Carol Z. Shane

Guest columnist

Carol Zinavage Shane is the program coordinator for Music for Seniors Knoxville and pianist at Church of the Savior, UCC. She also writes regular features for the Northeast Shopper News.

Lately we’ve been hearing about North American birds. Close to 3 billion of them -- 29 percent -- have disappeared since 1970.

The Audubon Society says that the well-being of birds is a good indicator for us humans too; if their ecosystem is broken, ours is or soon will be. Their recent report states that “about 389 out of 604 species are at risk of extinction from climate change,” and that though we already have the knowledge and many tools to reduce global warming, what is desperately needed is a major push at high levels of government to correct the problem.

That’s not happening.

Is there anything we private citizens can do?

That’s a big yes -- if you’re willing to change your thinking a bit. And now’s a perfect time to start.

Here are four tips for making a real difference from “Audubon” magazine:

Kill the grass

“To make room for a climate-and-bird-friendly habitat,” says Audubon, “you’ve got to lose that thirsty monoculture.”

I grew up playing on grassy lawns. I understand their appeal. You don’t have to get rid of the whole thing, but maybe consider less of that high-maintenance expanse.

You can create bird-friendly beds right now by cutting the grass short, putting cardboard over it, piling on 5 inches of dead leaves and mulch and leaving it over the winter. Come spring, you’ll have a planting bed -- no digging needed.

Plant native species

They don’t need fertilizer or much water, and they provide valuable food and habitat for birds while pulling carbon out of the atmosphere. Total win-win. Visit local heroes at www.nativeplantrescuesquad.com/ and while you’re there, click the link about turning your yard into a certified wildlife habitat through the National Wildlife Federation. Did you know that Knoxville is already certified as an NWF Community Wildlife Habitat, one of 90 such communities nationwide and the only one in Tennessee? Let’s kick if up a notch by adding our private properties to the public spaces.

Go fertilizer-free

Synthetic fertilizers take huge amounts of energy to produce. Their excess nitrogen is converted into nitrous oxide, which traps heat in the atmosphere. Organic fertilizer isn’t much better.

Forego gas tools

Come on now, you knew this was coming. Those pollution-spewing leaf blowers, hedge trimmers and lawnmowers have got to go (remember, you’ve got less lawn). Grab a rake and the kids, plan for hot chocolate after, get out, and get raking. What was it your doctor said last week about that spare tire you’re carrying around? Now’s your chance to kill two birds with one stone.

Or help millions of birds with one act. And then another. And then another.

One final thought. Those of us in the religious community sometimes hear fellow believers shrug off reports of climate catastrophe. “God’s got it,” they say. I agree: God’s got it. Our Creator gifted us with the interconnected web that is this world. No detail -- from pollinating birds and insects to the plants that nourish them to even more complex relationships that we can’t fully understand -- was left out. Can’t we be better stewards of this divine gift?

Look out your door. Get a new idea. Visit the Audubon Society at audubon.org, and then go create some beauty that’s good for everyone.

Carol Zinavage Shane is the program coordinator for Music for Seniors Knoxville and pianist at Church of the Savior, UCC. She also writes regular features for the Northeast Shopper News.