Habitat Haven Garden Tour Inspires Hundreds

Habitat Haven held its first annual tour of local native-plant gardens Sunday, May 3. Nearly 200 people visited some or all of the ten featured yards!

Attendee Kevin O’Brien summed up the overall response of visitors: “I’ve learned that our yards are a way for us to make a positive dent in the ecological disaster we’ve made of the world. I want to do this in my yard, and there’s a lot of expertise in this community that I can tap into.”

Habitat Haven manager Barb Bryson spearheaded the planning and set-up, with help from fellow CCBA board members Hannah English, Cecelia Hagen, and Debbie Schlenoff. Others involved in the early stages were a cadre of volunteers from the Habitat Haven program, the Native Plant Society, and the OSU Master Gardeners.

CCBA appreciates the Upper Willamette Soil and Water Conservation District for its generous support of the Habitat Haven program and for sponsoring the event. Thanks to Doak Creek and Willamette Wildlings native plant nurseries for providing discount coupons to participants. The garden hosts were most generous in sharing their space and did an amazing job of answering questions and providing inspiration for visitors. Volunteers welcomed attendees at every home and provided information for their visits.

Each of us can volunteer to create better habitat where we live. The Habitat Haven section of our website, ccbirdalliance.org/habitat-haven/, provides advice and a slew of information. Adding native plants to your yard helps the birds, pollinators, and other critters that visit. But most birds and other wildlife need more than one yard for food, shelter, migration stopovers, and nesting. Through our Bird City initiative, CCBA strives to create a whole community that supports wildlife. Adjacent yards can synergize with each other and with public places to provide a network of habitat. We encourage everyone to support and volunteer with organizations that create habitat in public spaces.

Our Thanks to Habitat Haven Garden Tour Volunteers:

Jenny Lippert, Karl Anderson, Claudia Crawford, Raymond Frey, Dorothy Zemach, Trish Buls, Jackie Johnson, Laurel DeCou, Laura Niles, Laura Goodman, Elizabeth A. Grant, Barbara Butzer, Kimberly St. Hilaire, Yolanda Mulhern, Camille Stewart, Cathy Crumbley, Janet Butler, Alan Butler, Jill Paulson, Becca Wages, Jennifer Baer, Sarah Schmiglesky, Jan Rising, Lucy Fuerborn, Fotine Fahouris, and UO interns Ren and Ali.

And Garden Owners:

Steve, Heather, Sharon, Jack, Cathey, Rich, Tim, Evelyn, Jan and Clay, Melissa and Jeff