​NIMBY: Nature in My Back Yard - a monthly column about gardening, environmental sustainability

Welcome to NIMBY: Nature in My Back Yard, a monthly column on gardening and environmental sustainability in our yards.

I’m Christine Roberts, retired elementary school teacher, president of Huron Bruce Nature, member of the Ripley and District Horticultural Society, volunteer for the David Suzuki Foundation and a passionate lover of nature. I am currently completing a Pollinator Stewardship Certificate through Pollinator Partnership Canada.

I contribute regularly to the Kincardine Record and sometimes, write letters to the editor on issues related to nature and conservation. I’ve decided the time is right for a regular column on gardening for nature.

The title acronym, NIMBY, is generally understood to mean Not in My Back Yard, a phrase used to show that something is undesirable in one’s neighbourhood. As a gardener, I’ve been conditioned over many years to prefer showy, non-native plants in my gardens and to feel an inordinate sense of accomplishment when I manage to keep alive exotic species that contribute nothing to the eco-system.

The goal of this column is to change public perception to appreciate the beauty of native plants, many considered “weeds,” and highlight the myriad benefits of working with, instead of against, nature. It is my sincere hope that the information presented will help people connect with nature in their yards and inspire action.

My native plant gardening journey began during the COVID-19 pandemic. I would argue one good thing to come out of the pandemic was virtual learning through video-conferencing platforms, such as Zoom, although front-line teachers might disagree.

In the midst of huddling in our houses, discouraged from social interaction and desperate for connection, groups began offering webinars on every conceivable topic. We happened upon a series of presentations on bees and wasps by renowned pollinator conservationist and author Heather Holm, speaking to an international audience from her kitchen in Minnesota.

I tried to order one of her books but faced shipping hurdles. Helpful Google suggested I try a different title, “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard,” by Douglas Tallamy, a professor of entomology at the University of Delaware. His writing was clear, factually based, compelling and it changed my life.

Thirty years of traditional gardening practice were swept away in an instant as I realized the beautiful ornamental gardens I was so proud of were actually ecological dead zones. The few native species I had planted, unintentionally, couldn’t possibly provide the food and habitat requirements necessary to support the insects we needed to pollinate our vegetable garden or feed the baby birds we hoped would be raised in our bird boxes.

Thus began our quest to redevelop our one-acre property and dedicate it to the service of native plants, shrubs, trees, insects, reptiles, amphibians and birds and eventually, our neighbours and community.

In the coming months, I will share what I’ve learned via webinars, reading and personal experience. I hope the lessons I’ve learned will resonate with readers looking to reconnect with the natural world right outside their doors and inspire them to make positive changes to their environment.
I highly recommend reading Tallamy’s book or searching the Internet for one of his recorded presentations.

Let me leave you with a quote from, “Nature’s Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard:” “In the past, we’ve asked one thing of our gardens: that they be pretty. Now they have to support life, sequester carbon, feed pollinators and manage water.”

Please join me on this journey to change our approach to gardening and our relationship with nature.