What do you think?
Rate this book
SUBURBITAT: A guide to restoring nature where we live, work, and play
"Jim’s superb guide will motivate landowners to embrace their environmental responsibilities no matter what ecosystem they live in." Douglas Tallamy - Author of Bringing Nature Home
SUBURBITAT – will be a great benefit to city planners, developers, landscape architects, HOA boards, homeowners, and anyone interested in creating beautiful landscapes that restore biodiversity and conserve natural resources. This book tells the story of the American West from the perspective of one piece of land on Colorado’s Front Range that would become a 3000-acre mixed-use development (Centerra) home to the High Plains Environmental Center. From the arrival of Euro-Americans in the 19th century and the subsequent farming, water projects, and development that altered the landscape to the removal of Native American tribes and their traditional land management practices during the same time frame, this book explores the human impacts on the ecology of the Rocky Mountain West, resulting in the present condition of the land. Reconciliation with both the land and its indigenous people is an underlying theme throughout the bookSUBURBITAT offers detailed strategies for establishing and managing native landscapes, including grasses, shrubs, and flowers, that help to reduce demands on dwindling water supplies while restoring natural habitat. However, this is more than simply a book on gardening with native plants; it addresses human obstacles to conservation, including preconceptions about how landscapes should look while advocating strategies for working with rather than eradicating wildlife.This book contains over 180 photographs, video links that illustrate the content, and a detailed planting chart listing 260 native plant species. All proceeds support the environmental stewardship mission of the High Plains Environmental Center.
SUBURBITAT – will be a great benefit to city planners, developers, landscape architects, HOA boards, homeowners, and anyone interested in creating beautiful landscapes that restore biodiversity and conserve natural resources. This book tells the story of the American West from the perspective of one piece of land on Colorado’s Front Range that would become a 3000-acre mixed-use development (Centerra) home to the High Plains Environmental Center. From the arrival of Euro-Americans in the 19th century and the subsequent farming, water projects, and development that altered the landscape to the removal of Native American tribes and their traditional land management practices during the same time frame, this book explores the human impacts on the ecology of the Rocky Mountain West, resulting in the present condition of the land. Reconciliation with both the land and its indigenous people is an underlying theme throughout the bookSUBURBITAT offers detailed strategies for establishing and managing native landscapes, including grasses, shrubs, and flowers, that help to reduce demands on dwindling water supplies while restoring natural habitat. However, this is more than simply a book on gardening with native plants; it addresses human obstacles to conservation, including preconceptions about how landscapes should look while advocating strategies for working with rather than eradicating wildlife.This book contains over 180 photographs, video links that illustrate the content, and a detailed planting chart listing 260 native plant species. All proceeds support the environmental stewardship mission of the High Plains Environmental Center.
337 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 31, 2021
11 people are currently reading
47 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 15, 2021
Create your own urban wildland
Jim Tolstrup provides history and a replicable game plan for both developers and homeowners to adopt landscapes using native plants and best practices for arid environments. Arid doesn’t have to be synonymous with barren if done right and smart.
Jim Tolstrup provides history and a replicable game plan for both developers and homeowners to adopt landscapes using native plants and best practices for arid environments. Arid doesn’t have to be synonymous with barren if done right and smart.
April 13, 2022
I really enjoyed reading the history behind The High Plains Environmental Center, especially after visiting the site as well as the Chapungu Sculpture Park. An inspiration for home gardens as well as municipal open spaces.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews