On Aug. 12, Blackbird Coffee House in Old Town hosted a talk with Laurel Ladwig, director of the ABQ Backyard Refuge Program of the Friends of Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge and the University of New Mexico R.H. Mallory Center for Community Geography. Sponsored by the Museum of Natural History and Sciences, the event was hosted at Blackbird Coffee House as the museum is closed for renovation.
The ABQ Backyard Refuge Program is dedicated to providing information and resources that encourage locals to create landscape spaces friendly to native wildlife. Techniques include planting more native plants, such as any of the more than 250 plants native to the Middle Rio Grande Valley, Albuquerque Metro Area and East Mountain regions.
A pamphlet passed out at the event also explained beneficiary techniques for creating habitat and shade, alternatives to chemical pesticides and herbicides, and reducing reflections and light pollution…