Adelina Schutt and her daughter Sofia showed me around their backyard for a Backyard Conservation Audit. Adelina has brought her passion for conservation from Costa Rica. She worked on her family farm leading outdoor educational programs to school children and visitors.
She and her family continue to practice conservation. They have provided seed and water for visiting birds and squirrels. This year they planted milkweed to help the monarch that need the plant as a host for their eggs. Thousands of milkweed plants have been planted across the country to help the orange and black butterfly.
Their planting around their house is a mix of flowers from seed mixes for pollinators which provides three seasons of food. Not only does the family plant flowers, but they also have a garden. The soil in Adelina’s garden is rich from the compost she uses to enrich her soil.
Adelina has also shared her passion with her neighbor Bill Batson. She has given him plants to start his own pollinator garden. Bill tells me he also feeds birds during the winter and the squirrels with left over pears he saves from his tree. Adelina told me that in Costa Rica when visiting neighbors it is not unusual to bring starts of plants.
During the audit we discussed maybe adding a rain barrel to make watering easier in one corner of their house and also participating in one of the many citizen science projects. Be inspired! If you would like a backyard audit please contact Brigitte Hisey, Natural Resources Specialist, Fayette SWCD at 740-636-0279.
