Promoting healthier landscapes in the face of development through native plant conservation and habitat restoration

We can now take better advantage of restoration opportunities within existing urban and rural landscapes for the future. As development, habitat loss and climate change continue, we must be willing to shift paradigms to restore more resilient and functional landscapes. By choosing native prairie seed mixes instead of non-native species in revegetating highly disturbed lands, we can potentially contribute to endangered habitat restoration, while building natural capital, conserving resources and promoting healthier ecosystems. A multi-year study underway at The Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio is demonstrating feasibility of this approach, developing best practices and sharing outcomes with the public.