Shrubs and Trees too!
When we talk about gardening for wildlife, we often picture flowers and herbaceous plants like milkweed. But trees and shrubs are a key element to good habitat. Trees and shrubs provide shelter for birds, bats and other mammals. They are a source of seeds and fruit, but some also provide nectar and pollen to birds and insects. Trees and shrubs create thickets, tangles of branches that help smaller animals avoid large predators. Even dead trees, called ‘wildlife trees’ by biologists, provide food, shelter and nesting sites.
Trees provide significant benefits to us as humans too. They help draw carbon from the atmosphere. A recent study by Swiss scientists indicates that planting trees on a global scale (reforesting 1 billion hectares) could remove 25% of our atmospheric carbon. That is enough to reverse the course of climate change. Six nations in the world have the landmass available to contribute significantly to this course of action. Canada is one.