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More than three dozen Cambridge residents gathered Saturday morning to plant Cambridge’s first ever residential Miyawaki garden. Volunteers planted more than 40 species of plants native to New England in a single front yard to guard against biodiversity loss.

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More than three dozen organizers, volunteers, and block party attendees gather to survey the 40 species of plants planted as a part of the Miyawaki garden. “We’re in a biodiversity crisis,” said Tori Antonino, an organizer of the event. “It’s just a matter of what we choose to plant in our landscapes that are going to determine whether or not creatures exist.”

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Volunteers lay down lengths of pink ribbon to mark the garden’s borders.

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Musician Jordan F. Mudd serenades a plant. “I’m building a relationship with this plant by singing to it,” he said.

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“We’re in the age of the Anthropocene, and planting for ourselves and our own aesthetic has brought us into this crisis,” Antonino said. “This could be a game changer.”

“Move over, humans,” Antonino said. “We’re not number one anymore.”

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Amid the planting, Cambridge resident Susan Filene teaches children how to feed the chickens in her backyard.

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Cambridge resident Julia G. Mason picks out a rock while planting spotted cranesbill in the front lawn.

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