Critter eyes is the basic aesthetic value of FLECLers! To develop critter eyes we need to imagine how different native critters we are trying to attract & nurture in our environment see the landscape. An easy way to develop critter eyes is to observe well managed natural areas around where you live. Look from all angles and scales. Flying critters may be attracted to the macro view, but then need an inviting micro view to stick around. From afar birds may be attracted to open areas & also need structure to meet their habitat needs. Flying insects may be attracted to flowers to get pollen, but may also need leaves to lay eggs, live & decaying plant material for larva to utilize, etc. Areas of decaying leaves & vegetation can provide good habitat for some land based critters while others may need open sand as is common in many Florida fire dominated upland communities. Structural diversity is important, but most of us will be working in smaller areas, so no need to try to have it all!

The most important part of developing critter eyes is loosening up on concepts of needing to see control & order in all our landscapes. Nature certainly has processes like fire, flooding & other disturbances that can create some uniformity, but it will never be neat & orderly like most of the neighborhood yards we have grown accustomed to seeing. The dominant current landscape aesthetic in our society is seeing ‘man’s domination over nature’ in the landscape. But that is not the totality of the landscape we evolved in & does not fully resonate with our DNA. Surely we need some areas under control for human habitation & sustenance, but we also need nature in our everyday lives too & that is what FLECL can provide! FLECLers realize the need for landscape diversity. Obviously having everything FLECL is not necessary or practical, but developing critter eyes can allow us all to see & appreciate landscape diversity & hopefully through our efforts we can help others appreciate allowing this value as well!