The Washington Ethical Society’s Statement of Purpose says, “We nurture a sense of reverence and responsibility for each other and the earth.” This implies we should live in harmony with the earth, restoring it to ecological balance and complexity. 

The Earth Ethics Action Team is developing an insect garden to express these values in the WES landscape. Insects are crucial to nature’s interdependence. Without insects, there are no warblers; but without plants, there are no insects. Our garden reconstructs a natural meadow, consisting of native plants that coevolved with native insects and that are useful to them as both food and host.

One section of the garden is devoted to the restoration of the Monarch butterfly, which has gone into steep decline recently. Its larvae feed only on various species of milkweed, so we have planted common milkweed, swamp milkweed, and butterflyweed to serve as hosts for Monarch larvae. If their leaves are riddled with holes, they have been doing their job.

Inventory of plants in the WES insect garden as of Spring 2023:

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)

Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Butterflyweed (Asclepius tuberosa) 

Joe-Pye-weed (Eutrochium purpurem)

Wild Blue Phlox (Phlox maculata)

Fall phlox (Phlox paniculate)

New England Aster (Aster novae-angliae)

New York Aster (Symphyotrichum novi-belgii)

Northern blue flag (Iris versicolor)

Wild bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)

Gray goldenrod (Solidaga nemoralis)

Rough-stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago rugosa)

Orange coneflower (Rudbeckia fulgida)

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis)

Woodland Sunflower (Helianthus divaricatus)

Italian parsley (not a native but a favorite of Black Swallowtail butterflies) 

Cranesbill geranium (not a native but attractive to butterflies)

Resources:

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, by Douglas W. Tallamy. (Portland, OR: Timber Press, 2007).  Explains the key role that insects play in the food chain and the indispensability of native plants to support insects.

Chesapeake Natives, 9640 Rosaryville Road, Upper Marlboro, MD 20772. A non-profit organization that grows plants from seeds collected within the Chesapeake Bay watershed and that makes them available to buyers who will plant them within the watershed

The Earth Ethics Action Team plans and carries out projects that promote the “greening” of WES. To explore joining us, contact Rich Reis (rich.reis1@gmail.com), Linda Silversmith (linsil@usermail.com), or Terry Smith (tlsmt@msn.com).