METHUEN — Nate Whitmer is a nosy neighbor, but with good reason.
He is on a mission to liberate his neighbors yards from invasive species that he said are ruining the ecosystem and eradicating wildlife. In their space, he sows native plants.
Whitmer, 41, has worked for the past 25 years as a landscaper and whose day job is in human resources at Charles River Laboratories. He’s also trying to spread the word about the vital role each native plant plays, and the disastrous effects of current planting practices.
“I am going yard by yard, neighbor by neighbor going through their woods and their yard removing anywhere from 50% to 70% of the plant matter because it is invasive and choking out the native ecosystem,” Whitmer said.
His neighbors don’t necessarily know what plants are in their yard, but they generally give Whitmer the go-ahead and he doesn’t charge. He specializes in invasive plant mitigation and woodland restoration.
On Friday, Whitmer’s own yard is buzzing with critters as he talks with passion about his plants. While not all of them are native, he admits strolling past an apple tree, there are enough to keep the bugs and birds happy.
The evidence is clear with butterflies populating flower petals and caterpillars squiggling along. Some leaves have also been heavily chewed up. Homeowners often substitute native versions of plants with foreign plants for aesthetics, but also because they tend to be more resistant to native pests, Whitmer said.
However this is the very reason why native plants are so important to maintaining the ecosystem. The North American chickadee needs to collect 350 to 550 native caterpillars every day to feed its hatchling every day, he said.
But native caterpillars only eat a limited number of native plants and the more they have to travel to reach those plants the longer the chickadee is away from their nest, leaving it vulnerable, Whitmer continued.
With less chickadees mosquitos and ticks are left unchecked. When he had originally moved to his home he was mobbed by mosquitos outside his front door. Over the next five years he went on the attack, replacing countless invasive species and the result is less mosquitos and more birds, Whitmer said.
On his list of enemies is buckthorn. He said even in its native habitat of Europe only one species of butterfly eats it. Other common invasive species include Asian bittersweet, burning bush and purple loosestrife.
There are also countless native species that are considered weeds.
Since he was a senior in high school Whitmer has worked part time in landscaping, but he hasn’t always been on the lookout for where plants are from. He said during his first plant jobs he began to wonder the thinking behind why some plants are more commonly used than others. After some research, he realized many of them came from across the globe.
“It really started with being curious,” he said.
Whitmer explained that during his first-ever planting job, about 2000, he collected all the tags from plants that he and the other landscapers were planting and looked them up online.
A few years later the state released a list of invasive species. Whitmer said he realized many of the plants he regularly planted were on the list.
His fascination with plants and their origins led to a greater realization about the natural world.
“Each plant plays a specific purpose in its local ecosystem,” he said.
However, when it’s moved to another part of the world it no longer serves its role and begins to overtake native plants since it is unchecked by fauna, microbes, temperature or other forces.
In another yard he’s working to persevere a North American cherry tree. The same tree which in Europe is a pest. Whitmer said the difference is in America there exists a pathogen in the soil that keeps the tree in check.
So far, Whitmer has managed to breathe life into nine nearby yards and is currently working on five including the home of John Hadley. In Hadley’s yard Whitmer names each of the tangled vines and green shrubs without issue.
“If it is a green, I got to know what it is,” he said.
Beyond the yard are piles and piles of uprooted plants. Whitmer tries to only take out small batches of invasive plants at a time in order not to shock his neighbors.
Whitmer is an example of how one person can make a difference, Hadley said.
“He is an inspiration to me and to many others who care about this serious threat to our native habitats.”