A new study from the WWF, the former World Wildlife Fund, and the Zoological Society of London released last week found monitored wildlife populations across the globe have plunged an average of 69 percent in just under 50 years. According to the 2022 Living Planet Report, the decline in North America isn’t as steep, but at 20 percent it’s still a serious problem people must address.
What can individuals do to reverse the trend?
Ryan Koziatek is the stewardship director at the Kalamazoo Nature Center. On Thursday, he was cutting down invasive autumn olive and tree of heaven on his own property. Removing invasive species and adding native plants like oak trees, a host plant for hundreds of animal species, is something he said anyone with a yard can do to help local wildlife thrive. And Koziatek said, you can help without getting overwhelmed.
“Letting some of your lawn go and encouraging natives in those spaces,” Koziatek said. “You don't want to bite off too much and, you know, take on too much that actually might stress you out. Because the whole point of becoming involved in backyard habitats and stuff like that is finding a lot of enjoyment.”
No project is too small, according to Koziatek.
“Overall, my backyard, small impact. The more we have this conversation, the more people do it, bigger impact.”
He said a good place to start is to learn to distinguish native plants from non-native and invasive plants. Koziatek recommended joining a local nature or sustainability group and investing in a wildflower book with photos.
“I never would consider myself one to have carried a wildflower book with me, but now I don't really leave home without it,” he said.
