Insect Garden Butterfly Paradise here
82 year old Willem bought an remote potato farmfield back in 1980 and transformed it into a butterfly paradise. For almost 40 years he works the land with shovel and scythe in order to preserve the butterflies. Willem's paradise has become one of the most important habitats in the region for these fluttering beauties.
But Willem has a problem. Due to an overload of nitrogen in the air, Willem’s flower rich butterfly paradise gets slowly driven away by a monoculture of grass. Butterflies that used to be common just a few decades ago are rare these days, or have completely disappeared.
What about having a controlled burn for the unwanted grass during specific seasons? When ash is put into soil it gives calcium and potassium and also helps balance the ph of the soil, perhaps doing a controlled burn for several seasons could help balance the grass growth and therefore bring back some of the butterflies.
ReplyDeleteAshton Biological Preserve have adopted controlled burns for their land to assist with biodiversity. They discussed the process of deciding whether or no it was a good idea. I honestly don't know. I think it does depend on the geographic region - right? If burns were a natural part of the history of that place? Something to research more.
DeleteThe stories like the Biggest Little Farm, this video, and this story point out how much individuals with a little land are capable of. See link:
ReplyDeleteHow one man repopulated a rare butterfly species in his backyard
https://www.vox.com/2016/7/6/12098122/california-pipevine-swallowtail-butterfly-population
"He researched the butterfly and learned that when in caterpillar form, it only feeds on one plant: the California pipevine (Aristolochia californica), an equivalently rare flora in the city.
"Finally, I was able to find this plant in the San Francisco Botanical Garden [in Golden Gate Park]," Wong says. "And they allowed me to take a few clippings of the plant."
Then in his own backyard, using self-taught techniques, he created a butterfly paradise.
"[I built] a large screen enclosure to protect the butterflies and to allow them to mate under outdoor environmental conditions — natural sun, airflow, temp fluctuations," he says.
"The specialized enclosure protects the butterflies from some predators, increases mating opportunities, and serves as a study environment to better understand the criteria female butterflies are looking for in their ideal host plant."
The construction or action of this kind relates to Fritz Haeg's Edible Estates whereby the creativity associated with constructing these spaces (and the learning about the flora and fauna that are involved) create actual change and simultaneously can educate the public and move others to action.
I love that even as an older man he is dedicated to doing his part for a larger goal. Before this class I did not know anything about farming and I thought that was reason enough to not engage, now I am inspired by projects like this one and the Biggest Little Farm to do more and learn what I can.
ReplyDeleteThis video instantly reminded me of the Biggest Little Farm movie we watched, and the old man with his butterflies reminded me of the mentor Alan with the farm. It's important to record the environment in order to realize how it is changing and what ways it needs to be helped. I also personally liked the journals the man had about his butterflies as I am thinking of having a sort of field guide component to project 3.
ReplyDeleteIt also points out what a "blip" we are all on. the land. Everyone I know that has set aside land to focus on biodiversity or ecology brings this up. We are here for a short time and we try to do what we can. Then a new person comes along and makes new decisions.
DeleteThis video demonstrated and documented this man's perseverance over decades of time, which goes to show that "paradise" does not come easy. In order for life to vibrantly flourish it needs true TLC. Frequent maintenance, money, time, energy, documentation... all of these components go into such an extraordinary practice that not only gives this man a life purpose, but these butterflies a place to indulge in their lives. I love projects like these because they go to show that art is so much more than creating objects that are confined within museums.... they can be created in the outdoors with no limiting parameters set in place.
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