Sara Gagné discusses urban ecology in The Charlotte Observer
Sara Gagné, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Earth, Environmental and Geographical Sciences, provided expertise on urban ecology for The Charlotte Observer’s article “Charlotteans try to restore nature to growing city — and get citations for it.”
Residents in Charlotte have received citations for yards deemed overgrown, despite the environmental benefits of intentionally planting native species and allowing them to grow tall, flower and seed without regular mowing.
Gagné highlighted recent reports supporting the importance of planting native species, including a 2019 study which found North America has lost 3 billion birds since 1970 and a report published this year which showed a 22% drop in butterflies in the United States compared to two decades ago. The study suggests about 70% of the butterfly species native to Charlotte are currently in decline.
“Our idea of a yard is a lawn, so we’re replacing any vegetation or habitat that was there before with this human construct of what we think nature should look like, which is very species poor. It requires a lot of resources to maintain, like pesticides and water and fertilizer,” Gagné said. “We’ve wiped out a lot of habitat. But the thing that I find exciting about urban ecology is that we design our cities, so we can design them differently.”