The following principles for landscape restoration come from Genius Loci, a landscape architecture firm in Elyria. Follow the links for a full description of each.
- Mimic nature wherever possible.
- Work outward from areas of strength, where the ecosystem is closest to its natural condition.
- Utilize pioneer species and natural succession to facilitate the restoration process.
- Re-create ecological niches where they have been lost.
- Re-establish ecological linkages, reconnecting the threads in the web of life.
- Pay particular attention to “keystone” species.
- Control and/or removal of non-native invasive species.
- Remove or mitigate the limiting factors that prevent restoration from taking place naturally.
- Let nature do most of the work.
- Love has a beneficial effect on all life.
