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What nature should look like

You may see “nature restored” and “environmental stewardship” in your yard now free of invasives and planted with natives. You know that it required hard work, tenacity, financial outlay, and a commitment to the environment to achieve this. But, do your neighbors see neglect, eccentricity, and a person who doesn’t care about the neighborhood?

The average person cannot see ecological function in the landscape, including yards. Instead, cultural perceptions largely determine what people “see” in a landscape. These perceptions are built up over decades, even centuries.

“The dominant culture in much of North America reads a neat, orderly landscape as a sign of neighborliness, hard work, and pride. Typically, people want to achieve or know they are expected to achieve this landscape appearance and all that it signifies about themselves.”

Joan Iverson Nassauer, 1995
Messy Ecosystems, Orderly Frames

Naussaur gives the following example to illustrate conflicting of perceptions of nature.
The water quality was poor in Minneapolis city park lakes. The proposed solution was to have storm sewers empty into basins where pollutants would settle out before the water entered the lakes. Residents in the surrounding neighborhoods recognized the problem but reacted angrily to the solution.

Why did Minneapolis residents so vehemently reject the solution to a problem that they recognized? Nausser finds the clue to this conundrum in the language used by the two sides. City and park officials talked about “wetlands,” while the residents referred to “swamps.” Residents saw a project that would upend the desired look of their neighborhoods. Ecological benefits counted for little in the face of that threat (Naussauer 1995, pgs. 161-62).

Cues to care

Nassauer concluded from her research that “messy” biodiverse ecosystems can be made acceptable to people if the ecosystems are framed by features that convey neatness, order, and human intention.

For example, the plan for new wetland in a Minneapolis neighborhood included a conventional lawn from which people would view the wetland. The lawn transitioned to a large meadow of native grasses and herbaceous plants arranged in drifts, which bordered the wetland itself (Nassauer 1995, pgs. 168-9). The lawn and meadow turned a “swamp” into a “wetland” by giving an overall image of intent and orderliness to the landscape.

Nassauer lists a number of such “cues to care,” that is, elements to include in ecological landscaping to ensure that other people will perceive it positively (Ibid). Cues to care are cultural signals that someone is taking care of this land.

The cues to care identified by Nassauer in her research are,

• mowed strip: An entire lawn is not necessary, but a mowed strip along paths, driveways, etc. indicates maintenance.
• flowering plants and trees: People find large and conspicuous flowers more attractive than smaller ones, which can be confused with weeds.
• wildlife feeders and houses: People appreciate songbirds, and associate feeders and houses with them.
• trimmed shrubs, plants in rows: These indicate maintenance and intention.
• fences, window boxes, lawn ornaments, etc.: Fences and buildings needed to be well-maintained to communicate care. Fresh painting has a notable effect.
• foundation plantings: Plants that hide the foundation but do not obscure windows or doors are expected (1995, pgs. 167-8).