For wildlife gardens with native plants, leaving the stems is best practice if not in a fire prone area. From the National Wildlife Federation:

Leave seed heads and flower stalks. Like fallen leaves, the stems and seed heads of perennials can be essential habitat for insects—especially some overwintering native bees—long after flowers have faded, says Mizejewski. Come spring, “cut the stems down to 10 or 12 inches, and native bees will nest inside.” If you prune back shrubs such as forsythia or blackberry, whose stems have hollow or pithy cores, bundle those on your property for more bee nesting sites, says Cane. Mizejewski points to an added bonus of saving seed heads until spring: “They will attract goldfinches, chickadees and other songbirds you can enjoy watching all winter.”

There is nothing that stands out to me as unmaintained, only not maintained in the way people are used to. During spring cleanup and throughout the growing season, invasive species can be removed (and many tend to stick out in the winter as well).

Edit: Thanks to @thegreenman@slrpnk.net and @AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net for joining the team!

!food@slrpnk.net is looking for additional mods! First-timers welcome.

Become a 🌻 Social Justice Druid 🌿

Passing Wildlife-Friendly Property Maintenance Ordinances

Happy to spread the gospel 🙏 I’m surprised it wasn’t already posted here!

Maryland passed a bill doing just that:

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0322f.pdf

Awesome! Sometimes all neighbors need is to see it in action, to not be the first on the block. Like it gives people permission in a way 😊

These, or their cousin “we could lose a few billion people,” pop up on my instance from time to time. I’m not amenable to either, but I do understand the feelings of grief behind them. Myself, I adopted a secular practice in order to stay grounded, because it’s easy to fall into the pit… comment sections with debate lords proclaiming why whatever is futile, people raging and posturing or possessed by long dead philosophers, all while the machine gobbles up the world. Soul crushing.

Grief and its companions fear, anger, despair, are blinding and consume the larger liberatory project. The sense of powerlessness these states foster breeds the need to control, and it’s easier than people want to admit to slip. I feel similarly about the tendency to dehumanize. I always try to be empathetic, reminding myself that those thoughts once crossed my mind, the visceral frustration I once felt, but it’s disheartening.

I’m with you, but I do stress the optimistic and hopeful part given the utopian nature of the solarpunk movement. I’m not talking about toxic positivity, that’s gross lol and leads to inaction. Moreso on replicable activities, collaboration, brainstorming, sharing successes, not dehumanizing others, and rejecting despair.

A lot of your posts are in line with what I mean about keeping the focus, like those about biodiversity loss and deforestation. Definitely not saying that’s all that fits here or all this place should be, but those do fit more than what feels like advertisements.

Maybe it’s because I’d like to see each vegan community on the fediverse have their own flavor… Like blahaj highlighting the intersections of queer and animal liberation, or lifting up queer activists. Or .ml discussing veganism through a communist lens, .ca focusing on Canadian concerns and movements. Right now, it feels so homogeneous.

Thank you for the last bit 😂 Killing your lawn is vegan!

Given the nature of the fediverse, bringing this community more in line with the Solarpunk instance:

A place for hopeful vegans and curious folk, focused on the climate crisis.

Solarpunk is an anti-capitalist movement against the status quo. Apolitical means status quo. Capitalism will not bring about liberation for any earthling, nor will the NGOs who do the bidding for the state. We can’t rely on our institutions. We need a grassroots movement from below.

More discussions about activism and community organizing. Posts about art, music, and creative works. Optimistic or thought-provoking essays aligned with Solarpunk values. Zero waste recipes or DIY dupes. Projects we can support or take to our own communities. News about everyday people working towards a better world.

Less about corporate offerings, consumption, and processed foods wrapped in plastic. Less inflammatory missionary work, less debate bros, and less worrying about scaring off conservatives.

There are numerous vegan communities across the fediverse on generalist instances more in line with the mainstream movement, let it be those who get that type of activity. Or in the discussion community which could use some love: !discusswithvegans@slrpnk.net

Greening Your Homeowners Association: Wildlife gardeners are getting HOAs to relax rigid landscaping rules

Direct link to the Maryland bill passed: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0322f.pdf

No sand spurs here, thankfully 😄 Both pictures show groundcover under low tree or shrub branches, so no humans step there. These type of plantings are meant to be soft landings for pollinators.

Violets can handle moderate foot traffic and mowing, especially when mixed in with grasses like nimblewill, but not heavy play.

This is awesome! Love seeing the younger generations getting involved and that your SO lost his mind when he found out lol.

So glad you chose solarpunk as your home on the fediverse :) It was a big reason I chose this instance and I’m happy to be part of the team!

Been meaning to try this 🙏

Mary’s Test Kitchen attempted a scramble with another legume in the recent video, will chickpea egg?

Especially us over at !nolawns@slrpnk.net 🌻

These communities may be helpful:

!balconygardening@slrpnk.net

!nativeplantgardening@mander.xyz

Look out for seed or plant swaps in your area. Gardeners are usually very willing to share lol. As for specifics, it would depend where you are in the world.

I love Wild Geranium! The leaves just started emerging here in the Mid-Atlantic (with some violets waking up in the periphery):

After planting these last spring, I found Carolina Geranium growing in a sidewalk crack a few feet away 😆

The creator’s statements appear to be rooted in the source, “On the Bunny Trail: In Search of the Easter Bunny.”

You may be interested in the discussion under the article between commenter J.H. and the author Stephen Winick, where Winick explains his reasoning on the matter.

The video goes into this somewhat, but mostly focuses on the folklore surrounding the Easter Bunny. It’s speculated that it possibly originated from a springtime children’s game in Germany sometime in the 1600s. However, much is unknown.

It started bouncing between 60F and 20F here, weather whiplash! But some shrubs are starting to bud which is such a mood booster. I’m hoping to get brambles or hopniss plants this spring.

Thanks 🤗 And that is awesome! I rarely see mantises where I am, but it’s such a treat. I love the way they eye people up lol.