Garden for Wildlife: Water and Sustainable Gardening

So far in our series on wildlife gardening, we’ve looked at the ways BioWorks provides food and shelter. In this last post, we’ll look at our water sources, along with the sustainable gardening practices we apply.

The National Wildlife Federation suggests these sources of water in a wildlife garden: Birdbath • Lake • Stream • Seasonal Pool • Ocean • Water Garden/Pond • River • Butterfly Puddling Area • Rain Garden • Spring

Although the Back Woods at MOSI offers several ponds in the wetlands, we also have a small pond surrounded by vegetation in the butterfly garden itself. To make the water more inviting, our pond has waterfall features that keep the water moving, something many animals prefer. We see lots of frogs and snails in the pond, and small mammals likely visit it for drinks at night.

We also frequently offer water by providing puddling places for butterflies and small birds. Many times these puddles are just natural by-products of rains or irrigation, but they provide a valuable place for smaller creatures to get the water they need.

We help to keep these puddles and other water sources clean and free of unnecessary chemicals by following sustainable gardening practices. This means gardening in ways that make an impact on the environment in positive ways, keeping the ecosystem as close to native and natural as possible. Native wildlife flocks to areas that resemble their native environments, even if you’re in the middle of the city.

Some of the things we do keep our gardens environmentally friendly include: water-wise landscaping, soaker hoses for irrigation, rain barrels, mulching and composting, focus on native plants, reducing lawn areas, and eliminating chemical pesticides and fertilizers whenever possible. Wildlife that visit our gardens find an environment planned for them, so they enjoy visiting a healthy ecosystem and we enjoy watching them!