As daytime temperatures rise, many of us are thinking ahead to springtime work in our yards and gardens. Considering some basic issues beforehand will pay off when the action begins.

One hot topic nowadays is rewilding, a form of sustainability that seeks to restore natural processes by reducing human influence on the land. Rewilding can happen at any scale, from an entire ecosystem to a meadow to a small backyard patch. A limited but increasingly popular approach is “no-mow May.” Seeking to provide habitat and sustenance for early spring pollinators, folks simply let their grass grow during this crucial month. For practical comments about rewilding one’s yard, visit nrcm.org/blog/rewilding-our-homes-in-maine/. Learn about rewilding on a macro scale at rewilding.org and rewild.org.

Whether rewilding our yards or not, we are frequently encouraged these days to plant native species. Because natives are adapted to local conditions, they make a yard more sustainable. Not only do they require less watering, but also they are more attractive to pollinators, more likely to survive without a lot of pesticides and fertilizer (even in poor soil), and more resilient in the face of our increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather. Maine Audubon’s Native Plant Finder, mainenativeplants.org, provides many options, while the nonprofit Wild Seed Project also has a good list, wildseedproject.net/blog/comprehensive-plant-list.

Maintaining healthy soil is fundamental to a sustainable yard or garden, so strive to avoid the rapidly spreading Amynthas worm. Native to East Asia and not to be confused with common earthworms, these “jumping worms” have spread locally with alarming speed in the last decade. They deplete the uppermost few inches of soil of its nutrients, causing a decline in plant cover as well as the fungi, vertebrates and invertebrates that depend on it. In the absence of approved controls for jumping worms, the best strategy is to avoid introducing them. Strategies include bare-root planting, paying careful attention when sharing plants and asking about jumping worms when buying soil in bulk. For more information, see maine.gov/dacf/php/horticulture/jumpingworms.shtml and btlt.org/jumping_worms/.

Like any new endeavor, achieving greater sustainability in your yard or garden will benefit from a thoughtful strategy. Adjusting day-to-day practices would be the next step, as we will consider in a future column.

David Conwell is a former history teacher who belongs to Brunswick’s Sustainability Committee and the nationwide advocacy organization Citizens’ Climate Lobby.