FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Homegrown National Park launches new guide to help homeowners create wildlife habitat under native trees.
[August 03, 2026] – Most homeowners never think twice about the ground beneath their trees. It gets mowed, ignored, or covered in mulch. But that space is more important to wildlife than most people realize. For some moth and butterfly caterpillars, when dispersing from the tree to prepare for pupation, habitat under the tree can provide the necessary conditions to complete their life cycle.
This habitat is called a soft landing. Developed by Heather Holm and Neighborhood Greening's Leslie Pilgrim in consultation with Desiree Narango, Ph.D., soft landings are diverse native plantings under native trees that provide shelter and habitat for one or more life cycle stages of moths and butterflies, and beneficial insects such as bumblebees, fireflies, and lacewings. After feeding in the tree canopy, some caterpillars disperse from the tree to pupate belowground or in leaf litter under the tree. If there's only compacted, regularly mowed turfgrass below, they have nowhere to go. Homegrown National Park (HNP) has worked with Holm and Pilgrim to bring this science-based practice to a broader audience through a new online guide at homegrownnationalpark.org/soft-landings.
For homeowners who want more birds in their yard, soft landings are a direct path to get there. In Bringing Nature Home, University of Delaware entomologist and HNP co-founder Doug Tallamy highlights research he conducted with ornithologist Desiree Narango showing that it takes 6,000 to 9,000 caterpillars to raise a single clutch of chickadees1,2. Native plants support the insects birds depend on, and a soft landing under a keystone native tree is one of the most direct ways to provide them.
Not all trees are equal for wildlife. The majority of moths and butterflies are specialists and can only feed on one or a few native plants. Most non-native ornamental trees support very few. Native oaks are the top keystone tree across the United States, as more than 940 types of caterpillars feed on oaks alone. Native willows, cherries, pines, and poplars are also among the most productive keystone trees. A soft landing turns the ground beneath one of these trees into a functioning habitat, providing beneficial insects a place to forage, shelter, and complete their life cycle, feeding birds, building healthy soil, and sequestering more carbon than turfgrass.
“A soft landing planting is a tangible, hands-on project that resonates with people, whether they're creating habitat in their own yard or volunteering to restore a local park. These plantings provide a powerful opportunity to teach about the benefits of native plants, the interconnectedness of food webs, and the vital role native plants play in supporting biodiversity."
— Heather Holm
HNP's new guide walks homeowners through the process step by step, from smothering turfgrass without disturbing tree roots to choosing shade-tolerant native plants suited to their region. The page also connects to HNP's Biodiversity Map, where every soft landing added becomes part of a measurable picture of private land supporting wildlife across the country.
"One of the biggest barriers to helping wildlife is simply knowing what to do. Soft landings are a perfect example of a practical, science-based idea that can make a real difference for biodiversity. We're excited to work with the originators of the concept to help bring this practice to more people and make it easier to put into action."
— Krista De Cooke, Director of Partnerships and Strategy, Homegrown National Park
Plant lists and planting guidance are sourced from pollinatorsnativeplants.com/softlandings. For more information and to explore the full guide, visit homegrownnationalpark.org/soft-landings.
“Once someone understands the liveliness of a soft landing, it's hard to "unsee" hard landings, because they are everywhere. In our parks, yards, schoolyards. Creating soft landings wherever dirt can be claimed can be a great communal activity.”
— Leslie Pilgrim
About Homegrown National Park
Homegrown National Park catalyzes people to plant native and remove invasive plant species at home and in their communities—one of the most impactful actions anyone can take to restore and protect the natural habitats that support all life.
Grounded in the science of renowned ecologist Doug Tallamy and co-founded with Michelle Alfandari, Homegrown National Park demonstrates how restoring native plant communities supports the insects, birds, and other wildlife that keep ecosystems—and people—healthy. This work is essential to safeguarding the natural systems we all depend on: clean air and water, food production, and climate stability.
Through our Biodiversity Map and practical tools, we support individuals, organizations, and communities in taking meaningful, science-backed actions as part of a growing, collective movement to make native habitat restoration mainstream.
Learn more at: https://homegrownnationalpark.
Media contact
Jessie Eagan, Communications Coordinator
press@homegrownnationalpark.org | (317) 488-7349
About Heather Holm and Leslie Pilgrim
Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books featuring native plant-pollinator relationships. She is the founder and chair of the nonprofit Minnesota Native Bees, an online field guide illustrating the native bees of Minnesota and beyond, and the native plants that support these critical insects.
Leslie Pilgrim is the founder of Neighborhood Greening, a non-profit with a mission to "harness the spirit of residents, schools, organizations, places of worship and businesses to create a greener community." Pilgrim, a conservation gardener, is the owner of At Home with Nature, which specializes in the creation and stewardship of "naturescapes." She has certificates in Ecological Restoration (from the University of Minnesota) and Native Plants (Native Plant Trust) as well as Watershed Technician certification (University of Minnesota). She is also a freelance writer, professional artist, and is on the board of managers of her regional watershed management organization.
Research cited
- Narango, D.L., Tallamy, D.W., and Marra, P.P. (2017). Native plants improve breeding and foraging habitat for an insectivorous bird. Biological Conservation, 213, 42–50. doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.06.029
- Narango, D.L., Tallamy, D.W., and Marra, P.P. (2018). Nonnative plants reduce population growth of an insectivorous bird. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(45), 11549–11554. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1809259115