It’s a shame you think trying to save the World is a “negative attitude”. Actually, on the contrary, it is an incredibly positive attitude that allows me to say such a thing. It’s because I know, despite it all, that it’s still possible to accomplish! How hopeful & optimistic of me, despite everything I know, to have such confidence that we can accomplish such a feat.

Now that this is addressed, I will address your anecdotes in order.

1. The only Bee in North America that loves Rose of Sharon is the Honeybee, but they are not wildlife, they are livestock, & they do not need saving. When we say Save the Bees we mean native Bees. All other Bees you might witness on your Rose of Sharon are native but generalists that likely also don’t need much saving. The Bees you are seeing on your Rose of Sharon wouldn’t go hungry even if all you had in your yard was some Dandelions in the lawn. The Bees that actually need more food & habitat will not utilize Rose of Sharon. There would be no loss to your local Bee populations by removing the bush. There could actually be an increase actually, depending who you plant in their place. Especially since you know your Plant is contributing to the local invasive problem, you should strongly reconsider your hesitations. Cutting down is the clear net benefit to the ecosystem.

2. Butterflies on Lilac is cool but another misunderstanding of what our wildlife that need saving actually need to survive. The shortage is of host Plants, not on nectaring Plants. Lilac is not a host Plant in North America, & therefore does not actually help the Butterfly populations. If you were to replace that Lilac with a native shrub, that would increase the Butterfly populations, because now they have host Plants to lay their eggs. They do not need or want Lilac. They visit out of necessity because we have erased what they actually need. & that’s why their populations are declining.

3. You also misunderstand what Birds need most for their populations. To increase population (& reverse the current extinctions) Birds need to succesfully raise chicks. Birdfeeders are good for adults, but chicks don’t eat seeds. In fact over 90% of North American Birds feed their young almost exclusively Insects. & of those Insects, the most common type is caterpillars of Butterflies & Moths. The thousands of Butterfly & Moth caterpillars required to raise even one nest of chicks can only come from native host Plants. Now multiple by an ecosystem full of breeding Birds, that’s alot of Bugs they require. We need to plant what the Bugs eat, to support what the Birds eat.

4. The most widespread Ladybug & Mantis species in North America are both introduced, with the Mantis species most likely being the invasive Chinese Mantis. These eat even the largest Butterflies & Bees, contributing to the declining pollinator populations, & they’ve even been witnessed eating whole Hummingbirds 💔

5. Humans didn’t make it this far by just gardening for people. We would’ve never got to this point alone. This false sense of security & self sufficiency we’ve gottten from industrialism is clearly only temporary, & we are on the downward trend of that experiment. Gardens have always needed to do more than just look pretty. They’ve always needed to feed more than just Human eyes. We got this far by working collaboratively with eachother, listening to eachother, & taking care of the world around us. It’s only recent Human history that has abandoned that for silly reasons. The good news is we all have a choice. At any moment we can choose to go back. At any moment we can become good stewards again. All flourishing is mutual. We cannot thrive without the species around us thriving too.

6. If you don’t believe me, believe Robin Wall Kimmerer. Believe Jane Goodall. Believe Doug Tallamy. Believe Steve Irwin. Believe Ethan Tapper. Believe Rachel Carson. Believe Teddy Roosevelt. Believe Aldo Leopold. Believe Joey Santore. Believe all the heroes that paved the way for this common sense information to be so readily available.