The Homegrown National Park™ Map Goes Live!
Many of you reading this will already be familiar with the wonderful work of Dr Doug Tallamy and the Homegrown National Park™ concept. We are excited to share that the Homegrown National Park™ map has now gone live!
© C. Palmer
Based on the work of Dr Doug Tallamy and developed with Michelle Alfandari, the Homegrown National Park™ is a grassroots call-to-action to restore biodiversity and ecosystem function by planting native plants, removing most invasive plants, and creating new ecological networks.
The goal is 20 million acres of native plantings in the U.S. – an area that represents approximately ½ of the green lawns of privately-owned properties.
A key feature of the Homegrown National Park™ is an interactive map, a community-based visual that shows each native planting site by State, County and Zip Code.
We are so thankful to the many wonderful INPS members and others who are working to improve biodiversity in the piece of this world they are able to tend to, but we know it can sometimes be a bit of an isolating experience. Unless we are lucky enough to be surrounded by neighbors with similar goals, it can feel like a native planting is disconnected. Working to plant one area with natives when you are surrounded by areas of turf grass and non-native plants can be disheartening – it is easy to begin to question whether it can really make a difference, and the ecological value of isolated native plantings can be reduced if they are truly ‘habitat islands’.
The Homegrown National Park™ map is an inspiration. It enables individuals to see their part in the whole – creating new ecological networks, connecting habitat and restoring biodiversity.
© C. Palmer
Thanks to the work of Dr Doug Tallamy and Michelle Alfandari, we all now have the opportunity to be part of the largest cooperative conservation project ever conceived or attempted!
As of today (20th January, 2021), the map has over 2000 individuals registered and over 13,000 acres of native plantings mapped across the US; in Indiana, there are currently 71 individuals registering just over 180 acres of native plantings. The Landscaping with Natives Team would love to encourage anyone who might be keen to register their native plantings on the map – it is free and very easy to do. We would love to see Indiana well-represented – it can help us all to see that our individual plantings really can be part of the change!
Coralie Palmer, INPS Landscaping with Natives Team.