Take action! Help make the whole world a healthier habitat
One exciting way you can take action beyond your own yard is to help create wildlife habitats in other community locations. Another way to take action is to participate in citizen science projects. A third way to 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!
Community Certified Wildlife Habitats
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 on your congregation's property
Even with a small pocket of land, your congregation can role model stewardship of your church's piece of Earth, however small, by creating a backyard habitat. It will surely inspire some members of your congregation to create similar habitats in their own backyards. 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??
Becoming Stewards of God's Creation
This is an article I wrote that appeared in the Wild Ones Journal (July-August 2001). Wild Ones is a national non-profit organization that encourages all property owners to use environmentally sound landscaping practices and to preserve and reintroduce native plants. To learn more about Wild Ones' educational programs and regional chapters, write, call or email: Wild Ones Natural Landscapers, P.O. Box 1274, Appleton, WI 54912-1274; (877) 394-9453; WOresource@aol.com; or visit www.for-wild.org.
For more information on what congregations can do to be stewards of God's creation, visit New York Interfaith Power and Light. (It has links to other state Interfaith Power " Light organizations as well.)
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 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.
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!
