Good news for anyone with a lawn: You can do less work, have a beautiful butterfly-filled yard and help the environment all at once.
Heather Holm, a prominent pollinator conservationist and award-winning author, introduced the concept of "soft landings" for pollinators on the KAXE Morning Show.
Many of Minnesota's native trees, such as oaks, willows, pines, cherries and poplars, are keystone species for beneficial native insects. Moth and butterfly caterpillars feed on the leaves, while adults feast on nectar and pollen.
Many of these moths and butterflies fall from the tree to complete their life cycle in the leaf litter and duff on the forest floor. On mowed lawns, however, they don't find the safety they seek, instead finding no cover from harsh winter conditions (at best) or meeting the sharp blades of a lawnmower (at worst).
Soft landings provide a solution to this problem. By planting native wildflowers under keystone trees, landowners can protect vulnerable stages of the pollinator's life cycles, enjoy beautiful flowers throughout the growing season and cut down on mowing effort and cost.
Listen to the conversation with Holm above, and learn more about soft landings here.
KAXE's Tuesday Morning Show strives to take an in-depth look at some natural resource-based issues important to Northern Minnesota. Producer Mark Jacobs and hosts Heidi Holtan and John Latimer discuss the problems and highlight some creative solutions.
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