First Wednesday Taking Care of Wildlife Challenge: Scoop The Poop

Did you know that studies show that roughly 28% to 40% of dog owners admit they do not always pick up their pet's waste. When questioned they list a bunch of not particularly good reasons for not scooping the poop. One person told me it was natural therefore it was okay not to pick it up! BTW, it's not natural!

Don't be like them, pick up your dog's poop! 

Here's why!

• Yes, dog poop is bad for the environment and is classified as a dangerous pollutant by the Environmental Protection Agency.
• It could contain harmful parasites, pathogens and bacteria that can be transferred to people and other pets. Dog poop is a common carrier of nasty things like heart worms, whipworms, hookworms, roundworms, parvovirus, giardia, salmonella and E. coli. 
• It can be washed into the storm drains and local waterways because it's untreated, creating excess nitrogen and phosphorus that feed suffocating algae blooms.
• It's not a fertilizer! Their waste is overly acidic and harmful to grass and local ecosystems.
• In cities the problem is compounded by rats and other rodents. Dog waste is often a leading food source for rats in urban areas. Rat urine and feces have been linked to a number of diseases that can easily be passed to humans, including leptospirosis, typhus, and salmonellosis. (source)
• It's the considerate thing to do. 

 Here's what we pet owners can do.  (source)   

• ALWAYS carry poop bags with you whenever you are out and about with your dog. Take more than you think you will need…you never know.     
• PICK IT UP! Every. Single. Time.     
• Tie the bag closed and toss it in the garbage. Dog poop CANNOT go in compost or yard waste bins. I repeat, DO NOT compost dog poop! 
• Don't drop the bag on the side of the rode to pick up later...You won't remember! 
• Pick up poops in your yard weekly (more often is better and definitely before a big rain). Rain won't wash it away.   
• Hire a dog poop collection service. Yes, this is real, and they exist in many cities and counties. They do it so you don’t have to.

 

Dear Readers, None of us enjoy picking up poop but we do it because it's the right thing to do for the environment, for wildlife, for other pets and for others.

xoxogail 

 

 

Take the Taking Care of Wildlife In Our Gardens Challenge

The first part of this challenge is to do something, even lots of things, each month that support the critters living in our gardens. Gardening with native wildflowers, shrubs and trees that make sense for our ecoregion is a good place to start or continue (as the case may be). Plants and their pollinators are a classic example of mutualism: they have coevolved through evolutionary time in a reciprocal beneficial relationship. This is also true for other critters that visit and live in our gardens. 

Activities that increase our knowledge of the natural world are equally as valuable. Helping others learn about nature is included. Golly gee whiz, there are so many things you can do. 

The second part of the challenge is to post about it somewhere: Your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter or even your neighborhood listserve. Wouldn't an article in the local paper be a coup for nature! Why post it? Because positive publicity is needed to educate our friends, neighbors and communities about how important even the smallest changes we make as gardeners can be for pollinators, birds, insects and mammals, including humans, that live all around us. 

Why now? My neighborhood is changing. Yours might be, too. Every day an older home along with many (if not all) of the mature oak, hickory, maple, Eastern cedar and hackberry trees are cut down. Insects, birds, even mammals lose their home site and food supplies when we lose trees. During construction soil is compacted by bulldozers, trucks and piles of debris cause runoff; surface runoff that can carry pollution to streams and rivers. It's important that our neighbors and our community have information about how important trees are to our ecosystem. Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

In place of the "bee lawns" composed of Claytonia, Salvia lyrata, Ruellia humilis, fleabane, Western Daisy, Violets, self-heal, clovers, native grasses (in my neighborhood it's poverty oat grass) and sedges, they're being sodded with non-native grasses. These monoculture turf lawns contribute nothing environmentally. Here's what we lose when our diverse lawns are replaced with pristine turf grass:

• Gone are the lightening bugs.
• Gone are the ground dwelling/nesting native bees.
• Gone is the habitat for insects, spiders and other critters. 
• Gone is plant diversity. 
• Gone are trees that provided for hundreds of moths, butterflies and other insects.
• Gone are the nesting sites for woodpeckers, hummingbirds, Chickadees and other birds. 
• Gone is a healthy foodweb.

We can't stop the progmess, but, maybe we can make a lot of educational noise and help our new neighbors see the value in providing for critters and ultimately helping the environment. xoxogail

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener, Tennessee Naturalist and nature writer in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone. She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.