The following is excerpted from Wild Vision Adventures In Observation, A Monthly Newsletter for Texas Wildlife Interpreters, Published by Wild Vision, September/October 1997 Volume 3, Issue 5.
The process of generating public awareness of the value of wildscapes is of keen importance to me. A successful wildscape
program can serve as an example to other individuals and organizations in the surrounding community. The end result of the
proliferation of these wildlife attracting areas is a blurring of the distinction between city and country. In our increasingly human
dominated landscape, wild plants and animals must be welcomed among us if they are to survive. Our efforts can bring about
the slow recovery of creatures such as toads and frogs that are having a difficult time coping with the world as it is now.
When creating a small scale wild area that is intended to be attractive to animals, there is no reason not
to consider the
usefulness of each plant to the humans that tend the area. In the past, and among tribal cultures today, an interesting practice
known as swidden agriculture was/is employed to feed humans and attract wildlife at the same time. The idea is simple and
elegant when considered in detail: Part of an existing wilderness is cleared, with trees burned or left lying about. Wild areas
along the border of the clearing begin the process of re-seeding the opening. Useful wild plants that spring up are encouraged
to grow where they will, while less favored species are weeded out. The cleared area is planted with annuals that produce a
crop the first year. At the same time, fruit trees and other useful perennials are planted. For two or three years annual crops
are planted, until the growth of the wild and planted perennials crowd out the available space. As years pass the wild fruit and
nut trees begin to produce food. More and more wild plants take root. All along the way, some wild plants are eliminated and
other, more useful ones are encouraged. Eventually the cleared land returns to a state that looks perfectly wild. On closer
inspection, it can be seen that this area provides a greater abundance of fruit and nuts to both humans and animals. These
permaculture areas become the favorite hunting grounds for the tribal inheritors of the land.
Why not merge this idea of swidden agriculture with the concept of backyard habitats to provide a space that is beneficial to
humans as well as a myriad of other life forms. In choosing plants for a wild area, one should consider the following criteria:
Perennial, native, low maintenance plants, adapted to local soil conditions, useful to man and beast. By creating a virtually
self-sustaining area, full of useful perennial plants, we foster a wild garden, just outside our door, where we can go to breathe
deeply, watch the mysterious lives of creatures unlike us, and pick a fruit to eat while we are watching.
The value of these miniature wild spots should not be underestimated. Not only do they provide an island of existence for
animals in need; they provide the human animal with something that seems hard to find in our present society--a place to dip
our souls in and emerge refreshed.
Royce & LuCretia Milam Copyright ©
September 2002 Wild Vision. All rights reserved.