NATURE
by John G. Hubbard, MD
Since retirement, my most satisfying days are spent at the farm. My new patients are plants and trees. My wife calls at sunset to ensure I’ m okay because time has stood still for me, surrounded by a unique quietness, beautiful trees and flowers, andserenaded by the sounds of wildlife. I’ ve been asked a lot by fellow physicians how retirement is. Taking care of trees and plants instead of people seems to be a lot easier since there are no midnight hospital calls. Our natural world is taking a severe blow at the hands of the human world. Consider my favorite plant, ferns, which, through fossil verification, date back 300 million years. Since 1970( 55 years – a speck of time), our natural world has lost two-thirds of its wildlife. We are creating a world that is not conducive to life.
If you are at all involved in ecology, you understand there is no help on the way from our national and international governing bodies. It seems just the opposite: $ 75 million set aside for the U. S. Forestry Department to plant more trees has just been canceled by the Trump administration. This was followed by a plan to increase logging and cut downmore trees. Let me digress by reminding everyone that you don’ t miss something until it’ s gone. I am sorry my grandchildrenhave no lightning bugs to collect or woolly worms to examine to predict the upcoming winter weather. I even miss not having to clean the bugs from my car windshield because I know insects are disappearing at a rate that is too rapid.
So, who understands the challenges of the natural world and plans to do something about them? Cities, counties, neighborhoods, nurseries, nature preserves, botanical gardens, social media, large horticulture
26 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE organizations and individuals who take an interest and spread the word. One such individual is entomologist Doug Tallamy, who has categorized which trees, shrubs and flowers are most needed for the insect world, for human survival. A Keystone plant is a native plant that is essential for the stabilityof the entire food web. The top Kentucky Keystone Trees include oaks, native willows, native cherries, native plums, birch, black gums, poplars, maples and hickories. The top Keystone perennial flowers include goldenrods, sunflowers, asters, black-eyed Susans and coneflowers. Being native means the trees, shrubs and plants have been here a long time, and the animal world depends on them for food, shelter and reproduction. Pollinators attract bees, butterflies and moths, and other beneficial creatures to allow the transfer of pollen from plant to plant and to gain nourishment from nectar.
How can you help? Start with a walk amongtrees and see if it lifts your spirits. Then read one of Doug Tallamy’ sbooks: Nature’ s Best Hope, The Nature of Oaks, or How Can I Help? Check out Homegrown National Park online( https:/ homegrownnationalpark. org). Plant a tree in your yard that is a Native Keystone tree, and hopefully an oak tree if your yard is big enough. Gradually replace small sections of yourlawn with Native Keystone trees, shrubs and flowers. Lawns are the largest crop in the U. S., with almost zero benefit to our wildlife.
It takes a village! Your backyard is yours to transform.
Dr. Hubbard is a retired urologist who practiced at The Hubbard Clinic for many years. Upon retirement, he became a Master Gardener and volunteers, serves on the board, and gives talks at Creasey Mahan Nature Preserve in Goshen, Kentucky.