Re: more European gardening practices

**"* <m*@comcast.net>**

I see I have another dangling bit on the address. Here is the entire article
from The Raw Story.

Maryann
-----------------------------------------------------------
Saving Butterflies in French Gardens

An unusual SOS that has gone out from French ecologists may not initially go
down well with gardeners, who are being asked to leave weeds well alone.

But it's all in a good cause -- to save disappearing butterfly species.

Having set up the first butterfly 'refuges' in northwestern France in 2004,
a Brittany-based association is now urging gardeners to do their bit for
butterflies and biodiversity by not cutting back their brambles or nettles.

"We are asking people to leave several square metres of wild grass,
brambles, nettles in their garden... which caterpillars love," Jeremy
Allain, of the Vivarmor association behind the initiative said.

Garden-lovers are also encouraged to put down "plants which are rich in
nectar like clover, sage or daisies to feed adult butterflies," he said of
the project, which has prompted interest across France.

"'Spotless' gardens with a well-mown lawn are true deserts for butterflies
which lack refuges, while wild gardens can also be very pretty," he
enthused.

Gardeners are also urged to avoid chemically treating their gardens.

About 100 hectares (250 acres) of butterfly refuges have now been set up
under the project over three years, Allain said. "All our supporters,
including many families with children, have told us they see more
butterflies than before."

It aims to stop butterflies vanishing. A study in the northwestern Cotes
d'Armor department found a 25-percent loss of butterfly species since the
1920s, due to widespread use of pesticides and the disappearance of fallow
land.

Gardeners who commit to the charter available by the Internet receive a sign
to identify their butterfly refuge.

But not only does the scheme aim to save butterflies from disappearing, it
also seeks to tackle the wider problem of maintaining biodiversity.

"We take the butterfly because it's a good ambassador" for making people
think about the problem of biodiversity, Allain said. "The idea is that
everyone can do something concrete, it's not just a matter of the state or
of associations." 

Vivarmor has already been approached by interested individuals in other
parts of France, and even in neighbouring Belgium.

The Noe Conservation group, which since last spring has been undertaking a
national registration of lepidopterans too has mobilised its network to
create refuges, to be known as 'butterfly gardens', across France.

"The goal is to make people change their behavior in their garden," said
Karine Langloys, in charge of biodiversity education for the association.

"France has 13 million gardeners responsible for a quarter of the pollution
of surface water and subterranean tables. Gardens, size-wise, are four times
bigger than natural reserves. It's a real stake."

In a bid to help track the fate of the country's butterfly population, the
National Museum of Natural History and the Noe Conversation group a year ago
launched a scheme to get people to count common species in their gardens.

So far 14,695 people have signed up to the Internet-based scheme, which
involves pinpointing 28 common species in one's garden once a month. "We now
have a basis enabling us to study the evolution of butterfly species year
after year," said Benoit Fontaine, in charge of collecting the data for the
museum.

Similar schemes are already in place in Britain and The Netherlands.

Meanwhile, several local community groups have already instigated steps,
such as in Tregueux, near Saint-Brieuc in Cotes d'Armor, which has set aside
butterfly refuges in some of its green spaces.

"We are letting spontaneous vegetation grow, often considered weeds," local
environment official Alain Jouan said.

And while he acknowledged the initiative did not always go down too well
with local residents, he noted a fall in the use of chemical products and in
clearing, to the benefit of the environment as well as the town's coffers.

"Protecting butterflies may seem odd, but it's to protect biodiversity and
therefore man," he concluded.

-----Original Message-----
From: gardenwriters-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
[g*@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of MaryannWhitman
Sent: Sunday, April 01, 2007 10:58 AM
To: 'Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum'
Subject: [GWL] more European gardening practices

http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Saving_butterflies_and_man_s_future_03252007.ht
ml

Maryann Whitman, Journal Editor

Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes

www.for-wild.org

Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound
practices to encourage biodiversity through the preservation, restoration
and establishment of native plant communities. Wild Ones is a
not-for-profit, environmental, educational, and advocacy organization.

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