Plant native
Native plants feed the insects and birds that evolved with them. Swap a few non-natives for species from your own county.
Take action
Small actions add up to healthier ecosystems.
You don't need acres or a big budget to help your local ecosystem. Start with one of these, whether you have a yard, a balcony or just a windowsill.
Six ways to start
What you can do this season.
Pull invasives
Bush honeysuckle, garlic mustard and their kin crowd out natives. Learn to spot them, and pull seedlings before they spread.
Shrink your lawn
Turn a patch of turf into a wildflower meadow or pollinator bed. Sheet mulching smothers grass without chemicals or digging.
Grow where you are
No yard? Grow in pots on a porch or windowsill, under grow lights, or in a community garden plot. A church or neighbor may have space to share.
Keep rain on site
A rain barrel under a downspout, or a rain garden in a low spot, lets storms soak in instead of rushing to the sewer.
Leave the leaves
Fallen leaves shelter overwintering insects and feed the soil. Rake them into beds, and compost kitchen scraps instead of trashing them.
Help improve our tools
Spot a mistake? Have an idea?
Our free tools get better with every report. If a plant is listed in the wrong place, a match looks off, or you wish a tool did something new, tell us. It's one of the most useful ways to help.
Support our work
Chip in to keep the tools free.
Donations help cover the data, hosting and time behind our free tools, and our community projects like the Purple Oasis.
Urban Permascapes is an LLC, not a nonprofit, so donations aren't tax-deductible.
Other great organizations
Prefer a tax-deductible gift, or want to do even more? These groups do wonderful work.
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A few emails a year about new tools, planting guides and what's growing around Cleveland.