Putting the Plus in Local Food Plus: Protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat
As we’ve mentioned before, there are a lot of components to being Certified Local Sustainable. One of the requirement that is probably mentioned the least is that farmers protect and enhance wildlife habitat and biodiversity.
Farms are part of an ecosystem, and keeping that system balanced means not only taking care with what you put in/on the ground (such as pesticides), but how you treat the flora and fauna of the area. Not to mention, they can also have benefits for the farmers, such as birds that eat unwanted bugs, bees that pollinate crops, and trees that provide a shady area for cows to rest in.
When I started at LFP, I thought that protecting wildlife habitat meant fences and special areas. That is one method used by farmers, however I have since learned that it can also mean much more.
Blueberries that both humans and birds enjoy eating. photo credit: SirPecanGum
Blueberry Hill Estates explained some of the techniques they use: to keep their berries for paying customers, they use both an auditory and a visual deterrent. The auditory component is a recording of a bird of prey (such as hawks, falcons and owls). This noise scares away all the small birds who like snacking on berries.
The second component is called a flashtape. Also called a streamer, this long piece of plastic is red on one side and silver on the other. When stretched across the field, it blows in the wind and birds think it’s fire; a good reason to stay away from the berries.
While these techniques are not uncommon, they were new to me. In fact, while trying to find out what flashtape was called, I found this OMAFRA Fact Sheet on Bird Control on Grape and Tender Fruit Farms. It lists the above methods along with other means of deterring birds from eating crops.
A nuthatch checking out a nesting box. photo credit: Velo Steve
Another certified farm, YU Ranch, doesn’t have to worry about birds eating crops, so they encourage them (and bees) to live off their land. They installed 42 bird boxes on their property to give shelter to some of the birds that arrived after they restored the grasslands on their farm. YU Ranch has also planted hedges which provide a windbreak as well as housing and feeding bees, who then pollinate the area.
So there you have it, three different ways of protecting and enhancing wildlife habitat and biodiversity on Certified Local Sustainable Farms. One more reason to look for the Certified seal where you shop and dine.
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http://www.UrbanOrganicGardener.com Mike Lieberman
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http://www.localfoodplus.ca/ Heather Jewell
