Wildlife Finds A Welcome At Jolly Hill

By Steve Bigham

Howard Lasher may be the only man on Wall Street who still takes the time to talk about the wonders of nature on the market floor. Only Howard Lasher can stop and smell the roses while trading 50,000 shares of Nabors Industries for one of his institutional clients.

But the longtime Newtown resident says it is nature and the sanctity of his Jolly Hill home that has kept him going all these years. It’s a far cry from Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where he grew up.

“This is my little slice of Shangri-La,” Mr Lasher said proudly.

And Mr Lasher has been putting out the welcome mat for all kinds of birds, butterflies, and other wildlife since first moving to his 20-acre property in 1981. Last week, Jolly Hill was officially certified as a National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Backyard Wildlife Habitat™ site.

Jolly Hill, with its year-round habitats for plant and animal life, joins 27,000 other properties in the United States and Canada that have been recognized.

Last week, representatives from the National Wildlife Federation flew up from their Vienna, Virginia, headquarters to congratulate Mr Lasher.

“What jumps out at me is the incredible landscaping for both people and animals that you have here,” noted Craig Tufts, the federation’s chief naturalist. “It’s beautiful and provides all that wildlife needs.”

Of note, Mr Tufts said, are the diverse habitats that Jolly Hill presents – from woodlands, wetlands, and streams to shrubs, holly, magnolias, and dogwoods.

In addition, a large meadow serves as a magnet for insects. They provide food for what Mr Tufts predicted were as many as 80 to 90 different species of birds who call Jolly Hill home during the year.

The property contains 10 bird feeders and 12 birdhouses.

Mr Tufts said he and his staff were more than happy to make the trip up North. After all, he said, it is essential that nature lovers be recognized for their deeds. Our open space and forested lands are just too fragile, he said.

“There is lots of loss of habitats due to development. It makes places like this all that much more important,” he said.

Mr Lasher gives a great deal of credit to Joe Keller of The Garden of Ideas in Ridgefield, who has done a good part of the gardening at Jolly Hill for nearly 20 years. Mr Keller said he took from Mr Lasher a great interest in attracting wildlife and went about planting plants that have fruits or berries. It has succeeded in attracting everything from butterflies to coyotes.

“It’s really a balanced ecosystem there. One critter comes in and the rest follow. It’s the whole food chain,” Mr Keller said.

Mr Lasher’s property is also used as a shelter for injured or rehabilitated animals. Working with the Wildlife in Crisis group of Weston, Mr Lasher has opened up his heart for rabbits, ducks, birds, and other animals in need of a refuge. Some have been the victims of oil spills, while others have suffered injuries from domestic animals.

Last week, Wildlife in Crisis’ Dara Reid released two mallards and a canvas-backed duck to the Jolly Hill pond three months after they were pulled from the Norwalk River, which had been polluted by a home heating oil spill in Ridgefield.

Mr Tufts reminds people that even the smallest backyard can become a habitat for wildlife.

For more information, write National Wildlife Federation-Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program, 8925, Leesburg Pike, Vienna, VA, 22184. Tel: 703/790-4000.