A columnist bids farewell and offers actions Marylanders can take now to protect the environment
After almost 20 years of Sun columns, I am retiring with fond and hopeful wishes for all gardeners, homeowners, and stewards of Maryland’s natural environment. In that time, UMD Extension’s Home & Garden Information Center (HGIC), where I work, evolved from a phone and mail operation to an information-packed website that emails you personal answers. HGIC connects further with Maryland
residents through the Maryland Grows blog and social media.
With ongoing research, we learn new secrets about what is happening around us. Much of Maryland’s land is now in homeowner hands. The majority of that land is lawn, causing wildlife numbers to plummet. Species extinction is here and now. Parks alone cannot sustain the environment. Foreign invasive species — plants, insects and disease — destroy the environment at increasing rates. The global economy is accelerating the introduction of new ones. Jumping worms and spotted lanternfly spread as I write. What can we, as citizens, do? Each of our actions is critical.
Thankfully, many answers are easy and within our grasp.
1. Trees are nature’s powerhouses. Plant them in that lawn. Native ones. Especially oaks.
2. Plant natives to fight back against invasive plant bullies.
3. Remove ALL invasive plants.
4. Turn off our automatic response to kill insects. Without insects, we harm ourselves. The vast majority are beneficial or benign — pollinators, predators of pest insects, part of nature’s food chain. Wildlife must eat them to survive.
5. Learn. Explore Master Gardener programs and our website. Cure yourself of green blindness — all plants are not equal in our environment.
6. Support deer control. (They eat the natives, leave the invasives and prevent our future forest’s existence.)
7. Advocate for increased surveillance of imported goods, plus native plant availability at your local outlets.
8. Feel great about being part of the solution.
All the best as you enjoy and preserve the proven psychological and physiological benefits of beautiful, natural Maryland
This is Ellen Nibali’s final Garden Q&A column for the Baltimore Sun. Her replacement,
Miri Talabac, the HGIC Horticulture Consultant, will begin next Sunday.
University of Maryland Extension’s Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click “Ask Maryland’s Gardening Experts” to send questions and photos.