Help our preserves go Native!

Part of our mission is to support native growth on our BHHC preserves and in our communities. You can be a part of our team by not only coming to our bi-annual plant sales, supporting your own native planting in your backyard (which also is helping to support us with your purchase!) but this year you can also make a donation that goes DIRECTLY to supporting the cost of planting natives in our preserves. The more we receive the more we can plant!  

Why is this important? 

According to Kristine Hahn, Michigan State University Extension 

Michigan native plants have many benefits

Our native Michigan wildlife species have co-evolved with our native Michigan plants over thousands of years and have become strongly linked to them. Therefore, planting native plants supports and provides habitat for our native wildlife. For example, the endangered Karner blue butterfly caterpillars can only feed on wild lupine plants. Karner blue butterflies will not lay their eggs on any other plant, leaving them dependent on these native plants for their survival. Native plants are often required in restoration or re-vegetation plantings installed by natural resource organizations and government agencies due to their ability to provide important habitat for our native wildlife species.

When native plants are well-matched with the existing environmental conditions, they often need little water, fertilizer or pesticides inputs once they are established.

Michigan State University Extension has done extensive research on the ability of some native plants to be excellent attractors of pollinators and beneficial insects. Pollinators provide us with very important ecological services that keep our plants producing fruits and vegetables. Beneficial insects provide us with free pest management services by feeding on the harmful insects that eat our ornamental and crop plants.

THANK YOU for your support!

The Blue Heron Headwaters Team