Where the Wild Things Are Right In Your Backyard

by Fran Withrow 12.2023 

Nancy Lawson, author of “The Humane Gardener,” has written a thoughtful new book about how you can appreciate and nurture the natural world in your own back yard. In “Wildscape,” Lawson says, “Studies show that being around nature makes us smarter, happier and kinder.” Boy, does the world need that.

Lawson discusses how we can use our five senses to deepen our connection to wild spaces, as well as how wildlife uses these senses to survive. For instance, the “scentscape,” which includes the new field of aeroecology, is revealing new details about how birds and insects use odors to navigate. Aeroecology also shows how we are harming wildlife by focusing only on the ground beneath us. Did you know there was such a thing as odor pollution? Me neither.

While man-made noise pollution is detrimental, natural sounds can be a source of calm for humans.“Listening to natural soundscapes ‘rivets us to the present tense,’” says Lawson. Lawson notes how, during the pandemic-induced anthropause, when we left the natural world alone and hunkered down at home, people could hear more birds than ever before. Now that I am aware of this, I sit outside with a heightened sensitivity to leaf blowers, trucks, lawn mowers, and cars in my neighborhood.

Experts have discovered a great deal, but much is still shrouded in mystery. Take the sense of taste, for example. Obviously, in the natural world, everything is there to eat and be eaten, and the world cycles in and out of abundance. But what about the types of things available to eat? Native plants give wildlife the biggest bang for their buck, says Lawson. Do non-native food sources affect wildlife, like insects, over time? Do these food sources alter their chemistry? Make them unable to reproduce properly? Inhibit their ability to survive to adulthood?

Good questions. We know a little more about the importance of touch in nature. Lawson again says native grasses and flowers offer the best food and shelter for wildlife. Trees planted near each other interlock their roots, making them stronger and sturdier. Animals, like Lawson’s adorable Mr. Chippie the chipmunk, aerate the soil and disperse mosses for a variety of wildlife. Snags (dead tree trunks) provide homes for beetles and fungi while woodpeckers drill them for food.

And we can’t overlook the sense we rely on the most: sight. It is well known that many creatures have vision that is far sharper than ours. Even so, we can help them out, Lawson says. Turn out your lights to help birds that are migrating find their way. Put decals on windows to decrease the chance of birds striking them, and, of course, drive more slowly. 

I don’t take for granted that I am privileged enough to have a back yard. If you too have the gift of a yard or access to a wild space, go outside. Take a look around. What do you notice, and what is noticing you? There is a whole world just waiting out there to make you smarter, happier, and kinder.