Birds in the Garden: Creating & Enjoying a Bird Oasis

About our topic

Inviting birds into gardens by creating habitat is a joyful way to connect with nature and help support birds and pollinators. This presentation features Pam Karlson’s photos from her Chicago bird garden habitat she created, illustrating how it’s possible to attract over 100 bird species. Tips include landscape enhancements, practices and plant selection, with an emphasis on native plants. Chicagoland’s location along the migratory route, bird species diversity, habitat, diet/foraging, nesting, supplemental support and community science will also be discussed. Doug Tallamy’s “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard” and Emily Murphy’s “Grow Now: How We Can Save Our Health, Communities, and Planet – One Garden at a Time” includes Pam’s garden habitat, exemplifying the power of urban lots.

About the speaker

Pam Karlson is a career artist and certified professional gardener & garden designer through the School of the Chicago Botanic Garden. As a public speaker and educator, she advocates for wildlife habitat creation, restoration and preservation. In addition to her professional work, Pam has been rescuing migratory birds since 2004 as a volunteer with licensed wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organizations.

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Natural Habitat Evanston, a program of Climate Action Evanston, is an all-volunteer community group of about 1,300 members, spreading the word on creating habitat for insects, birds, and other wildlife. We aim to change the culture of lawns: leaving your leaves is the simplest first step; the second step is adding a native shrub or tree to shrink your lawn. We show how to transition from turf with low-cost cardboard methods, which keystone native plants to choose for year-round forage, that insects chewing on leaves is a ‘win’ (rather than cause to reach for pesticide), how turning off unnecessary lights saves insect and birds (and human health), and how to make your windows bird-friendly (because if you are going to invite birds to your yard, let them visit safely). We plant a lot of native trees and shrubs, especially at schools and in the 5th Ward.

We encourage people to think outside the lawn with No Mow May. Our Pollinator Pledge is a central focus of all our outreach and education, and a great way to spread the word to your neighbors.

We encourage people to think outside the lawn with No Mow May. Our Pollinator Pledge is a central focus of all our outreach and education, and a great way to spread the word to your neighbors.