there was a webinar about gardening for pollinators today
the canadian wildlife federation hosted a talk today about gardening for pollinators and also mentioned the certification, which goes beyond that. iNaturalist got a shout out for making identifications in your garden.
i have been creating a nature refuge for 3 years digging swales, and this year building up hugelkultur type berms for holding water in the simulated forest floor, and the creation of more microclimates with more surface shape.
most things that just look pretty are edible for humans as well, or medicinal. there are also vegetables hiding in there. they do pretty well, producing enough to get through the winter. (potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, parsnips, carrots, sunchokes)
there are raspberries (red and yellow), currants, gooseberry, goji, ground cherries, some kind of unconfirmed bramble (either wild raspberry, or blackberry) nanking cherry, a variety of wild cherries and a pear tree with 5 varieties grafted onto it.