Certifying your Yard as Wildlife Habitat
Posted: Sunday, August 03, 2008
From the Master Gardener
Iowa State University Extension, Woodbury County
By Pam Clark, Master Gardener and Master Conservationist
Is your yard home to a variety of birds and other wildlife? If so, why not certify it as a Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation. If you would like to attract more birds and wildlife to your backyard, there are several things that you can do, but if you want to become certified by the National Wildlife Federation, they require four basic elements: food, water, cover and places to raise young; and must employ sustainable gardening practices. Habitat restoration is critical in urban and suburban settings where commercial and residential development encroaches on natural wildlife areas, limiting the availability of resources wildlife need to survive and thrive. In addition to providing for wildlife, certified habitats conserve our natural resources by reducing or eliminating the need for fertilizers, pesticides, and/or irrigation water, which ultimately protects the air, soil and water throughout our communities. More information about gardening for wildlife is available
at www.nwf.org/habitat or by calling 1-800-822-9919. The Iowa State University Woodbury Extension office can also provide assistance and information regarding sustainable gardening and attracting wildlife to your yard.
Creating habitats not only helps wildlife, it can help reduce global warming pollution and save energy costs, as well. Burning fossil fuels to heat and cool our homes and maintain our lawns releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Replacing lawns with strategically located trees and other native vegetation can insulate our homes from heat, cold and wind, reducing our heating and cooling needs and thus our carbon dioxide emissions. Unlike lawns, wildlife-friendly native plants don't need constant maintenance from gas guzzling lawn mowers or fertilizers that require fossil fuels to manufacture. An additional benefit is that plants actually absorb carbon dioxide, helping to further reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. All of this adds up to increased areas available for wildlife habitats, reductions in levels of carbon dioxide that cause global warming, and reduced energy costs. More information
about how gardeners can reduce the effects of global warming can be found at {M7www.nwf.org/gardenersguide.
Habitats can produce other financial rewards for homeowners. Realtors may promote the certified status of homes for sale as an added selling feature. A beautiful, living landscape is an attractive element to many potential home buyers looking to share their homes with Mother Nature. Potential home buyers who are attracted to a house with a certified habitat are also more likely to maintain the habitat once they take ownership.
Homeowners who have certified their yards as a wildlife habitat have found their efforts rewarding and fun for the whole family. As one participant wrote, "I am a beginner, but judging from the many birds, squirrels, butterflies, and rabbits, along with the flowers blooming everywhere in my yard, I must be on the right track." David Mizejewski, NWF Naturalist and host of the Animal Planet series "Backyard Habitat," says, "It's easy to feel that there is no hope for wildlife in our modern world of smog, traffic and asphalt. But there is hope. Each of us can make our own piece of the Earth a healthy, green space that helps restore the ecological balance. Encouraging your neighbors to join with you can lead to a neighborhood or community habitat that provides wildlife with greater incentive to call your piece of the earth home."
The National Wildlife Federation began the Wildlife Habitat certification program in 1973, and has since certified over 101,000 habitats nationwide. The majority of these sites represent the hard work and commitment of individuals and families providing habitat near their homes, but NWF has also certified more than 2,900 schools and hundreds of business and community parks, corporate buildings and municipal facilities. The average habitat is between 1/3 and 1/2 acre, but certified sites range from urban balconies to thousand-acre areas. Why don't you start today to change your gardening practices to make a safe, "green" enticing environment for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Watching wildlife is fun and interesting.
Iowa State University Extension, Woodbury County
By Pam Clark, Master Gardener and Master Conservationist
Is your yard home to a variety of birds and other wildlife? If so, why not certify it as a Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation. If you would like to attract more birds and wildlife to your backyard, there are several things that you can do, but if you want to become certified by the National Wildlife Federation, they require four basic elements: food, water, cover and places to raise young; and must employ sustainable gardening practices. Habitat restoration is critical in urban and suburban settings where commercial and residential development encroaches on natural wildlife areas, limiting the availability of resources wildlife need to survive and thrive. In addition to providing for wildlife, certified habitats conserve our natural resources by reducing or eliminating the need for fertilizers, pesticides, and/or irrigation water, which ultimately protects the air, soil and water throughout our communities. More information about gardening for wildlife is available
at www.nwf.org/habitat or by calling 1-800-822-9919. The Iowa State University Woodbury Extension office can also provide assistance and information regarding sustainable gardening and attracting wildlife to your yard.
Creating habitats not only helps wildlife, it can help reduce global warming pollution and save energy costs, as well. Burning fossil fuels to heat and cool our homes and maintain our lawns releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which is the main greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. Replacing lawns with strategically located trees and other native vegetation can insulate our homes from heat, cold and wind, reducing our heating and cooling needs and thus our carbon dioxide emissions. Unlike lawns, wildlife-friendly native plants don't need constant maintenance from gas guzzling lawn mowers or fertilizers that require fossil fuels to manufacture. An additional benefit is that plants actually absorb carbon dioxide, helping to further reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. All of this adds up to increased areas available for wildlife habitats, reductions in levels of carbon dioxide that cause global warming, and reduced energy costs. More information
about how gardeners can reduce the effects of global warming can be found at {M7www.nwf.org/gardenersguide.
Habitats can produce other financial rewards for homeowners. Realtors may promote the certified status of homes for sale as an added selling feature. A beautiful, living landscape is an attractive element to many potential home buyers looking to share their homes with Mother Nature. Potential home buyers who are attracted to a house with a certified habitat are also more likely to maintain the habitat once they take ownership.
Homeowners who have certified their yards as a wildlife habitat have found their efforts rewarding and fun for the whole family. As one participant wrote, "I am a beginner, but judging from the many birds, squirrels, butterflies, and rabbits, along with the flowers blooming everywhere in my yard, I must be on the right track." David Mizejewski, NWF Naturalist and host of the Animal Planet series "Backyard Habitat," says, "It's easy to feel that there is no hope for wildlife in our modern world of smog, traffic and asphalt. But there is hope. Each of us can make our own piece of the Earth a healthy, green space that helps restore the ecological balance. Encouraging your neighbors to join with you can lead to a neighborhood or community habitat that provides wildlife with greater incentive to call your piece of the earth home."
The National Wildlife Federation began the Wildlife Habitat certification program in 1973, and has since certified over 101,000 habitats nationwide. The majority of these sites represent the hard work and commitment of individuals and families providing habitat near their homes, but NWF has also certified more than 2,900 schools and hundreds of business and community parks, corporate buildings and municipal facilities. The average habitat is between 1/3 and 1/2 acre, but certified sites range from urban balconies to thousand-acre areas. Why don't you start today to change your gardening practices to make a safe, "green" enticing environment for birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Watching wildlife is fun and interesting.
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concerned wrote on Aug 3, 2008 9:29 PM: