In a previous post, we began taking a look at how BioWorks gardens for wildlife. We learned that good wildlife gardens provide food, shelter, and water, as well as using sustainable gardening practices. Our last post covered the food sources we provide at BiowWorks. Today, we’ll talk about shelter.
The National Wildlife Federation recommends providing at least two types of shelter in your wildlife habitat: Wooded Area • Bramble Patch • Ground Cover • Rock Pile or Wall • Cave • Roosting Box • Dense Shrubs or Thicket • Evergreens • Brush or Log Pile • Burrow • Meadow or Prairie • Water Garden or Pond
BioWorks and the Historic Tree Grove, along with MOSI’s Back Woods, offer plenty of shelter options. We have lots of mature trees and dense ground cover growth. The Back Woods has protected areas for the dens of the Gopher Tortoises that live there. Our small pond is surrounded by thick vegetation for frogs and other water creatures, and we have clusters of shrubs like coontie to provide cover on the ground.
Shelter is also important for raising young. The National Wildlife Federation suggests the following as good places for wildlife to engage in courtship behavior, mate, and then bear and raise their young: Mature Trees • Meadow or Prairie • Nesting Box • Wetland • Cave • Host Plants for Caterpillars • Dead Trees or Snags • Dense Shrubs or a Thicket • Water Garden or Pond • Burrow
Obviously, we have plenty of host plants for caterpillars in the BioWorks Butterfly Garden. However, we also have mature trees and shrubbery for bird nests, so each spring we watch as cardinals, mockingbirds, thrashers, and more raise their young onsite. Our pond is a sheltered site for frogs to breed, and the Back Woods has wetlands for water birds and others.
Coming up next in the Garden for Wildlife series: Water and Sustainable Gardening Practices.
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