In addition to encouraging people to take the pledge, Natural Habitat uses the pledge as its curriculum. The six steps are central to our outreach and education to change the culture of lawns, and core to presentations to groups, garden visits, native plant giveaways and exchanges, tree plantings and more. We advocate for these steps with the city and community.
https://naturalhabitatevanston.org/takethepledge
It is a kind of petition to show that there are many of us who want to change the culture of lawns. We want to show the city, yard companies and our broader community that Pledging to protect pollinators and birds matters to us.
For those who want to spread the word themselves, we offer yard signs:
We ask for a minimum $10 donation/sign, plus shipping if needed (USA only), to cover our costs.
These steps are a good starting place to encourage beneficial bugs and birds in your yard.
And, avoid birds hitting your windows. If we are inviting them to our gardens, let's keep them safe.
Six steps toward a biodiverse, sustainable yard (plus make your windows bird-friendly)
Pollinator Pledge yard signs
Evanston Host Plant Initiative for the Rusty Patched Bumblebee
Artificial Lighting Doorhanger, NHE. Share at brightly lit buildings to explain why it matters to dim lights.
Our short guide to get your garden buzzing with life — attracting butterflies, bees, fireflies and birds.
NHE Leafblower Door Hanger
Yard Maintenance Brochure in English and Spanish, NHE
PPT showing some creatures we throw out with our debris.
NHE presentation to North Shore Senior Center tuesday club. Variations used for other groups. March 2023
Sign up for the NHE Newsletter
Presentation on Transitioning from Turf (Powerpoint), January 2023. Touches on the issues with turf, why native plants, why leave leaves, concerns about neonicotinoids and outdoor lighting.
Transitioning from Turf presentation to FLOW (Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed, Columbus, Ohio) lead by Leslie Shad, NHE Lead. DIscusses the issues with turf, why native plants and why leave leaves, the concern about neonicotinoids, and how to navigate outdoor lighting.
Gardening that Matters. Get Started or Enhance your Native Garden. March 2023 presentation to North Shore Senior Center's Tuesday Club. A simple way to take action for climate, community healthand biodiversity: Swap out your lawn for native plants. Reconsidering theculture of lawns. Why it matters, steps to prioritize, how to get started, andhow to amplify the change. Leslie Shad of Natural Habitat Evanston presents.
Evanston passed a lighting ordinance in December 2022 limiting outdoor lighting brillance and requiring shading.
Website database: search your zip code for plants ranked by Tallamy
Center for Food Safety flyer
Xerces Flyer Insecticides in your Garden
Webpage on diverse pesticides - insecticides, herbicides and fungicides
Audubon Plants for Birds Database
Chicago Audubon Society Plants for Birds
NY Times, June 2023. Do Bug Zappers Work?
Prairie Research Institute and Illinois Department of Public Health factsheet on mosquito resistance to insecticides, 2021
Plants measured as host plants for US caterpillar species from Doug Tallamy, Univ of Delaware
INVASIVE PLANTS OF THE CHICAGO REGION, An identification guide to 32 invasive or native aggressive plants most damaging to local ecosystems. Compiled by Robert Sullivan, Argonne National Laboratory (Retired) and Henrietta Saunders, University of Illinois Master Naturalist. 2022
New York Times ‘Why Do You Still Have Lightning Bugs? Ours Are All Gone.’ April 17, 2023 By Margaret Renkl,
No Mow May factsheet from Midwest Grows Green
Article on neonics and birds, 2019
Freakonomics, How Stupid is our Obsession with Lawns
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - search native plants by state
Donating to Climate Action Evanston and earmarking your donation for Natural Habitat Evanston. You can further earmark your donation to one of our initiatives.
Join our Pollinator Pledge and let the city and landscapers know we care about sustainable yards. Take an optional yard sign to spread the word.
$25/bag to local residents (pickup; no shipping). We also have some $5 seed packets of bottlebrush and little bluestem grass. While supplies last. Emails should include your phone number and which species you are requesting. Pay by check payable to Citizens’ Greener Evanston at pickup.
Help at outdoor workdays
Rethink how you Lawn
Northwestern students Petition for Bird-Friendly Films at Mudd Library. Mudd Library accounts for over 14% of bird deaths and injuries on campus each year. Applying patterned window film to a portion of the building would dramatically reduce collisions that are fatal to birds.
Get updates and share your thoughts on our FB Group. You can also check out our FB page here https://www.facebook.com/NaturalHabitatEvanston
Just want to spread the word on certain steps? Mow Less-Leave Leaves (2-sided yard sign) or Leafblowers sign
Get news the next time there is a threat to Isabella Woods. (Only sent when there is news.)
Provide Food, Water, Shelter, Places to Raise Young and Sustainable Steps for wildlife. It helps Evanston maintain its NWF Community-wide Wildlife Habitat certification.
