Over the course of five years, I converted a two-acre parcel of grass lawn to a native plant meadow. While I’d love to regale you with stories about my tireless efforts, my grit, and my ingenuity to accomplish this monumental feat, the truth is I just stopped mowing. In the first season, a few native grasses and wildflowers popped up. To my great fortune, a healthy native seed bank was patiently waiting for an opportunity to be spared from the weekly scalping of the mower.
As our meadow flourished we did have to do the occasional light maintenance. For example, often accompanied by my kids – the “weed warriors” – we would remove a pesky multi-flora rose or Bradford pear, but overall our new native meadow flourished on its own. Almost immediately, what was once a sterile monoculture lacking in any biodiversity became a bustling bonanza of life. We had dragonflies, hummingbirds, monarch butterflies, and swarming tree swallows each evening. A great horned owl pair even approved so much that they nested in a towering pine overlooking the meadow.
So what exactly is rewilding? Our Rewilding the Midcoast program seeks to create habitat in balance with nature at any scale. We do so through five primary principles: education and outreach, creation of native habitat, reduction of runoff, removal of invasive species, and reduction of chemical use.
Natural, native landscapes provide so many benefits. To name a few: increased overall resiliency through biodiversity; food and shelter for insects, birds, and other local species; deep roots of native plants that hold soil in place and help filter runoff; and increased carbon storage (compared to lawns) to combat climate change.
But perhaps most importantly, rewilding was good for me. In creating my meadow, I had done something that was both good and beautiful. Rewilding is about creating a hopeful future and empowering each of us to make changes that matter!
In this first season of Rewilding the Midcoast, we are setting some achievable goals. We will be hosting a series of educational events virtually and in person, including a native plant sale, throughout the season to educate property owners about the best rewilding practices. We are also creating demonstration sites, starting with our office in Edgecomb. We have a plan to remove invasive species, replace lawn with native perennial gardens, and plant a few larger native shrubs and trees.
Check midcoastconservancy.org/program-directory/rewilding for more information about our Rewilding the Midcoast program and a list of current rewilding events.
