Gardens benefit insect population, a vital link in the food chain and one that is in steep decline.
Excerpt from this story from the Chicago Tribune:
At a time of growing concern about declines in insect populations, native plants are having a moment, with local fans such as Nugent showcasing them in parkways and front yards and community garden walks featuring them alongside the traditional roses, salvias and lilies.
National trend data isn’t readily available, but the Northern Illinois Native Plant Gardeners Facebook page recently reached 10,000 members, up from 6,000 just two years ago. There’s also the Native Gardening in Illinois group with 6,500 members, and Native Plant Gardens in the Upper Midwest with 24,200 members.
The Chicago garden center Christy Webber reports spring native plant sales have almost doubled since 2023, from about $50,000 to $93,000.
And at the Monee native plant nursery Possibility Place, co-owner Tristan Shaw says his retail operation sold more native plants in the first eight months of 2025 than in all of 2024.
“There’s always been a core of people who have been preaching this (native plant) gospel, but it really just has gone crazy within the last 10 years, and especially within the last three or four,” said Bob Sullivan, an administrator of the Northern Illinois Facebook group.
People are turning to native plants for many reasons, including their natural good looks and low-maintenance profiles. But reports about declines in beneficial insects — including monarch butterflies and the federally endangered rusty patched bumblebee — have played a major role, observers say.
“Native gardening for many people is empowering,” Sullivan said. “It is something they can do that is rewarding, they see immediate benefits, and they’re getting a lot of reinforcement from scientists who are telling them, your yard really can make a difference.”
‘An amazing shift’
Amanda Nugent had always been interested in both gardening and conservation, but she didn’t really appreciate the connection between the two until she read the book “Bringing Nature Home” by University of Delaware entomology professor Doug Tallamy.
Tallamy, a bestselling author and a leader in the native gardening movement, is among the scientists who say that insects — a vital link in the food chain — are in trouble.
Tallamy wants ordinary gardeners to fight back against insect decline by supporting his vision of a 20-million acre “Homegrown National Park.” Roughly the size of Maine, this park-without-boundaries would consist of native plants, shrubs and trees grown on private land by gardeners doing their part to protect and sustain wildlife.
The idea is that as more native gardens join the “park,” they will start to provide continuous habitat for the insects that, in turn, support larger animals such as birds.
Why is Sylvia Fowles not the head coach of the fire. surely she knows more about womens basketball than so called "alex sarama" Ok i looked it up she has no prior coaching experience but she definitely has more winning basketball experience
Hey. If people aren't aware, Microsoft admitted they know who you and where you are at all times and will give your info to the police.
They have a Global Device Identifier (GDID) Tracker that functions as a fingerprint for your PC that can surpass VPNs, proxy servers and countries. Although it can't survive a clean reinstall of Windows (it can survive updates), because Microsoft forces you to go to the internet and log in into a Microsoft account, they will be able to get to you.
Microsoft kept it secret and it was only found out when the FBI tracked a hacker thanks to the information Microsoft gave them.
You should be paying attention to this, and possibly consider moving away from Windows. If a government, especially the US government, doesn't like you for some reason, this could be seriously concerning.
This article specifically notes:
For journalism, activism, or domestic abuse situations, skip Windows and use Linux routed through Tor instead of a commercial VPN. A GDID doesn’t care which VPN you use, only that it’s still the same Windows installation.
GDID is the persistent Windows ID that helped FBI trace a Scattered Spider hacker despite VPNs. Here's how it works and how to limit it.
Other important quotes:
What has researchers uneasy is everything else the case reveals. Costin Raiu, a well-known malware researcher, asked on the Three Buddy Problem podcast how much of this exists on other platforms, and whether it is linked more permanently to hardware. Matthew Hickey, another security researcher, called Windows “surveillance software”.
Two things back that up:
There’s no consent screen. A GDID gets assigned when you sign into a Microsoft Account. Apple’s advertising identifier needs an App Tracking Transparency prompt and a visible reset; Android’s works the same way. GDID has neither, and a Windows reinstall only gets you a new number Microsoft can still get back to the same account.
Then there’s activation. Massgrave, the group behind Microsoft Activation Scripts, notes that Windows setup sends hardware info to Microsoft and gets identifiers back, the same tokens later used for Store access and licensing: “It’s impossible to prevent Windows from getting a GDID without breaking activation and UWP app[s].” Anyone who lost a license after swapping a motherboard has already met a smaller version of this.
Here's the complaint filed to the court, the primary source for the case mentioned in the article. You can find mentions of GDID on page 30 of the document or 34 of the PDF.
And all of the kitties had to go so you had to help them pack a little bag with coins a toy and lunch if they are not going to buy it at the kitties festival
i’ve seen this user post this photo as a sort of reaction image a couple times now and it makes me laugh every time. because this is the incredibly elusive marbled cat and they really do just have a tendency to look so pitiful, guilty, and empty in the head. so here’s some more photos of them looking like there’s just one marble bouncing around their skull:
gummygunk
theartofmadeline
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
origamiaround
germansingergirl
prguitarman
