Page 18 - Sentinel March 2017

8TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S campaign to enlist 50,000 people to plant one million native
SPRING 2017 CITIZENS ACADEMY plants, all of this part of the Habitat Heroes program. The goal
is to have people provide eco-friendly environments for animal
A free, six-week course will be held on consecutive Wednes- refuge that help link together larger green spaces and properties
day evenings from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., April 12 through May 17. such as you see in Larkspur with native trees and bushes.
Classes will be in the 18th Judicial District Attorney’s Douglas
County office (Douglas County Justice Center) located at 4000 The Audubon asks, “What does a Habitat Hero wildscape in-
Justice Way, Castle Rock, CO 80109. The fall session will be clude? A water-wise garden that:
held in the Arapahoe County location. • Includes diverse planting layers through the use of
native and regionally adapted plants
Each class will explore the District Attorney Office’s role in • Provides shelter and nesting opportunities
different parts of the criminal justice system. The Academy • Offers natural food and water sources
will give students an in-depth look at what happens on a case • Does not spread invasive species of plants
between the time of arrest and post-conviction. • Does not rely on the use of chemical fertilizers and
pesticides.”
Attendees will explore the functions of the specialized units
within the District Attorney’s Office, including but not limited These are small efforts that together can make a difference in a
to: the Special Victims Unit, Economic Crimes Unit, Cold Case world experiencing rapid climate changes that does not allow
Unit, Crime Scene Investigations, County Court, Appeals, and plants and animals enough time to adapt.
Juvenile Justice. Students will also have the chance to learn the
intricacies of a jury trial with prosecutors. Your personal efforts can be small or large from a few pots on
your deck to putting in an entire property of native plants and
Twenty-five spaces are available and preference will be given a source of water to organizing a group to plant native, critter-
to applicants who live in the 18th Judicial District and first- friendly plants in open spaces or along a creek.
time attendees. The 18th Judicial District includes Arapahoe,
Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. Participants must be at And a great benefit of native plants is that the dastardly, de-
least 18 years-old; complete an application; and pass a criminal structive pocket gophers do not like them like those ornamental
background check to be considered. Members of the media are plants and bulbs.
welcome to apply.
Speaking of the gophers, you can use natural sources to deter
The deadline for applications is Friday, March 17, 2017. Please them, like using moth balls. Or using coyote or fox urine (good
see the attached application. For more information, contact luck getting them to pee on your garden) sprinkled around your
Barbara Martin-Worley at 720-874-8487. plants monthly. Ah, but Amazon and Home Depot carry it.

An application form can be printed from the following website: Pound for pound the dollar store is the best place to mothballs.
http://www.da18.org/Portals/0/Uploads/PDFs/Application- Enoz is the best moth ball. To keep animals from eating them
Form.pdf accidentally, put them in another Dollar Store product - GLASS
salt and pepper shakers which are a dollar for the pair. Use su-
A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE perglue to put wire or a pipe cleaner wrap around the bottom of
the shaker, and hang upside down from a stake or even a simple
Susan Peters... wicket type thing you fashion from a coat hanger. They do not
have to be far off the ground. Space about 15 feet apart. You
Habitat Heroes...Bee House...Short Takes will only need a few boxes of mothballs and a few sets of shak-
ers, depending on how your garden is laid out.
Planning Time
When most polar plunges To obtain more information and to put in your application to be
this year have been cancelled certified as a Habitat Hero, check out the website of the Audu-
– darn! – it gives me pause bon of the Rockies at http://rockies.audubon.org/habitat-
on our weather in the winter heroes or the Plants for Birds campaign info can be found at
of 2016-2017. As we finish http://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds, where you can find
up the warmest February on a listing of plants for your area that are appropriate.
record, when dandelions have
bloomed and the wild geraniums have pushed up through the Places like the gift shop at Hudson Garden carry bird-friendly
soil, we will still have reminders that it is still winter. Those are flower seed packets. Also check out High Country Gardens on-
the times we can plan ahead for our garden layouts. line which has an excellent legend to tell what plants are Xeri-
scape or deer resistant.
The Audubon Society of the Rockies sponsors a Habitat Heroes
program purposely for attracting wildlife such as birds, but-
terflies and bees. Last fall they introduced a Plants-for-Birds Continued on page 19
Page 18 - March 2017 Perry Park Sentinel