Huge lawns have little wildlife value. If you have an expansive lawn on your property, save yourself some mowing and let part of that lawn transition to young woods.
This fact sheet from University of Maryland Extension walks you through steps to covert lawn to old field or shrubland and then how to maintain those young woods over time.
In natural environments, there’s a transition area where forests and grasslands meet. But in residential areas, lawn and woods often meet in a hard edge. This fact sheet from Indiana discusses how to create a more natural woodland edge at your lawn’s borders.
Even if your property isn’t large, you can make a difference for wildlife. This article describes how landowners Carl and Mary Graybill converted part of an old farm field on their 5.5 acres in Pennsylvania to a young woods that supports birds like the brown thrasher.
The best way to help pollinators is to provide more of the food that they need to survive. Native plants can support hundreds more species of pollinators than non-native ornamentals, so as much as possible, incorporate native plants into your garden and landscaping.
Nature journaling will help you hone your nature observation skills and keep track of what you experience in your woods. Don’t worry if you aren’t a writer, artist, or naturalist; you can still keep a great nature journal.
The first and most important step when taking on a tree-planting project is to choose the tree species that will meet your needs as well as have a good chance of surviving in the spot you intend to plant them.
If your property is entirely wooded, your only option to create some young forest may be through careful timber harvesting methods, such as patch cuts.