This is an excellent book by the leader of the movement to save our birds and all of nature by planting native plants and trees. It is an extreme deep dive into the subject in the form of questions and answers. At over 300 pages, it is not for light reading but it will tell you anything you need to know.

I read a temporary digital copy of this book for review.

How Can I Help? is a great guide if you want to increase the biodiversity and sustainability of your yard. Imagine if everyone did their little bit? I'm so excited to put a lot of the described practices into place.

The problem begins with our estrangement from nature…
Urban Sprawl: in 2009, 80% of the people in the world lived in or near a town or city. In the state of Washington alone, over 35,000 acres of wildlife habitat are destroyed or degraded each year for housing and other development. Rural settings are no longer safe havens for native species due to monocropping, GMOs, and pesticide use, causing wildlife to immigrate into cities and suburbs in the search of food and shelter.

Urban public spaces, parks, yards, and parking strips appear green but are often planted with turf-grass and exotic or invasive plants which offer little or no sustenance to native fauna. Worryingly, the EPA reports that homeowners in the U.S. use 70 million pounds of herbicides & pesticides per year. The ugly reality is that your backyard may be laced with a toxic cocktail of chemicals that are deadly. Of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides 19 are found in our groundwater, 22 are toxic to birds, all 30 are toxic to fish and aquatic organisms, 29 are deadly to bees, and 14 are toxic for mammals; some fungicides and pesticides can kill 60-90% of the earthworms where they are applied. In addition, the EPA reports that the run-off from lawn care products into our fresh water includes carcinogens, hormonal disruptors, and neurotoxins, and that there are no federal regulations for these products.

How Can I Help? Saving Nature with Your Yard by Douglas Tallamy offers many answers. He outlines how individuals and families can take small actions that add up to create backyard wildlife sanctuaries that create healthy ecosystems and wildlife corridors in our neighborhoods.

This book will enhance any library. It is easy to navigate and has information for both beginners and seasoned gardeners. I would recommend this book for homeowners, teachers, and gardeners, or anyone really, who yearns to reconnect with nature.

Good info for gardeners and backyard bird watchers. Will be one to put out on display in the spring and summer as people are doing planting for the season.