The 18 community panelists identified the following actions individuals can take to help address challenges and realize opportunities.
We can change the way we manage our individual properties to protect wildlife habitat and water quality:
- Create more natural or wild areas so that birds and insects have more habitat
- Build birdhouses to provide habitat for birds
- Leave dead trees and snags on our property (if they don’t threaten our structures)
- Plant flowers and native plants on our property (without diminishing our property values)
- Plant early blooming plants on our property to provide more food sources for insects
- Encourage attitude shifts away from highly manicured “Home and Garden Magazine” lawns (which remove habitat for insects and birds and adds carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to maintain) to “wilder” properties
- Reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides to protect insects
- Raise our own bees
- Address stormwater runoff and noncompliant septic systems (if you own waterfront property)
Actions by individuals add up! We can insulate our homes, use efficient bulbs and appliances, use solar power, travel by bike, improve the fuel efficiency of our vehicles, travel less, increase energy efficiency, and pursue alternative energy sources.
We can participate in public decision making meetings related our infrastructure systems. Get involved by asking what you can do on your property to address stormwater and infrastructure issues. To understand and be involved in managing our public infrastructure, we can get educated on local regulations, the latest research and trends, and the consequences of pursuing different public policies; and we can share knowledge with our friends, peers, and neighbors.
We can encourage shifts in attitudes so that people value insects and work to protect them.
We don’t need to wait for policy consensus to act!
Learn more at the Itasca Climate Dialogue project page.