Saving New Jersey’s Wildlife starts in your Backyard

Mia Barghout
Jun 8
3 min read

by Mia Barghout June 2026

As we look outside our windows when escaping the winter months and get to see the vibrantly colored butterflies and the bright blue winged birds chirping to one another, it gives us a sense of peace in knowing the beauty of our nature is returning along with the sun. But what if when we looked out of our windows there was no life in our backyards? What if we never got to listen to the singing of birds as we began our mornings? What if the butterflies we get to see daily become mythical creatures to the future generations?

With our current lack of attention on keeping the native plants of New Jersey alive, it’s very possible that many of the species we see today go extinct within our lifetimes. Native plants are essential in most of native species' survival. Native animals depend on these plants for food, shelter, and nesting sites. It’s always great to have plants in our backyards, but there's a huge difference between the amount of life landscape plants support compared to the amount of life native plants support. While our landscape plants could support about 10 different types of caterpillars, the oak tree, one of New Jersey’s native plants, supports more than 500 types of caterpillars (National Audubon Society). These oak trees are also host plants for over 550 butterfly and moth species (National Wildlife Federation). Along with butterflies and moths, birds in our state rely on these caterpillars in order to feed their newborns. They cannot create nests in an area that doesn’t have the plants that provide the essential nutrition they need to support life. Without us supporting native plant life in New Jersey, animals will not be able to continue surviving. Currently, one-third of America’s wildlife species are at risk of extinction (National Wildlife Federation).

Native plants also provide nectar for pollinators such as native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. About 35% of the world’s food crops depend on pollinators to reproduce, and one out of every three bites of food we eat exists because of pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds (U.S Department of Agriculture). Numbers of North American bumblebees have fallen about 50% since 1974, making multiple species extinct, and over a quarter of North American bumble bees endangered (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service). As native plants disappear, pollinators will not be able to find essential nutrition, and ecosystems can no longer thrive. For example, the Black-Capped Chickadee is a pollinator native to New Jersey that needs at least 70% native plants around to successfully raise their young (Narango et al.). Without providing species like the Chickadee with the habitat they need to survive, they’ll no longer be able to exist.

While it is frightening to picture our communities without the animals and critters that bring them alive, we still have a chance at making a change. Most of us don’t even know the amount of impact we can make by simply planting a seed. Just through starting in your own backyard you can make a huge impact. Plants native to your area require little work to maintain- they can thrive without fertilizers or pesticides. It’s quick and easy to find plants native to our area, along with the animals they attract. For example, using audubon.org, I found 93 plants native to Milburn N.J by just plugging in the zip code. After a quick scroll, I found a plant that would fit right in with the rest of the plants in my backyard: The Common Boneset (pictured below). By planting some of these in my backyard, butterflies and bees will have another place to find nutrition. Through each meaningful effort we make, we are helping provide the native species of our town with the resources they need to survive. Our community can continue to thrive off of our contributions and the native species’ contributions.