This is the 3rd presentation in Greening Greenfield’s “Transforming Our Lawns” series
GREENFIELD, MA – Turning A Barren Lawn Into Thriving Habitat is the title of the third talk offered by
Greening Greenfield in a series devoted to “transforming our Lawns.” Naturalists, Charley Eiseman and
Julia Blyth, will take us on a photo journey of their adventure in Northfield on Thursday, April 13, at 6:30
pm on Zoom. They will be joined by their new-born daughter Ayla.
“I heard Julia talk about how she and Charley had transformed their lawn into a meadow by mowing less
and adding some native plants here and there, and I wanted to learn exactly how they did that,” said
Nancy Hazard, member of Greening Greenfield’s pollinator group. “I’ve also seen some of Charley’s
stunning photos and heard his fascinating stories about the tiny animals that are going about their lives
right under our noses!”
Blyth and Eiseman will introduce their yard, which they describe as having been a totally un-landscaped,
barren lawn when they moved to Northfield ten years ago. They will explain how they transformed it
into a habitat that is now packed with fruit and nut trees, berry bushes and vegetable gardens,
interspersed with wild meadow.
Blyth is an avid gardener, interested in native and edible plants. She works for a permaculture firm
supporting farmers’ efforts to transition towards diversified native plantings, and curating natural history
museums’ collections from birds to lichens.
Eiseman, who keeps a blog called “BugTracks,” is fascinated with insect lives and the relationship of
native plants and insects. With photos, he will introduce some of the insects that now share their yard,
with advice on how to find and see them.
Each native plant species has a suite of host-specific insects that depend on it for food, “ explains
Eiseman. “Even allowing a single "weed" to grow in your garden can significantly increase its habitat value, and choosing to plant native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers will cause your yard to teem with life.”
In addition to his BugTracks blog, Eiseman has been conducting plant and wildlife surveys and natural
resource inventories throughout New England for over 20 years, teaching courses and workshops on
interpreting vertebrate and invertebrate tracks and sign, has written two books, and published over 60
scientific papers on insect natural history.
Before Eiseman and Julia’s talk, Greening Greenfield’s Mary Westervelt and Elizabeth Erickson will
introduce Greening Greenfield’s new resource about pollinator gardens in Greenfield called Park By Park and Yard By Yard: Building a Pollinator Corridor in Greenfield. We hope this website will inspire people to join us in expanding a pollinator
corridor in Greenfield in public spaces, and in their home gardens and yards.
To register for the talk and/or for the video of his talk register here, or go to “event listings” on Greening
Greenfield’s web site at GreeningGreenfieldMA.org.
For more information about Greening Greenfield’s campaigns on climate action, pollinators, housing,
reusable bags, or Connecticut River Hydro, go to www.GreeningGreenfieldMA.org.
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Registration link: CLICK HERE