On Being Outside

Native Plants, and Schoolyard Wetlands

CRESO Workshop for Teachers and Administrators - Presented by John Byrd

I. On Being Outside:

1) Blood Pressure (BP) – High Blood Pressure costs the U.S. over $48 billion per year and affects 1 in 3 people. Recent studies show that hanging out in green spaces reduces stress resulting in lower BP and improved heart health. One of the factors at work appears to be plant compounds (phytoncides) that protect plants from pests. Inhaling these compounds lowers BP by controlling the body’s flight-or-fight response, thus reducing stress.

2) AWE – Defined here as “a dramatic feeling with the power to inspire, heal, change our thinking and bring people together.” AWE presents itself in different forms for different people. Paul Piff of the University of California showed that people looking at towering trees versus towering buildings were more likely to report feelings of awe and in turn more likely to help a stranger than the tall building observers. Piff says that “experiences of awe attune people to things larger than themselves and cause individuals to feel less entitled, less selfish, and to behave in more generous and helping ways.” Julie Mann at Newcomers High School in Long Island takes her students on “AWE Walks” to connect with nature and art. When they write about these experiences and share them in the classroom, she says, kids who never talk in class or pay attention come to life. “It helps them feel less marginalized, with a sense that life is still good,” she says. Regularly experiencing moments of awe has also been linked to lower levels of inflammatory compounds in the body. In a 2016 study of 44 cities, people living in cities with more green spaces reported having more energy, good health, and sense of purpose.

3) Natural Killer (NK) Cells – Research at Mippon Medical School shows that when people inhale forest phytoncides their body responds by increasing NK cells – a type of WBC that supports the immune system and is associated with a lower risk of cancer. NK cells also play a role in fighting infections and autoimmune disorders and combating inflammation, which contributes to a wide range of problems, including heart disease and diabetes.

4) ADHD Symptoms – Several studies suggests that nature walks could be a potential natural treatment to improve the attention of kids with ADHD. The author (Ming Kuo) of a 2011 study points out that “nature gives the part of the brain that’s used in effortful concentration a rest. If you spend time doing something mentally relaxing, you feel rejuvenated.” Another study at the University of Michigan found that people improve their short-term memory by 20% after a nature walk but had no changes after walking through city streets.

5) Depression and Anxiety – A 2015 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that people taking nature walks had lower activity in an area of the brain linked to depression than those who walked in an urban area. Ming Kuo at the University of Illinois says that “when you have a short blast of nature, people’s moods go up.”

6) Allergies – There is mounting evidence that in order to reduce allergy problems, kids need to be exposed to many kinds of microbes. Billions of microbes – known as microbiomes – live on and in us. We are just beginning to appreciate how our microbiomes contribute to our well-being and how their absence puts our kids at greater risk for allergies, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, dementia, and other maladies. Historically we know that kids growing up in rural environments rarely had autoimmune disorders or allergy-related conditions. Several studies have found that kids with access to green space or a backyard containing native plants have more diverse skin microbes and are less likely to develop allergies.

7) Exercise (inside or outside) – Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky, a genetic metabolic neurologist at McMaster University in Ontario, says that “If there were a drug that could do for human health everything that exercise can, it would likely be the most valuable pharmaceutical ever developed.” The priority “standard” in any curriculum should be to model a healthy lifestyle to our kids and teach them a love of exercise – our mental and physical engines need both free play and structured movement. Only 15% of U.S. elementary schools require PE at least three days a week for the school year. Surely we can do better!

II. Native Plants as Schoolyard Wetland Buffer Zones:

1) Sharing Space – Humans are not very nice about sharing space with their fellow earthlings. A look at how we use space - over 44,000 square miles of blacktop, 40 million-plus acres of suburban lawns, and over 41% of all land in the lower 48 states in agriculture – provokes the question of how can we be a little fairer about sharing. Doug Tallamy in Bringing Nature Home (a must-read for anyone who cares about other life forms) makes a convincing case for modifying the places we live, work, and play to meet not only our needs but the needs of other species as well.

2) Alien Plants = Energy Dead Ends – Ecosystem Efficiency (functionality) is a measure of how long energy is retained in the system before being lost. Phytophagous (plant-eating) insects play a huge role in moving solar energy from their food plants into other trophic levels. A remarkable example of critters reliant on efficient energy transfer is seen in wee Chickadee babies which require 6,000 to 10,000 caterpillars (quality protein) in a period of 16 to 18 days (390 to 570 caterpillars per day) in order to leave their nest in a healthy condition. A whopping 96% of all terrestrial bird species depend predominantly on caterpillars (especially moth, butterfly, and sawfly larvae) to feed their babies. The overwhelming majority of our native plant-eating insects cannot use alien plants – privet, autumn olive, kudzu, crape myrtle, multiflora rose, several honeysuckle species, English Ivy, Bradford pear, and yes, the beloved butterfly bush, to name a few – as hosts to lay eggs and food for larvae, resulting in a food chain (energy) dead end. Alien plants along with grass carpet have low to negative ecosystem functionality. Working toward creating more sustainable options for our decreasing pollinators and other wildlife is a worthy goal.

3) Celebrate Damaged Leaves – All plant parts support some species of insects, but the vast majority of insect herbivores eat leaves. If you carefully compare leaf damage between alien and native plants, you will likely discover a lot less damage to the alien leaves. Take comfort when you notice leaf damage on your native plants in knowing that energy is being transferred to beautiful moths and butterflies, many which in turn will be gobbled up by critters (especially birds) in higher trophic levels. Because our native insects don’t have a long evolutionary history with alien plants they lack the enzymes needed to neutralize the defensive leaf chemicals produced by aliens. When we do find heavy leaf damage on our native plants it is often due to a combination of the ornamental plant industry having imported serious insect pests and a lack of predators in our oversimplified landscapes. Japanese beetles (little eating machines) for example, were introduced into New Jersey in 1916 in a shipment of Asian iris. Adults feed on the foliage of over 400 plant species and are particularly destructive to Asian ornamentals favored by many landscapers and suburbanites. To add insult to injury, these destructive insects cherish huge lawns for laying eggs since their larvae favor grass roots as a food source.

4) Native Plants – Beautiful AND Functional – It takes an unrelenting attitude and solid work ethic to battle invasive plants and restore an area to native species. But the result is a highly functional mini-ecosystem that efficiently transfers solar energy through multiple trophic levels and provides an exciting discovery zone for kids and adults alike. Some of my fondest memories during the past 48 years of teaching are based on the AWE expressions of kids experiencing the flips of click beetles, admiring the beauty of a Monarch larva, observing a jumping spider sucking the guts out of a grasshopper, and finding a Spring Peeper with a granddaddy long-legs hanging out its mouth. I have been honored and lucky to have taught in every grade level from pre-school through college and have at least marginal insight into the dampening down of curiosity of many kids as they hobble up our educational “testing ladder.” Although I find most biology-related topics fascinating, I rarely bump into a former student that sparks a conversation with how stimulating my lectures were on mitosis or the glycolytic biochemical pathway. But numerous ones have shared their AWE when for example they learned about the Hog-nosed Snake defensive strategy of playing dead in my “living labs” or as their own real-life experience. The lesson for me is that it all starts with functional habitats – there would be no Hog-nosed Snakes or Chickadees if not for native plants that support insects which in turn support toads (the main food of Hog-nosed Snakes) and baby birds.

III. Management: This needs to be a two-way conversation which incudes, but is not limited to, the topics below. Like quality indoor labs, quality outdoor experiences require logistics and work.

Functional Habitat and Accessibility
Phenology (when things happen)
Ecolawn Patches and Skip Mowing
Cattails and Willows
Battling Aliens
The Fish Problem
Kids and Parents Work Day
Safety Issues
Resetting the Habitat
Funding Resources
Training & Maintenance Strategies
Questions and Concerns

IV. Selected Reading Resources:

1) Bringing Nature Home by Doug Tallamy, 2007.

2) The Living Landscape by Rick Darke & Doug Tallamy, 2014.

3) Attracting Native Pollinators – Protecting North America’s Bees and Butterflies by The Xerces Society, 2011.

V. Ten of my Favorite Native Plants for Attracting Lepidoptera (moths & butterflies) and other Pollinators

Ecosystem services provided by insects are valued at ~$57 billion per year. As E.O. Wilson points out – if insects were to disappear our own extinction would not be far behind. Although the pesticide industry has gone to great lengths to convince us that all insects are detrimental, of the 9 million plus insect species on earth, only 1% are injurious from a human perspective. We can thank insects for about every third bite of food we consume. Their services range from pollinating plants to providing food either directly or indirectly for most other animals.

1) Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) At least 12 species of Lepidoptera reproduce on milkweeds – no milkweeds = no Monarchs. These plants are commonly mowed in power-lines when monarch larvae are feeding on them.

2) Common Milkweed (A. syriaca)

3) Swamp Milkweed (A. incarnate)

4) Coneflowers and Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia species) Provide landscape splendor and nectar, and are host plants for over a dozen species of Lepidoptera (Leps) including the exquisite Pearl Crescent (Phyciodes tharos).

5) Button Bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) A great nectar plant which is also host to at least 18 species of Leps. Plant Button Bush in the low wet areas of your yard and you will be rewarded with both beautiful flowers and butterflies.

6) Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium species) When your non-native Butterfly Bush dies, replace it with Joe-Pye. Your landscape will retain beauty and Joe-Pye is host to over three dozen Leps. Butterfly Bush is a great nectar plant but does not serve as a host plant for any of our native butterflies – why not plant something that does both jobs.

7) Black Cherries (Prunus serotina) When you get home today I encourage you to go out and cut down your Bradford Pears (they will be hard to keep down) and replace them with Black Cherries. This native tree provides food to over 400 species of moths and butterflies while Bradford Pears host zero Leps.

8) Violets (Viola species) Yes, even those “weedy” little blue violets (V. sororia) that cover your yard are great host plants for Leps. Without violets there would be no Great Spangled Fritillaries (Speyeria cybele). Instead of mowing them over, get down on your hands and knees and look for Fritillary larvae.

9) Asters (Aster species) The New England Aster (A. novae-angliae) is one of my favorite fall plants and is a critical late season nectar plant for butterflies, especially Monarchs in need of an energy source for their long migration to Mexico.

10) Goldenrods (Solidago species) Goldenrods are my all-time favorite wildflowers. The diversity of insects that visit them is mind-boggling. Their fall flowers provide copious amounts of nectar for Honey Bees and other bees use the pollen to provision late-season nests. When Goldenrods are bush-hogged there are dozens of pollinators deprived of a much-needed resource!