Paucity of children's landscapes

We cajole our children to go outside, get some fresh air, go hunt for salamanders, but what if their are no salamanders to find? For nearly all of suburbia this is a sad reality for today's children. This was precisely the profound point that author and professor Doug Tallamy author of Bringing Nature Home was trying to make at a recent Oklahoma lecture. Currently the world is on a blitzkrieg to annihilate many of our co-habitants on this planet. Some sad realities:

• The biggest weed may be the American lawn. Currently this insatiable sprawling monster is occupying land in the U.S. 8 times the size of New Jersey!
• The number of species supported by non-native grasses is close to zero, seconded only by asphalt.
• In the U.S. alone currently 1 out of every 8 species, or a mere 38,000 species, are projected to be on the brink of extinction.
• One out of three of all bird species in the U.S. are endangered
• 85% of all woody invasive plants are escaped ornamentals
• Many of the laws intended to make neighborhoods "aesthetically appealing" are directly and severely compromising diversity

So perhaps the problem lies not with our children, who do not want to spend time bored outside where there is nothing to see, but with the severe paucity of our landscape. Tiny spaces, habitat fragmentation, non-native species are all bidding adieu to the plants and creatures that once inhabitated our shores.
The good news:

• Replanting half of the american landscape that is now lawn with native plants would be the equivalent of restoring 20 million acres or an area bigger than almost all of our most famous national parks including Denali, Yellowstone, The Adorinidacks, Yosemite combined!
• If many people in the same region did this it would create large corridors for butterflies and birds to travel through
• In as little as 3 years, many of the species most threatened may make tremendous comeback
• An intact ecosystem manages itself and would not have much noticeable pest damage
• Some native species like oak (Quercus sp.) and Black Cherry (Prunus sp.) support over 400 species of native butterflies!