The Digs Doc

Sunday, May 14, 2006

Healthy building materials, are they worth it?

Increasingly, we hear about recycling, using renewable resources, going "green"--and most of us know at least some of the reasons why such things are good ideas.

However, oftentimes, ecologically-sound practices and "healthy" choices are equated. But this isn't necessarily a valid conclusion. There are, in fact, ecologically-sound building practices that would make a chemically-sensitive, immune compromised, or even more commonly allergic person, sick. So, if you're looking to go "green" but also "healthy," this is a distinction worth keeping in mind.

Kudos to any "green" efforts people make, for sure, because with serious enviromental concerns (like climate change) impacting exponentially on everybody's lives (regardless of ones politics), all "green" efforts count. But this particular post is not just about going "green;" it focuses specifically on "healthy building" practices. If you've never tried going the "healthy building" route though, it can seem overwhelming and almost impossible to accomplish. This I know from experience; so, I sympathize. Luckily, though, at this point in time (vs. even a few years ago), many others have gone before and so there's lots of help and resources to be had when needed.

Still, even once you've gathered up information and resources, you likely will have to educate your contractor and subtrades, which can sound daunting. Ironically though, at least in my experience, most of these guys are very willing to try to make things work out and go to commendable lengths to do so. So, it may not be as difficult as you think. The difficult part, at least it was for me, is educating oneself, so you, in turn, can educate them, as they most likely will not know how to make things more "healthy." By and large, they know what they know and do what they know, which is understandable and fair enough. They will depend on you to clear the road to alternatives. And what that is can mean any number of things. Here are some possibilities, although I encourage you to find out what works best for you and your team:

1. Post a list of do's and dont's. Don't make it a thesis. Keep it simple and easy to consult. For example, simple bullet lists are easy to read and cross-check. Be polite, and even humorous, about it. Let them know you appreciate their efforts. Include on the list everbody's phone numbers (including your cell) so that, if in doubt, the person reading the list has someone to call.

2. Have on hand alternative products they can easily substitute at the point. For example, if you don't want them to use Liquid Nails (pretty toxic but useful and commonly used stuff), supply tubes of Phenoseal Adhesive or another solvent-free adhesive. Or, if you want "healthy" sealers and paints, provide them, rather than expecting your painter to do the research and buy them. AFM Safecoat and Bioshield are two excellent alternatives.

3. Where it isn't practical for you to have the alternative materials on hand or to purchase them yourself for ready delivery, provide a substitute list of things your contractor can readily purchase him or herself. For example, if you don't want to use conventional particle board, ask your contractor to use exterior grade plywood (although all plywoods have toxic emissions; exterior grade is lowest).

All this having been said, unless you are willing and able to take your time and really get into it, the whole process can seem like too much, and very well may be so, first time out. So, let's back up a bit and make it simple.

A good place to start is with the attitude you will choose your battles, if you can. Obviously, if someone's medical needs must be protected, you'll need to take on a more "deep end" approach. But if not, decide what materials and practices are most important to you and which ones can be done in the conventional way but perhaps made safer by, say, being "sealed off" to keep it from offgassing into your living space. Here are some examples of things that are readily doable:

Paint: Paint has got to be the simplest and one of the most effective ways to make your living space more "healthy." It even falls easily into the DIY category, which is worth considering. Then you don't even have to bug anybody else. Just do it yourself. For example, AFM Safecoat makes a number of primers, sealers and paints that you can use to "seal in" toxic emissions and are, in and of themselves, free from toxic solvents and other "problem" ingredients. The suppliers of this stuff, in my experience, are more than willing to help you choose exactly what you need for your projects.

Plywood and Particle Board: Plywood, by definition, has glues binding it together. These glues aren't the healthiest things ever invented. But depending on the grade plywood you use, you can have more or less emissions to deal with (as noted earlier). Of course, if you can use solid wood in your applications, you don't have this glue problem. And, if you do decide to use solid wood and are also eco-conscious, you're going to want to think about whether the stuff you're using is easily renewable. Another alternative is to use reclaimed lumber (wood from torn down buildings that you reuse), which also can look very interesting (in a good way!). Realistically, if you're doing some serious building, getting around using plywood is a low probability event (especially if you are using builders and not doing it yourself). But the likelihood is very good that you could get your builder to use exterior grade plywood vs. conventional particleboard (really high on the toxic emissions list if it is the conventional stuff; there are alternatives though, like wheatboard, although that's a more complicated discussion). So, this choice too is a definite "can do." Also, if you want to go the extra mile, AFM Safecoat has a sealer called SafeSeal that can be used to seal the plywood and minimize offgassing for this material.

Plaster vs. Sheetrock: Many chemically sensitive people (and most everyone else) can tolerate plaster very well, once it's cured. So, it can be a good choice for walls and ceilings, if it works for you in other respects. Sheetrock (aka gypsum board or drywall) is the more common stuff used for building interior walls and ceilings now though. If you don't want plaster and are ending up with sheetrock, AFM Safecoat (be not surprised) has a primer especially for sealing in the offgassing from sheetrock. It's a bit thicker than your usual primer but you just paint it on and voilà!

Insulation: There actually are a lot of choices here. But to be simple. Most people, when they think about insulation, think pink, i.e., pink formaldehyde-rich fiberglass insulation. Effective and readily available, it's also toxic. But now, you can easily get fiberglass insultation without the formaldehyde, although this doesn't do away with the tiny glass shards part, inherent in all fiberglass insulation. Other alternatives include (but are not limited to) insulation made from recylced blue jeans, called UltraTouch. It installs like fiberglass bats but without the need for protective clothing. Another plus is that it is treated with boron for fire retarding purposes. And guess what? Fungus and mold also are inhibited and little guys like carpenter ants hate the stuff. Handy! We put it in our house when we did the kitchen and mudroom.

Adhesives: Just say "no" to Liquid Nails. It's that simple. Buildings were built before it existed and they still can be now. An alternative is Phenoseal Adhesive (which one contractor I know preferred anyway). With other glues, many carpenters use simple, food grade carpenter's glue, which most people are able to tolerate. But another line of glues that you might want to consider (and are endorsed by some"green" and "healthy building" folks, although I have never used them) are Roo Glues, made by a company called Roo Products, Inc. They get the name from originating in Australia apparently; no kangaroos go into making this glue!

Also, don't forget about plants. Remember when I talked about how plants have been and can be used to improve indoor air quality? NASA did a now famous study on this. Anyway, certain plants seem to love the toxic emissions from construction, new furniture, rugs, etc. Which brings up the topic of furniture and rugs. They rank among the biggest contributors to poor indoor air quality in established buildings. A topic for another post, perhaps, but I mention it here for informational purposes and your own investigation, if you choose, because not all furniture and rugs are created equal and it is now not uncommon to see rugs and carpeting specifically rated for safety. There also are sources specifically dealing in "healthy" carpeting (see Resources below).

So, back to the title of this post: "Healthy building materials, are they worth it?" They are if you think "healthy building" practices are worth it. Consider this:

Childhood asthma is reaching epidemic proportions in this country. The reason? A lot of people think it's due to the large amounts of toxic materials going into building our homes and schools and the increased use of energy-efficient windows that keep fresh air from getting in and airing out the toxins. Hence, "sick building syndrome." Is this irrefutable? I don't know. You may wish to research it. (One guy worth reading is Jeff May, see also Resources below.) Is it highly plausible? Definitely.

Here's another thought: Whenever there's a flu or virus epidemic going around, everyone freaks out over children, the elderly, immune-compromised folks and pregnant women. Why? Because they are the ones most vulnerable to the disease. The same is true for anything else that is going to challenge the defense system of the human body. If you have family members in this vulnerable category, why not take some "healthy building" precautions to protect them? What do you have to lose? The cost difference usually is negligible once you get a handle on what you need and where to get it. And the benefit could be quality of life.

Everybody else? Even healthy people can get sick from what might seem like low levels of toxic exposure, especially if over an extended period of time. Symptoms often look like the flu. But it just might be your house.

In the end, is it worth going the "healthy building" route? That's your call. Good luck!

Resources:

Jeffrey May's website: This guy has mainstream credential up to the gills. Check it out: B.A. from Columbia University in Chemistry; M.A. from Harvard in Organic Chemistry; Certified Indoor Air Quality Professional (CIAQP) and a specialist in all things to do with indoor air quality. He's written at least three books on the subject, including “My House is Killing Me! The Home Guide for Families with Allergies and Asthma” and “My Office is Killing Me! The Sick Building Survival Guide," available at amazon.com. If you want more reasons why to bother with healthy building and renovation practices, read up! I've also met him and watched him work. He's amazingly skilled, and compassionate.

Safe Building Solutions: Knowledgable and friendly, Andy Pace and his crew carry a wide range of healthy building materials shipped nation-wide, including AFM Safecoat Products; Nature's Carpet (healthy carpeting); SOYGel (non-toxic paint remover, amazing stuff!); cork, bamboo and Marmoleum (linoleum revisited) flooring, and more. Check them out. This is a great resource. I've personally ordered from them/sought their help on many occasions over a number of years now. Right, Andy? :-) That's their logo at the top of this post.

Environmental Home Center: This is another great resource of information and "healthy building" materials. I've ordered from them several times and they've always been really nice and helpful. They also carry AFM supplies and other paints; cork, bamboo and other flooring; Nature's Carpet, natural fiber carpeting, other healthy carpeting choices, and more.

Neil Kelly Cabinets: An absolutely wonderful company building healthy custom cabinetry. Located in Portland, Oregon, they ship throughout the country. Neil Kelly built our kitchen cabinetry, after the fiasco with the "other" cabinetry company forced us to hunt for a new cabinet maker. It couldn't have been a more opposite experience. To read more about Neil Kelly cabinets and see a photo from our kitchen, visit my post Low grades for "high end": Part two - the rare exceptions.

AFM Safecoatcoat: AFM's website with detailed information about their wide range of paints, sealers, primers, cleaning products, etc.

Bonded Logic: Makers of UltraTouch blue jean insulation; this particualr page includes product information for this insulation.

Phenoseal: Information about Phenoseal's adhesives and caulking.

Natural Home and Garden: Magazine devoted to green and healthy building and gardening.

Friday, May 12, 2006

If you can, keep it simple

Speaking from experience, and what I've since heard, a very big mistake many people make when taking on a major renovation is that they try to do too much at once. If you can, keep it simple--or as simple as possible. Because...

The simplest thing you do will, most likely:
a. Cost more than you thought
b. Take a lot longer than you thought
c. Be a lot more messy, stressful and invasive than you thought


Therefore, if you compound the situation, i.e., "Gee, since we're tearing apart the kitchen anyway, why don't we redo the dining room, ya know, move that build-in china cabinet across the room and open up the doorway, and, yeah, add a mudroom too. Oh, and while we're at it, let's add central air to the whole house" [especially the flexible ductwork kind needing every room's wall and/or closet to be ripped open], you're likely to be in for an especially bad ride that could put your finances and your sanity over the edge--or, at least, strain them substantially.

Alternatively, if you take on just one project (e.g., the kitchen) and that goes well or simply builds enough grit in you (and you have enough money left over) that you feel up for the next remodeling challenge on your agenda, then you can simply start that second project immediately after the first is finished. Discuss the idea with your contractor ahead of time and see if he's willing to work that into the overall scheme of things. Or, if the relationship with your contractor has been one of your biggest headaches in project number one, this would be an ideal time to get rid of him before project number two begins! (Remember, you won't really know what you think of him or her until you're well into your remodel and have had a couple of really bad days.) But if, after project number one, you find you need time to recoup, mentally and financially, by taking on only one project at a time and finishing that, you have the option of waiting before your next project begins.

It seems simple, and maybe even obvious, but I think few people realize what they actually are getting into when starting a major renovation (unless they've done it before) and so don't stop to specifically consider, at depth, how much they really are willing and able to take on. But if as much time is put into thinking about this as, say, choosing a doorknob sytle, the benefits will far outweigh any your doorknobs will bring you, which, of course, you can always easily change out later, if you want. But you can't change your mind to simplifying your remodel halfway through your house's being torn apart. You're stuck for the duration, which could be a long and costly one.

So, how do you know what you're getting into? To get a sense of what to expect with a major remodel, here's my formula, in case it works for you:

What you're in for = (Estimated time x 3) + (Estimated cost x 30%) + (Estimated grief, mess and hassle x 4, unless your project involves an especially nasty service provider, in which case it is x 10)

So, there you have it! Know thyself, keep your eye on the prize, and good luck!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006

Caulking: the good, the bad and a saying of Marvin

Few home improvement jobs strike greater terror in the hearts of homeowners than caulking, according to my informal study involving people I know. Ironically, how many DIY projects can you think of that are so safe? No dangerous saws or drills. No hammers to bang your thumb with. No nails to step on. What's the worst thing that can happen caulking? As far as I can tell, nothing more horrible than what might appear to be a very bad toothpaste day. And even that is before you wipe it up, which brings to mind the following vital instruction:

Saying of Marvin: "First you make a mess. Then you clean it up."

Who's Marvin? To say Marvin is a painter just doesn't do him justice. He is nothing short of an artist who happens to paint houses. But it doesn't end there. He has created exquisite fencing and other carpentry projects for two of my homes and rescued me in the nick of time as more than one renovation disaster was looming. He's also left me high and dry without a trace a couple of times too. You see Marvin also periodically dematerializes, disappears without a trace for indeterminable lengths of time to who knows where. Sooner or later, though, he resurfaces--or has done so far. He's currently missing.

Marvin, if you're reading this, I need your help with the driveway gate that's sticking again and the wood is splitting because of it. Also, the screen door ripped when you didn't replace it with the storm door last winter and the delivery guys were sticking holiday packages between it and the regular door. I took matters into my own hands and put the storm door in (poorly, for good reason); but, by then, it was too late. Also, the frame for the storm and screen doors needs refinishing. Remember you did one coat of poly and said you'd finish up last Fall when you put the storm door in? So, could you beam yourself back from the West Roxbury Triangle to help with these little things--pleeeeeeze!

Anyway, caulking. I must admit that before Marvin's sage advice (and demonstration) I too was caulking phobic. But no more.

You see, the reason Marvin's advisory is so important, technically and psychologically, is because people think that just because they made a complete mess applying the caulking, that mess is what they're stuck with. It's not. You then wipe up the excess, leaving a nice, tidy seam.

Nonetheless, you can minimize the mess in the first place by how you cut the tube of caulking. Don't just hack off the top and then wonder why you are getting such huge gobs of the stuff coming out of the tube. The trick is to snip off the smallest amount possible so that the opening in the tube is the same size as the seam you want to fill. If you're not sure, simply cut a very small amount off the top of the tube and try that. If it's too narrow, make the hole a bit bigger. Obviously, it's a lot easier to make the hole incrementally bigger than trying to clean up the mess created by a way too big hole, which you can't make smaller.

Caulking guns. As obvious as it may seem to some, others might not know. To apply caulking, you need a caulking gun. Tomboy Tools has a really nice one that makes regulating flow a breeze. (It's the one on the left in the photo.) But a regular cheap caulking gun (right in photo) will do the job fine. You put the tube of caulking in the gun and push up from the bottom to get the bead of caulking to come out. As the caulking emerges, you move it along your seam, like applying toothpaste to a toothbrush, only for a longer distance. If it doesn't apply perfectly smoothly, don't sweat it. Just finish that seam and then take a clean cloth (rag) and wipe up the excess with smooth wipes along the seamline. Do this with each seam so you keep ahead of the drying time.

That's all there is to it! Try it first in a location you aren't worried about, if you're nervous. Then, go wild!

Caulking comes in different shades. Simply pick one that matches your application. As far as brands, my personal favorite is Phenoseal because it seems to be best tolerated in our chemically sensitive household. However, many tradespeople who don't care about air quality also prefer Phenoseal. So, it has wider appeal.

You can purchase Phenoseal at any hardware store here in Massachusetts (it's a locally-made product). If you can't get as easily near you, you can mail order it from Safe Building Solutions. Tell Andy I sent you!

Renovation strategies for sanity: A summary and something new

This Digs Doc blog is about two-way healing, and prevention when possible. There's healing your house and what ails it, whether that involves its functioning, its appearance or both. And then there's healing the occupants who have to live through such housing transformation. Better still, it's also about finding ways to prevent as much grief as possible through awareness and planning.

Now that it's well into Spring and renovating season is moving into high gear, here are some reminders and some new ideas to save your sanity while you remodel.

My first post, It gets worse before it gets better, covers a lot of ground in a short post. For one thing, it introduces ZipWalls, which, if you do nothing else to prepare, please do this. You will thank me. It also addresses mindset and expectancies in a light-hearted, but nonetheless truthful, way. And there's the part about dressing for the occasion. So, if you're about to remodel, already in the midst or even just thinking about it, check out this post.

Other posts worth looking at, especially if you are doing major remodeling involving big ticket purchases like cabinetry, include Low grades for "high end": Part one - the rule and Low grades for "high end": Part two - the rare exceptions. This territory can cause major headaches, so be forewarned and forearmed.

If you're doing a kitchen remodel, check out Kitchen renovating: how to still eat in to see how quickly and easily you can set up a temporary kitchen. This will bring much welcomed comfort while your renovation is going on.

My first post also talks about relocating during a renovation--if you can do that. Today's post is sort of an extension on relocating, but without actually moving out. Most people (myself included) are not in a position to move out during a major renovation. You're simply stuck with "making do" in a very less than ideal circumstance. But if you're renovating, during the spring and summer months especially, you can "get away" from it all, even if only by a few feet.

Those of you who have been following Digs Doc posts know I'm on a gardening roll. And this post fits that trend. When my kitchen was being remodeled (which was major and endless), one of my strategies for sanity was getting out in the garden, the front garden where the makeshift workshop wasn't. While I'm tweaking that front garden now, the greater part of its design and installation happened last year during the kitchen renovation. It has trees, shrubs, flowers and seating inside lovely fences which I had installed some time earlier.

A few weeks ago, I posted a view of this garden through my dining room window. Although it was early Spring and the leaves and flowers weren't really happening yet, it still looked like a garden, because of its four-season design (worth keeping in mind when you plan your space). Here's what it looks like now (a bit further into Spring) from another angle. It's a room, a beautiful place to go and a great place to putter around in or create even though there's mess and chaos happening indoors.

Even if you're not a "gardener" yet, give it a try. To begin, check out my post: So how do you start a garden?

If you're already a gardener, you know the script! You're all the more equipped to get into gardening and out of the house during the renovation.

What if you don't have a yard? If you don't have the alternative of access to a community garden, do some indoor gardening! And you know what (and this applies to anyone with or without a yard)? Plants clean your indoor air space. And when have you ever needed that more than during a remodel? Here's some further information:

*Plants Actually Clean the Air
*A list of plants that do the job

Gardening is a great renovation strategy for sanity because it's tangible, focused, offers beauty (when your indoor living space is a mess), health benefits (including exercise if you're doing the outdoor kind) and can be quietly meditative, very useful during a stressful renovation. Up to your ears in dust and dysphoria? Give gardening a try and feel the relief!

Sunday, May 07, 2006

So how do you start a garden?

OK, I've been spinning gardens for a couple of weeks now. But if you've never planted one, how do you start? Here are some beginning gardening how tos:

Start with a simple perennial border. Even if you feel clueless about what that is, the folks at your local garden shop can help you pick out a few rugged (but attractive) plants to get you rolling. Essentially, you want a grouping of hardy plants (they come back every year) that you plant in front of a fence, your house or some other "border." How long and wide you make that border is up to you, although you'll want to be able to get access to the back of the border for planting and maintenance. If you're just starting out, you might want to start small, but do it in an area you can later expand upon in case you really get into it.

Also, check the tags on your plants to see how tall each one ultimately gets. That way, you can plant tall plants at the back of the border and shorter ones in front. A classic beginner's error (which I know from experience when I started out) is to plant plants based on how big they look when you get them, only to find out when they "grow up" that you planted the short ones in the back!

Anyway, to give you an idea what a perennial border is and looks like, the photo is White Flower Farm's Summer Magic Border, which they offer as a collection for people who want a ready-selected border "to go." Theirs is huge, obviously, but it would work on a smaller scale too. Also, although they're collection is already "sold out," you can ask your local garden shop for the same plants to make your own collection. White Flower Farm's description tells you what plants are in this border. (By the way, if you buy plants online at some point, like in the dead of winter when you have cabin fever and are fantasizing about summer, White Flower Farm is a great place to order from. They have very nice sized (for mail order), healthy plants and decent customer service.)

While you're at the garden shop, pick up some good quality compost because, unless you have great soil, you'll want to add compost to it to get your plants off to a good start. The compost gives your soil a boost. (Also, you can get your soil tested but if that sounds daunting, don't worry about it now. Just add the compost.)

Compost is easy to use. Once you've cleared the space you're going to plant (of debris, grass, weeds, etc.) dump your compost right on the soil, spread it evenly over the area you're going to plant and then work it in to the soil--up to about 8 inches deep if you can manage that but if that's pushing the envelope of your enthusiasm, just work it in to the depth you feel you can. You're mixing the compost with your soil to "amend" your soil to something more nourishing to plants.

I don't know how far they distribute their products, but Coast of Maine has excellent composts and mulches to choose from. Check out their website for dealers in your area. If you can't get it locally, there will be some other compost you can use instead. Just ask your garden shop people.

And speaking of mulch (above), you'll want to get some of that too because after your plants are in, it's mulch that helps retain soil moisture and some of the Coast of Maine mulches also nourish the soil. But whatever you do, don't get that orange stuff, please! First of all, it's dyed. Do you really want dye on your plants? In fact, many "pretty" mulches are dyed. Go with the natural stuff, the more decomposed the better (wood chips deplete the soil's nitrogen, which plants need for healthy growth), especially if you are looking to work toward a little (or big) wildlife habitat like I mentioned in Your outdoor view and helping too.

To plant your plants, simply dig a hole twice as wide as the plant and about as deep but loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole so it's not compacted. Throw in a handful of compost and gently remove your plant from its pot. If it's "pot bound" (all roots and little soil where the roots look like they were squished inside the pot), gently try to loosen the roots a bit before putting the plant in the ground. If that sounds too scary and you think you'll ruin the plant (you probably won't), just center the plant in the hole as is and fill in around it with the soil you took out of the hole mixed with some more compost. Make sure you don't bury the plant deeper than where the top of the soil was when it was in the pot. That's your guide. That's where to stop.

I like to build a little wall of soil encircling the plant, like creating a little "dish," to help hold water while the plant is getting established. Water the plant by filling this little dish and re-water a couple more times after the water soaks into the soil. Cover with a couple of inches of mulch but stop short of the stem, leaving a couple of inches or so so the stem has room to breathe and doesn't rot. Water every day (a good soak) for the first week or two, unless it rains, and then two or three times a week for the next couple of weeks and once a week after that unless you feel it needs more. Keep an eye on the soil, making sure things don't get too dry over the summer months but don't water-log your plants either. Let them work a little by sending down roots to get water below the ground surface. If you really get into it, soaker hoses or other drip irrigation systems are a great watering solution. They save time, allow for deeper watering (a good thing) and use less water overall.

Within the ever-expanding Internet, there are zillions of websites dedicated to gardening. Here's a sampling of interesting and/or useful sites, some of which also have forums:

iVillage GardenWeb
BostonGardens.com
GardenLady.com
You Grow Girl

Get digging!

Your outdoor view and helping too

Yup, it's true. I'm on a garden/ outdoor living space roll, a thread that extends in many directions actually.

Today's post was inspired by goldfinches and the news. The goldfinches were in my back garden (there's one in the photo; the little yellow guy on the feeder at left). By the way, this photo was taken from inside the house.

Backing up bit, in my "Extend Your Living Space without Adding On" post, I mentioned how working with the view outside your windows can extend your living space beyond your four walls. And if you own some of that outdoor space you're looking at, you can create outdoor rooms that you actually can use and spend time in. So, creating visual beauty and extended living space are part of my love and motive for gardening. But there are other things that contribute to my gardening choices, including my selection of plants and trees. One is cultivating wildlife habitat, even though this is the city. Actually, especially since this is the city.

This is where goldfinches and the news comes into it. Although habitat restoration has played a role in my landscaping this and my previous house, making it happen is not necessarily instant. It can take time to get things cooking, especially if you're having a lot of inside work done because you really can't do much outside until that's taken care of. Why? Because until that time, outdoors is both a makeshift workshop and a dumping ground (even if you have a dumpster). Not to mention that the sounds of table saws and nail guns are not especially inviting to wildlife.

But I've adding trees and shrubs around the edges that slowly have expanded to my finishing the front garden this year, along with further developing the beginnings of a butterfly garden in front of the trees I planted earlier on in back. This Spring, my efforts have begun to produce noticable results at this house. For the first time in the 6 years we've lived here, there are chickadees, tufted titmouse, nuthatches and now, this week, I spotted goldfinches. We've also had the first sightings of chipmunks. In the intervening years, the gardening efforts have gradually attracted woodpeckers, cardinals, mourning doves and blue jays. When we first moved here, there were "city birds" only -- sparrows, starlings and occasionally pigeons. (By the way, sparrows and starlings are not native birds and actually have played a significant role in taking over habitat of native species, including the Eastern bluebird.)

Although practically making a wildlife oasis happen has taken a lot of time and effort (and I'm not done yet), it hasn't really taken that much in terms of thinking. Just the following of a simple formula: Food, water, shelter and nesting opportunity. You don't need a big yard for that. Our own is the standard city lot surrounded by houses on 4 sides. But I've planted trees and shrubs and grasses and flowers, mostly native plants, that attract and sustain various birds, butterflies and other wildlife. I'll give a list of plants later in this post.

But right now, I want to caution about invasive plants, which defeat the purpose of establishing a native habitat. Don't plant the invasives, including the ever popular "burning bush" (Euonymus alatus) which is on most Massachusetts (amongst other states) invasive species lists I've seen yet is still sold in many local garden centers. These and other invasive plants take over habitat of native plant species and plants like burning bush, Norway maple and others can escape some distance from your own little yard. You know the gorgeous purple flowers you see in wetland areas? It's purple loosestrife, brought here as a lovely garden plant which has escaped into wetlands causing a major problem as it chokes off native plants. To learn more about invasive plants, visit United States National Arboretum and view the 2006 Massachusetts Prohibited Plant List.

So, pulling this all together, what inspired me to turn my interest in habitat gardening into a Digs Doc post? On the same day I spotted the goldfinches, I saw this headline: "16,000 Species Face Extinction, Group Says." The World Conservation Union, a Swiss-based conservation group, reported that "one in three amphibians, a quarter of the world's mammals and coniferous trees, and one in eight birds" are in danger of extinction. The primary reason: People, mainly through "habitat destruction."

Obviously, this is a big topic which calls for various measures, but the fact is that some restoration of habitat can happen even in one's small city lot. And obviously, the more people who do it, the bigger the effect. And goldfinches and woodpeckers, nuthatches and chickadees, cardinals and tufted titmouses (titmice?), where there were a few sparrows and pigeons only, speaks for itself. Remember, this is only one city lot.

So, if I can do it here, anybody can do it anywhere. I hope you'll be inspired to try. Even if you don't have a yard, perhaps you have a deck or balcony where you can pot some plants or have a community garden nearby where you can rent a plot of land.

Here are some plants that attract wildlife:

* Coniferous trees and/or shrubs for shelter, nesting. (Pay attention to the ultimate size of the tree/shrub so it will be in scale for your garden. Interestingly, there are many cultivars now that are more "dwarf" in size for people with small spaces.)
* Deciduous and shrubs trees that are also fruit bearing (but are not invasive as the popular burning bush is), such as service berry (amelanchier), choke cherry (aronia), blueberries, eldberberries, rugosa roses (with rose hips), viburnums, and so on.
* Flowers such as coneflower (echinacea), yarrow, liatris, butterfly weed (not butterfly bush which can be invasive), cardinal flower, etc.

While I hope this gives you a place to start, there are many websites that provide helpful, comprehensive information and/or resources about plants and other materials/things to consider for wildlife gardens. Here are some examples:

* New England Wildflower Society
* Project Native
* Niche Gardens

As much as you put into it, you will be rewarded many times over with a garden that is nurturing not only to wildlife but to you and whoever lives with you. I guarantee it.

Enjoy!