasses. Thanks to generations of preservationists, Riverdale is still green. Yet, much of the settled landscape can no longer support the wildlife that Ludlow loved.

You can make your garden more attractive to wildlife, such as birds and butterflies, by planting native plants in your garden.

Why natives? Research is finding that many insects can survive only by eating specific native plants. Insects, in turn, are the only food that adequately nourishes young birds. And butterflies are of course insects, with many plant-specific needs.

If you live in Riverdale's Special Natural Area District (SNAD), new zoning regulations require that whenever you construct or enlarge a building, or make certain other changes to your site, you must replace plantings that are lost. You must choose new plants from a list of natives that is included in the regulations. (Not sure if you live in the SNAD? View New York City zoning maps by going to www.nyc.gov/html/ dcp/html/zone/zonedex.shtml or by calling the Bronx office of City Planning at 718-220-8500.)

But even if you are not bound by SNAD regulations, you can still choose to go native. Whether you are planting in pots on your balcony or patio, adding to an existing flowerbed, or replacing part of a lawn, you can do it with natives.

Plan now for the fall and spring planting seasons. For a fun family project, try designing a wildlife garden that will be recognized by the National Wildlife Federation. The federation Web site, at www.nwf.org/ backyard, will tell you how.

Attracting birds and butterflies to your garden could be simply an enjoyable pastime. Or it could be a way to reclaim a whole landscape that has been lost to wildlife, one new plant at a time.

Mary Bandziukas, a Queens resident, has worked for more than 15 years as an urban planner and environmental program manager. She has been a consultant with the Riverdale Nature Preservancy for the past decade

Sustainable Riverdale appears in the third issue of the month. It is the work of the Riverdale Nature Preservancy, done in conjunction with The Riverdale Press and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Have an issue you'd like to see addressed? E-mail newsroom@riverdalepress.com, and put Sustainable Riverdale in the subject line, or write to The Riverdale Press, 6155 Broadway, Bronx, NY 10471.

This is part of the August 21, 2008 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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