How NBHS Supports Native Biodiversity
• Install multi-benefit green infrastructure that prioritizes native plants and increasing
ecological niches (e.g. shrubs under existing trees)
• Design green infrastructure that can be maintained simply through invasive removal
and periodic ecological disturbance (e.g. mowing)
Success can be tracked through photos and notes taken by NBHS and by clients. In this way, both biodiversity and green
infrastructure health can be monitored over time. Some homeowners may even be inspired to act as "citizen scientists" and
conduct plant and animal inventories (esp. endangered species) on their properties.
A Closer Look...
Join a growing community of people working ultra-locally to protect our imperiled natural wealth. Native plants support
more biodiversity than non-native plants21 and they better support native
wildlife.22 Be it planting natives
alongside a manicured lawn or letting things get a little wild (esp. within rainfall runoff channels), NBHS works with
homeowners to realize their own vision for a beautiful yard. I personally consider hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and
other priceless pollinators to be more beautiful than sterile landscapes. At our home, Cynthia and I initially
wondered why passers-by stopped and stared at our yard on summer evenings. We soon realized that they were mesmerized by the
chorus of lightning bugs that have vanished from so many neighborhoods. Biodiversity also offers practical benefits to humans.
For example, compared to green infrastructure with low plant diversity, multi-species (esp. native) plantings are often more
resilient
against drought or water-logged conditions.23 Plant diversity also tends to increase the
effectiveness of co-benefits, such as stormwater runoff reduction and extreme heat mitigation.24 In
addition, diverse vegetation supports diverse wildlife.
NBHS identifies where new plantings (or simply reduced mowing) will yield the greatest benefits for humans and for nature. For
example, lightning bugs (aka fireflies) benefit from the presence of long grasses.25 While few homeowners (or their
neighbors) would tolerate an unkempt yard, letting the grass grow longer within tidily bordered runoff channels would help
lightning bugs (and many other species) while reducing landscaping labor and preserving aesthetics. Other NBHS activities that
support native biodiversity include: removing invasive plant species; increasing ecological niches by adding shrubs underneath
existing trees; reducing and filtering stormwater runoff and thereby improving downstream water quality and wildlife habitat;
using GIS to situate a given property into a broader context of wildlife corridors and habitat connectivity.
21Elena S. Tartaglia and Myla F. J. Aronson, “Plant Native: Comparing Biodiversity Benefits,
Ecosystem Services Provisioning, and Plant Performance of Native and Non-Native Plants in Urban Horticulture,”
Urban Ecosystems 27, no. 6 (2024): 2587–2611, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01610-5
22Douglas W. Tallamy, Desirée L. Narango, and Annie B. Mitchell, “Do Non-native Plants
Contribute to Insect Declines?,” Ecological Entomology 46 (2021): 729–742, https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12973
23Kilian Perrelet et al., “Engineering Blue-Green Infrastructure for and with Biodiversity in Cities,” npj Urban
Sustainability 4, no. 1 (2024): Article 27, https://www.nature.com/articles/s42949-024-00163-y
24Perrelet et al., “Engineering Blue-Green Infrastructure”
25Firefly Conservation & Research, “How You Can Help Prevent Fireflies from Disappearing,” Firefly.org, accessed
April 10, 2026, https://www.firefly.org/how-you-can-help.html
