Imagine a built community (an expansive housing development in the U.S. with a homeowner association) that cares about indigenous plants and animals. The houses are all green certified and powered by solar panels. Water is conserved. Electric vehicles abound. Green spaces with native plants are aesthetically appealing and attract pollinators and wildlife. Deer roam. Rabbits run. Birds nest. Keep imagining, for there is no such place. However, some communities would have you think otherwise with labels like “sustainable.” Here’s what we found.
Native and wild plants are not the norm. In fact, residents are cited and fined for growing wildflowers; they are uprooted, so pollinators have nowhere to flourish. Uniformity is desired and achieved by planting rows of ornamental plants and bushes. Rather than wildflower plots or lawns that bio-ecologists like Michael Tessler, et al. (2023) recommend, we find acres of manicured, barren grass thirsty for water. Grass cutters descend in troops on a daily routine of noisy, gas-spewing machines blowing hapless insects to kingdom come. Residents then establish a small wildflower garden on community property, but the homeowner association tills the plants into the earth as if they never existed. For the most part, the utility of nature and its beauty do not belong here. Signs of wildlife are erased, buried under mounds of mulch or underground plastic sheaths to stifle growth. Even some residents seem surprised to see coyotes, as if this canine – opposed to their own – has no home here in a once-forested area. Nature cannot run its course; it’s “human v. nature” in this environment, and the ultimate look gives at best the appearance of a golf course, at worst, a cemetery.
A creek running through the terrain of this sprawling development was part of the original forest, a watering refuge for a variety of plants and animals. Houses were built on either side of the creek, but far enough away with some tree cover to offer the homeowners a picturesque view. Then, beavers returned to work as ecosystem engineers by creating a pool for an array of frogs, turtles, salamanders, fish, lizards, insects, birds, flora, etc. Maybe a coyote or bear would come in search of food, or deer would slake their thirst. Life teemed as part of the evolved, natural environment. The beavers helped rewild a portion of the community in view of backyard barbeques and garages. The beaver pond, alas, as reported (Breslin 2018) posed a threat to the humans who feared damage to their property from runoff or flooding. Kill the beavers! – some in the homeowner association cried, to the dismay of others who respected forest life that preceded them and was eradicated by their houses and roads. Ultimately, the beavers were spared because of public outcry (Martinez Beavers 2018), but threats remain.
For instance, rainwater catch ponds were built in this community to serve a practical purpose and also appeal to the human eye. Since the housing development was constructed in a forest, animals came to the catch ponds for refreshment. Fish were artificially placed in the pond to control algae. Heron frequented the ponds to feed, as they evolved to do, on the fish. The homeowner association didn’t like heron or other wildlife stealing their cleaner fish, so they placed a plastic fence around the perimeter of the pond and haphazardly strung up a grid of invisible wires across the pond. One heron, probably not the first or last, simply looking for a meal, became entangled in the wires. He languished for days, eventually dying from exhaustion, thirst, and starvation. Not a pretty sight for the homeowners whose houses face the pond. The state wildlife commissioner was informed, but nothing could be done. There are lots of herons, he said; though the network of deadly wire was legal but not necessary, he admitted that bright ribbons could have been attached to mitigate bird death. From the homeowner association perspective, pink or orange plastic ribbons would not have provided an appealing sight to those living near or passing the pond.
What would our planet be without wildflowers, pollinating insects, reptiles, amphibians, beavers, coyotes, deer, herons, etc. and their natural habitats? As philosopher Jonathan Birch (2024) intimates, many species live in or on the edge of a sentient life and experience pleasure and pain. They are evolved “animals” like us; we are not the only inhabitants of earth. Are we now only equipped to live in built and not natural environments? There’s a shifting baseline syndrome where our children see less wildlife, fields, and forests and believe that’s normal. We can do better for plants and animals that have evolved the forest systems we rely on for fresh air and clean water. Compared to other species, we’ve not been around very long; yet we often impose avoidable suffering on living nature for our benefit. We might want to find agreement on how to treat flora and fauna in a homeowner association. We might want to take the heron’s view of life and not just focus on our own wants and perceived needs.
- Gregory F. Tague, Ph.D. and Fredericka A.
Jacks
Copyright©2024 by Gregory F. Tague. All Rights Reserved. Photo: Anonymous posting on social media.
References
Birch, Jonathan. 2024. The Edge of Sentience: Risk and
Precaution in Humans, Other Animals, and AI. Oxford: OUP. www.edgeofsentience.com
Breslin, Ryan. 2018. “Community Association Faces Backlash
After Beavers Killed.” Spectrum News. https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triangle-sandhills/news/2018/04/19/community-association-faces-backlash-after-beavers-killed
Martinez Beavers. 2018. “Beaver Repriever in Briar Chapel.” https://martinezbeavers.org/beaver-repriever-in-briar-chapel/
Tessler, Michael, et al. 2023. “Rewilding in Miniature:
Suburban Meadows Can Improve Soil Microbial Biodiversity and Soil Health.” Microbial
Ecology 85: 1077-1086. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-023-02171-4
