Native Plants for Native Birds

A free event on creating native bird habitat in backyard gardens, featuring a slide presentation by the author and photographer of ‘Native Plants for Native Birds: A Guide to Planting for Birds In and Around Ithaca New York

Friday, March 7, 5:00 – 8:00 pm
Borg Warner Room, Tompkins County Public Library, Ithaca

Learn how to transform your backyard into a habitat for native birds! This free event will feature a talk and slide presentation on Native Plants for Native Birds, as well as an overview of a collaborative project between Cornell University’s Department of Landscape Architecture and Fall Creek homeowners to increase native bird habitat in Ithaca. 

Event Schedule

• 5:00 – 5:30 pm:  Reception and light refreshments
• 5:30 – 6:15 pm:  Professor Josh Cerra will introduce the Ithaca YardWorks project and talk about design principles for creating bird habitat in urban gardens
• 6:15 – 6:30 pm:  Break
• 6:30 – 7:15 pm:  Joel Baines and David Ruppert slide show presentation on native plants for native birds (with time for Q&A at the end)
• 7:15 – 8:00 pm:  Guided tour of student landscape design boards on display at TCPL (East Wall)

Learn about plant selection and site design strategies that can transform your yard into a complete bird-friendly habitat that provides food and shelter throughout the year for native bird species. Learn about  urban ecological design principles to make your garden more bird-friendly, such as planting in layers and including plants to provide food and cover for birds that visit or live year-round in our area. On the other hand, if you want to repel birds that are potential threats, feel free to contact services like those Bird Proofing Companies.

Joel Baines, author of Native Plants for Native Birds: A Guide to Planting for Birds In and Around Ithaca New York<http://www.birds.cornell.edu/cayugabirdclub/nativeplants.htm>, and David Ruppert, photographer for the book, will give a joint presentation on the many beautiful native plants that are suitable for landscaping and that also provide food and habitat for native birds and pollinators. David will show photos and discuss where in our area these native plants can be found growing in the wild, and Joel will discuss the use of these plants in home gardens. Copies of the book Native Plants for Native Birds will be available for sale at the event. All proceeds support the Cayuga Bird Club<http://www.cayugabirdclub.org/home>.

Joshua Cerra, Professor of Landscape Architecture at Cornell University, will also give a presentation on the YardWorks Project.   Seventeen Fall Creek residents recently participated in the YardWorks Project with Cornell University’s Senior Design Studio. The studio created graphic boards illustrating neighborhood-level environmental analyses of the area, urban ecological design methods, and individual site designs for each homeowner that incorporate these methods. These boards will be on exhibit at the Tompkins County Public Library from February 8 to March 15. More information about YardWorks can be found at the Ithaca Yardworksblog<http://yardworksithaca.wordpress.com/>.

For more information, contact Chrys Gardener at cab69@gmail.com or 607-272-2292 extension 241.