A dung beetle walks into a bar and says, ‘Is this stool taken?’”
With that as her opener, biodiversity expert Amy Campion quickly revealed to an audience at a BWNA-sponsored presentation in April that she would be anything but dull. Campion writes and speaks about gardening strategies that provide habitat for insects and other wildlife; she’s passionate about the importance of improving biodiversity.
Campion worked for 16 years at a nursery in the Cincinnati area, then moved to Portland with her husband in 2013. She works at Garden Fever, a plant shop in the Alameda neighborhood. Campion is co-author with Paul Bonine of the book “Gardening in the Pacific Northwest: The Complete Homeowner’s Guide.”
To help those assembled at this event get an idea of how the insect population — critical to feeding birds and other critters — has changed for the worse over the years, she told a story about car trips of her youth, which resonated with many in the audience, too.
“It used to be that after a drive, we’d come home and the first thing we did was wash the bugs off the windshield,” she said. “Today you don’t need to do that, and it indicates a steep decline in the insect population.”
And while most of us don’t think about bugs all the time, it’s apparent that Campion does. She spends a great deal of time in her own garden and has photographed insects that range from comical to stunningly beautiful, from the surreal to alien-looking. No matter which category they fall into, they all have an important purpose in the grand scheme of biodiversity.
Campion told the audience that habitat loss is the biggest reason for insect decline. “If insects vanish, the system dissolves into chaos,” she said, quoting American biologist E.O. Wilson.
All is not lost, however. Campion insists an area you can control to help increase insect population is your garden. “It doesn’t take a lot of area,” she said, “Mine is a small urban garden.”
From there, Campion outlined the eight actions gardeners can do to help replenish our diminishing insect population. They are:
- Add keystone plants: these are home to caterpillars, which are an important food source for birds and the food web. Best are Salix scouleriana, Prunus virginiana, Populus tremuloides, and Alnus rhombifolia.
- Don’t spray your aphids: they are food for a great many insects. Fun facts: Aphids don’t need a mate to reproduce, and aphid babies are born pregnant!
- Provide pollen plants: pollen is protein for insects including beetles, flies, some wasps, and bees. Tomato, blueberry, and penstemon are good sources.
- Provide nectar plants: nectar is a carbohydrate for insects.
- Leave some bare ground: bees need it to nest.
- Provide cut stems, 12” to 15”: bees chew their way in for nesting.
- Provide dead wood around the garden: “Who are these people throwing away perfectly good logs?” said Campion.
- Put in a pond: they attract mosquitos, but dragonfly nymphs eat them, so not to worry.
In closing, Campion said she’s met many spectacular friends in her garden.
“I get to connect with nature,” she said. ‘It’s like a safari in my back yard.”
For more information visit amycampion.com.