ABSTRACT
In the twenty-first century, “going green” has emerged as a pop culture slogan. The hip online Huffington Post touts a “Green” section, complete with green font, in which topics range anywhere from raising chickens in Brooklyn to “Broccoli Obama” t-shirts celebrating the American president’s predilection for the (green) vegetable. Aside from the folksy, nostalgic, and even patriotic connotations conjured by this back-to-nature buzz, scientists and environmental conservationists are serious when it comes to showing how we can and should preserve robust ecosystems in backyards or on urban rooftops. The biologist Douglas Tallamy outlines the ecological benefits of promoting diversity and leaving nature to chance by recounting how the otherwise uncommon blue grosbeak can flourish if offered the right garden.
