Snakes are often persecuted and killed because we fear them
The primary goal of Ecosystem Gardening is to learn to give a little back to wildlife in our gardens. We have taken away so much habitat for wildlife in our quest for endless development.
We can give a little back to wildlife by creating welcoming habitat in our gardens. We can learn to share our space with our local birds, butterflies, bees and other pollinators, frogs and toads, bats, and other wildlife species.
While I was researching my thesis, which led to the development of the principles of Ecosystem Gardening, I came across a book by Dave Foreman. Rewilding North America: A Vision for Conservation in the 21st Century eloquently describes six “wounds” that the human population is inflicting on ecosystems which are contributing to the decline of species:
- The wound of direct killing
- The wound of habitat loss
- The wound of fragmentation
- The wound of loss of ecological processes
- The wound of exotic species
- The wound of pollution and climate change
In the coming weeks we’re going to discuss each of these wounds and how we can begin to heal them.
The Wound of Direct Killing
It was this wound that initially grabbed my attention and set me on the path of teaching people to learn to give something back to wildlife with the death of Martha the Passenger Pigeon.
The Passenger Pigeon is now extinct because we shot them for years until there were none left. The Carolina Parakeet met the same fate.
Herons Slaughtered for Ladies Hats
During the end of the 19th century fashionable ladies wanted hats. The most sought after ladies hats used plumes from Herons and Egrets, who developed beautiful long plumes during the breeding season.
Hunters would locate breeding heron colonies and shoot every bird they could find. The feathers were then removed and shipped to New York to be made into these hats. The birds bodies were left to rot where they lay.
The first Audubon Societies were created to stop the slaughter of these beautiful birds.
Persecution of Hawks
In 1929 the state of Pennsylvania offered a $5 reward for each Goshawk shot. Hunters would gather along mountain ridges and shoot every migrating raptor that passed overhead, piling up thousands of bodies each day.
A young Ornithologist named Richard Pough attempted to stop this slaughter, but he was unsuccessful until a wealthy conservationist named Rosalie Edge saw his photos and went to Pennsylvania and leased 1400 acres along this Pennsylvania mountain ridge and hired a warden to prevent more killing of raptors.
Hawk Mountain is now a premier hawk watching destination.
Demise of the Buffalo
The American Buffalo used to range widely across most of North America. To supply an ever-burgeoning European population, many buffalo were slaughtered simply for their hides and the carcasses were left to rot on the plains.
As the railroads spread ever westward, the buffalo’s habitat was chopped into increasingly smaller ranges. Inevitably, conflict arose between the native people whose lives depended upon these great herds and the Europeans whose lives depended on taking more land by force.
To solve this problem, the US Army slaughtered herd after herd of buffalo in order to starve the recalcitrant native peoples and to destroy their spiritual connection to their land.
Learning Lessons from History
These examples represent the ugly side of human nature, and one would hope that we might have learned important lessons from these examples. But sadly that is not the case.
Today every species of whale is threatened or endangered by overhunting and outright slaughter.
Sharks are caught, their fins removed, and the shark left to die to satisfy a craving for the delicacy of shark fin soup.
And while we are busy pointing fingers of blame at Japan for these activities, our own hands are not clean.
An image of the former governor of Alaska slaughtering wolves from a helicopter comes to mind.
We continue to persecute bats and snakes just because we fear them.
We hunt wolves and coyotes, not for food, but because we are afraid of predators. Ironically, we then complain when the deer munch down our foundation plantings.
Healing the Wound of Direct Killing
Every species of wildlife has a role in the healthy functioning of our ecosystems. Removing just one species can upset the balance of the whole system. Our own health is completely dependent on the ecosystem services provided by healthy ecosystems.
We need to learn to respect the different life forms with whom we share our planet. Our actions have consequences far beyond the borders of our own gardens.
The choices we make in our gardens when we choose to create welcoming habitat for wildlife and learn to give a little back to wildlife can make a difference for many species.
What are you doing to give a little back to wildlife?
Carole Sevilla Brown lives in Philadelphia, PA, and she travels the country speaking about Ecosystem Gardening for Wildlife. Check out her new free online course Ecosystem Gardening Essentials, 15 free lessons delivered to your inbox every week.
© 2011 – 2013, Carole Sevilla Brown. All rights reserved. This article is the property of Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. If you are reading this at another site, please report that to us
About Carole Sevilla Brown
What a beautiful snake photo! Do you know the species? How big was/is this individual? Where was the photo taken? Great post too!
Athena Rayne Anderson recently posted..Book Interview: “Bee Basics”
Athena, that snake is a Black Racer, a wonderful rodent controller. I got this photo while visiting my friend Pat Sutton in Cape May County, NJ. He was happily sunning himself while wrapped around this tree in her front yard. I think he was about 4 feet long.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Lets Just Eat the Invasive Plants
Thanks for the response, Carole!
Athena Rayne Anderson recently posted..Book Interview: “Bee Basics”
Carol I remember my first thoughts on this in middle and high school with the plight of baby seals, mustangs etc. Then it was whales, dolphins and it just continues. For the first time this year, we have had an abundance of snakes which has certainly led to many a nest being invaded and other birds reluctant to nest. We still embrace the snakes, spiders, rabbits, deer, fox whatever come into the garden. We share our land with them. As I blog, I share the stories of the critters not just the flowers of the garden. Your blogs are helping to keep this important issue alive…thx
Donna recently posted..Success
Donna, the whole reason for the existence of my garden is for “my” critters, and I’ve devoted all of my energy there to creating habitat for them. My day is truly blessed by seeing the birds, butterflies, bees, toads, and other friends who have come to share my space with me.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Lets Just Eat the Invasive Plants
Carole, This is such an important post! It is hard to believe the horrid acts humans are capable of. It is a constant battle to protect wildlife and the habitats they so depend on. Your work does indeed help others to think and hopefully act towards change within their own landscape. I do call and write congress often to demand more protection for our wild places and the creatures that share the land with us all. What an amazing capture of the mystery snake! Fabulous photograph.
Carol Duke recently posted..Silent Verdurous Studies Fluid Hummers Asclepias Leafy Landscape Inhabitants
Thanks Carol
It’s so much easier to make change happen when we start with those things that are in our own control, like the choices we make in our gardens. When all of us address our own behavior, we’ve already made a huge difference for wildlife.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..The Green Garden
Healing the wounds is a great metaphor. When we kill other lives, we are also killing a piece of our own spirit, our own connection to the life of this planet. By restoring habitat and welcoming the species who weave wild community around us, we heal those wounds in ourselves as well… Thanks for the reminder, and the great photo of the sunning black racer!
Susan J. Tweit recently posted..Books: Beautiful pollinators
Susan, you’re so right. We have lost so many connections to the land, the wildlife that lives there, and even to where our own food comes from. Healing that loss of connection can only help to heal our own spirits and bruised souls. That is my wish for every one of us.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..The Green Garden
Carole, this is a subject dear to my heart. We live in a semi-developed subdivision and for three years, had vacant, treed lots either side of us. When we moved in, the most important thing I wanted to do was to create a wildlife habitat in the form of a border shrubbery, providing the birds and other wildlife with a home for when the time came that the lots would be built on. With the economic downturn, nothing happened on those lots until recently when the trees were ripped out and houses put up almost overnight. It broke my heart, but I’m glad we had that buffer of time and the bushes and vines I planted have had a chance to mature. We get lots of birds, squirrels, raccoons and other animals, including skunks and a couple of armadillos this spring. I hope that we continue to see them, even with houses on either side of us.
Jayne, kudos to you for thinking ahead and preparing such a wonderful welcoming habitat for wildlife!
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Lets Just Eat the Invasive Plants
As a child of the DDT era I learned quickly what mankind can do in its attempt at better life through chemicals.
At age 8 I was beginning a lifelong education on living as one with nature.
Today, I run Oleo Acres located in Stanton Tn. A rural farm designed to teach others how to go green the old fashioned way.
My family moved here in 1973 and the farm was literally worked to death and void of ANY wildlife.
Today there is lush wooded areas, and wildlife abound in harmony with the farm.
Reason for my comment is to show that with help, nature can and will mend itself. BUT, only if we are willing to help.
Tim, your farm at Oleo Acres sounds wonderful. Big huge kudos to you for helping your land mend itself and create a haven for your wildlife.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Healing the Wounds Part 1 Direct Killing
I am reminded of a passage of a book by Deepak Chopra “Way of the Wizard” in which Merlin asks Arthur to kick a rock. Even though it was the rock that got kicked, it was Arthur that got hurt. “There is no harm you can really do to (the earth’s) spirit, although humans have inflicted appalling harm on the earth, the final result is always that we harm ourselves.”
Kathy @nativegardener recently posted..Topanga is a Special Place
Kathy, you are so right about the harm we’re doing to ourselves by the sad state of affairs in how we treat the environment and ecosystems around us. But people like you who are working to teach people a better way really are making a difference. Thanks for all you do.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Host Plants for Butterflies
Carole, thanks so much for this post. It is heartbreaking the way we have decimated many other species (and human civilizations too) for no reason other than our own convenience.
We gardeners tend to think of ourselves as lovers of nature, but so often when we get together, the talk turns from “those amazing plants” to “those pesky animals.” Just wanted to note that even the tiny creatures have an important role in the ecosystem, and our widespread use of insecticides and fertilizers not only directly kills off insects and soil creatures, but also crashes the populations of the “charismatic megafauna” further up the food chain.
Thanks so much for spreading such a wealth of information, not to mention your beautiful photos.
Evelyn I know many gardeners who really do love nature and have devoted themselves to creating welcoming habitat for wildlife in their gardens. Sadly there are still those in the mow and blow and spray anything that moves camp. Hopefully we can help more of them learn to make healthier choices in their gardens.
Carole Sevilla Brown recently posted..Lets Just Eat the Invasive Plants