This may come as a surprise, but until I started working at Wild Roots, I was not a “nature gal.” I didn’t wake up on weekends enthused about taking a hike in the woods. I couldn’t tell a sparrow from a wren, and I couldn’t find the Dells at Severson Dells on a bet.

Fast forward 18 months and I still have trouble finding the Dells. But I can identify a dozen or so birds and their bird calls. I deliberately make plans to go on a hike and to spend time outside. And, something I’m most excited about, I have discovered how we make a difference for the environment with what we plant in our own backyards.

While my husband and I like to garden, we are like lots of folks who go to the big box stores each spring and pick out plants that will do well in the assumed conditions of our yard. Total shade? Let’s get some hostas. Full sun? How about some daylilies? Gotta get the pesticide to get rid of the Creeping Charlie.

Thanks to Wild Roots and the educators here, I know now that what I do makes a difference. I’ve learned I can attract Monarch Butterflies and help them flourish by planting asters and milkweed. I can attract pollinators (and my favorite Rusty Patched Bumble Bee) to my yard by planting cone flowers, bee balm, and goldenrod. If I plant Wild Columbine, my hummingbirds will have more than just my feeder to feast on. One of the best parts of going native is that I can be confident these plants will thrive because they were meant to be here all along. 

Now, with the help of my colleagues, I look at my abundance of Creeping Charlie and feel pretty good about it - after all, it’s really ground ivy!