Native pollinators need appropriate native plants, those that are indigenous to our specific geographic area: Here in the Willamette Valley, we live in the Pacific Lowland Mixed Forest ecosystem (same as the Puget Sound Valley). Before cultivation, we had dense coniferous forests, prairies that supported open stands of oaks, and wetlands with swamp or bog communities. The original, natural… (read more)

“What if each American landowner made it a goal to convert half of his or her lawn to productive native plant communities? Even moderate success could collectively restore some semblance of ecosystem function to more than twenty million acres of what is now ecological wasteland. … we can create this country’s largest park system. It… (read more)

The concept of ‘unity with nature’ is still unsettled in Friends’ minds. Our commitment to the exploration of this concept … is alive and growing. But how to nurture it? Where will it lead us? Is it an aspect of our deepest spiritual selves, to be integrated into our whole being by quiet contemplation of wilderness and… (read more)

“We are at a critical point of losing so many species from local ecosystems that their ability to produce the oxygen, clean water, flood control, pollination, pest control, carbon storage, etc, that is, the ecosystem services that sustain us, will become seriously compromised.” ~ Doug Tallamy Bees, butterflies, birds, bats (and more) are critical to… (read more)