Merrick & Company’s Post

When you think about conserving biodiversity and wildlife habitat, what picture pops into your mind? Some may picture an expansive forest with bears, deer, and turkey, while others might see the shores of a lake complete with wading blue herons and turtles basking in the sun. What might these pictures have in common? First, they involve mammals or birds. Second, you’re probably not picturing your backyard in either of these, are you? Never underestimate the power of the little guy. Every species, no matter how small, has a role to play, and every act designed to sustain individuals of that species can add up to a beneficial result, whether in your backyard or Yosemite National Park. We may think the decisions we make at home won’t make a difference in the overall scheme of things, but everything adds up. And what is small to us, may mean the world to an insect. But making the right choices for backyard landscaping and conserving wildlife isn’t easy. We know we should “go native,” but what exactly does that mean? Read Ecologist, Suzy Yetter's article, "The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How About Going Native in the Backyard – Creating Networks of Habitats to Support Wildlife from the Little Things on Up" to find out at: https://lnkd.in/eVcrahax This article will be a part of a quarterly series designed to help us take action by reconsidering our landscaping practices and adopting more ecological friendly approaches that recognize the critical role of native plants and backyard landscaping in maintaining healthy ecosystems. Each article will dive into specifics on who we can learn from or go to for help, what species to plant or to avoid, where to find them, when to plant them, and how to do it. #nativegardening #nativeplants #exoticnativeplants #conservation #landprotection #landconservation #landconnectivity #landtrust

Beavers are truly extraordinary creatures. For decades, they have been cruelly persecuted. Now, the attitude towards nature's best engineers is changing, and farmers are working to bring them back. Beavers are vital to #ecosystems, as their dam building habits spread water through parched landscapes. This can not only help to regulate the flow of water, it provides another important service – keeping fires under control. Beavers are nature's firefighters. #nature #rewilding #biodiversity https://lnkd.in/dVDesF3T

Trees, like any other living organism, are fragile when they are young. In a thriving ecosystem they are part of a balanced food chain, that is no longer the case here in the UK. Without natural predators deer cause major issues with new woodland, human intervention becomes a must. We need to protect our trees by installing deer fencing, while also trying not to obstruct migration pathways. I always enjoyed seeing deer on my land, not when they are killing my trees though. With more fencing grants available it is worth investigating the countryside stewardship pages: https://lnkd.in/eExZ9AuQ #trees #ecosystems #deer

Recent clearcut proposals from Pacific Woodtech and Stella Jones threaten a combined 608 hectares of endangered mountain caribou habitat and old growth forest in B.C.’s interior. Almost all of the proposed clearcuts overlap with core habitat for the Columbia North herd, which is the only one of B.C.s southernmost herds with a shot at a long-term future. Seven other herds in this region have been declared locally extinct in the last two decades, due mostly to habitat destruction and fragmentation from logging. Last year, more than 400 of you sent letters and helped defer more proposed clearcuts in the Columbia North herd’s range. These animals need your help again. Can you take 2 minutes to send a pre-written letter and help stop this logging in the Seymour River watershed? Visit https://lnkd.in/g5wthHUP #mountaincaribou #endangeredspecies #SARA #saveourmountaincaribou #cariboudat

Why you should leave the leaves! 🍂 Did you know #rewilding isn’t just a spring activity? This fall, let nature take its course by skipping the rake! Leaving leaves in your yard helps enrich the soil, shelters pollinators, and supports wildlife all winter long. 🍁🐞 Just like in the forest, decomposing leaves in our backyards create a mini-ecosystem that boosts #biodiversity and prepares the soil for a thriving spring. Embrace year-round rewilding and let the leaves work their magic! Read more on our blog 👇 #RewildYourBackyard #LeaveTheLeaves #ProjectForest

The Council is once again relaxing grass cutting schedules across a number of its sites between May and September, creating urban meadows which are more wildlife friendly and provide a longer season of nectar for pollinators. The council has been increasing the amount of urban meadow it creates each year since 2021. This year, it will be letting a total of 44 hectares in Andover, Romsey and Valley Park grow wilder – that’s more than 82 football fields of grass that will be left unmown until September, when it will be cut and collected. This approach will reduce the number of visits for mowing and allow grasses and plants to develop, providing valuable habitat for insects and birds. You can help out too by taking part in No Mow May – find out more about how at https://ow.ly/Uipo50RJBCm #WildlifeFriendly #UrbanMeadows #PollinatorHabitat #NoMowMay #GrassCutting #Biodiversity #NatureFriendly

🦫We need beavers. 💦Beavers are wetland-building ecosystem engineers, carbon capturers, water managers and cleaners and much more. 🗝️They’re a keystone species who shape the landscape around them in ways no others can (apart from humans!) – enabling their ecosystems to work properly. 😔But some farmers and estate owners don‘t want their lands changed by beavers and see them as a threat. Unfortunately, rather than using simple coexistence methods, landowners kill these gentle creatures 'in shocking numbers.‘ If you‘d like to help these beautiful animals, consider supporting one of the organisations that works to protect them. For e.g. the UK‘s Beaver Trust. *** Info source: theweek.com #nature #rewilding #wildlife

Protecting caribou habitat is the only way to keep these herds in Southern BC. Without a home, these herds will disappear just like the others! Together we can speak louder; check out this link to help protect this crucial habitat:

They may not wear a yellow uniform and helmet, but these are some serious firefighters. As "nature's engineers" beavers enable water to replenish the water table and they make the land more resilient to fire. 🦫 "A "beaver believer" bill was passed in Oregon in 2023, changing the animals' status to furbearers, meaning they cannot be killed without a permit. The bill highlighted beavers' role as a keystone species "that serves as nature's engineer…[Their] habitat has the ability to provide refugia, stimulate the recovery of other species, and foster resilience on landscapes impacted by climate change." 🦫 "In northern New Mexico, Darr has seen farmers "drastically" change their perception of beavers. "They were pretty hesitant, but they saw first-hand how the beavers provided sustained, reliable water sources throughout the year, even during the hot dry summer we had. To see it is to believe it. We just have to show people what beavers can do for other wildlife, and humans." 🦫 "Reintroducing beavers is something Kenneth McDarment, a member of the Tule River Indian Tribe in California, has been fighting to achieve for years. After a particularly brutal year of drought in 2014, when the tribe's drinking water reserves fell to dangerously low levels, the tribe was desperate for a solution. McDarment turned to the tribe's ancestors for guidance. "I looked to our Tribe's pictographs, which have a beaver in them for answers to our water issues. From that point on we made friendships and partnered with many people and organisations to find a way to start the process to bring the beaver home to the Tule River." I'll add links to the posts I've done about the time I spent recently on a #regenerativeranch that is bringing back the benefits of beavers as well as the education we're doing to share the upside with other ranchers and farmers. Making more people #beaverbelievers is the path to co-existence with these powerful creatures. ❓What other nature-based solutions are you working on or do you see getting traction? #beavers #naturebasedsolutions #riverrestoration #creek #wildfireprevention #wildfires Thank you Marianne Wyne for sharing the article.

Interesting article. 🦫