Take action! Help make the whole world a healthier habitat

Here are three ways to take action beyond your own yard:

help create wildlife habitats in other community locations
participate in citizen science projects
take action is to encourage your cities, towns, and neighborhoods to become healthier places both for wildlife and for people.

Of course, one of the best ways to increase healthy habitat in the world is to show your enthusiasm about your backyard with others. Invite people in and show them what an exciting place a backyard can be when it's full of life!

Certified Wildlife Habitats in Your Community

Create a wildlife habitat in an Assisted Living Center or a Ronald McDonald House

You can create a garden that allows residents to enjoy the beauty and therapeutic benefits of nature while you're also providing more habitat. You can imagine how life-affirming a yard full of living things could be for people who are in a difficult time of their life, especially for those who may have been avid gardeners at other times in their lives.

Create a wildlife habitat at your school

Creating a wildlife habitat at a school could become a focus for many subject matter lessons, besides creating pride and interest in one's school. This could be a place some kids who are less successful academically could shine. Everyone could develop a better appreciation for nature and learn a lot about environmental issues. And while you're at it, why not include a worm composting (called vermicomposting) project? Some schools have large-scale vermicomposting projects.

The National Wildlife Federation has certified more than 2,000 Schoolyard Habitats. In addition to the wealth of materials and even in-service training available through that program, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has additional resources online for its USFWS Schoolyard Habitat program, including an entire book with activities.

Create a wildlife habitat at your workplace

Creating a habitat garden at the workplace could be a great team-building experience. And a great place to relieve workplace stress!

Create a certified wildlife habitat at a nature center or local zoo

Our local zoo, Rosamond Gifford Zoo at Burnet Park, has a Certified Wildlife Habitat at the entrance to its "green" Conservation Education Center. This habitat garden will help connect the concept of the zoo's important role in conserving species around the world with the individual's role in conserving resident species by restoring habitat right in their own yards.

Create a wildlife habitat on your congregation's property

Even with a small pocket of land, your congregation can role model stewardship of your piece of Earth, however small, by creating a wildlife habitat. It will surely inspire some members of your congregation to create similar habitats in their own yards. This visible sign of a congregation's stewardship of God's creation can also become a beautiful place for meditation. Synergize! Combine the concept of a Backyard Wildlife Habitat with the Quiet Garden concept to maximize the benefits for people as well as wildlife. At the very least, reduce or eliminate your use of the 'cides. Should a faith institution be putting poisons on God's creation??

Make your whole community an official Certified Wildlife Habitat

Not for the faint of heart, but making your community a habitat -a multi-year project - is exciting and worthwhile.

Healthier Communities

Contact your public officials. Request that your town, city, or village stop using harmful pesticides and herbicides. Ask them to use native plantings. Even better, show them the economic advantages of natural landscaping. Provide references to some of the resources available, such as the EPA's Natural Landscaping for Public Officials to learn more about these issues.

The Wild Ones also has a very good document (almost a small book) on using natural landscaping in communities right on their website. It's called When Cities Grow Wild - Natural Landscaping from an Urban Planning Perspective.

Let your public officials know about these resources!

Last updated: 01/28/2009