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Natural habitat for wildlife is shrinking at alarming rates, as more and more of the landscape is developed for malls, highways, and new suburbs. As habitat disappears, we lose biodiversity--the rich variety of plants, animals and ecosystems that sustain life on Earth. By taking a few simple steps in our yards and gardens, we can provide important habitats for wildlife, protect the species that help protect us, and ensure that our children and grandchildren can enjoy the plants and animals that we do. Even small city lots can provide habitat for birds, butterflies and other beneficial wildlife, and habitat plantings can beautify our home landscape too.
Backyard habitat is easy to create. A simple recipe for good wildlife habitat is to provide food (the right things for wildlife to eat), water, (a place rest and hide), and safe places to raise young.
Here are a few specific suggestions:
- Leave at least a small portion of your garden undisturbed (no major raking or clean-up of stems, leaf litter, dried stalks, etc.) over the dormant seasons. This will give beneficial insects a safe place to overwinter and the garden will get the fruits of their labor for another year. Good guys like fireflies, mason bees (great pollinators), and ladybugs will give you healthier gardens and magical summer nights if you give them a place to call home.
- Gimme shelter. An old clay pot propped on a rock, a group of loose rocks, or a crannied stone wall all provide a safe, cool, moist place for a toad. Toads will repay your kindness by eating all sorts of plant-damaging insects, and they'll delight youngsters. Provide nesting boxes appropriate for the bird species you hope to attract (see the National Wildlife Federation Website, below, for specific suggestions). Thickets, shrubs or dense evergreens can provide small birds and mammals with safe cover from hawks or predators. Old trees can provide nesting cavities and a storehouse of food for woodpeckers.
- Plant food sources. Shrubs and trees that produce fruits and berries are a great food source for birds, and offer attractive blossoms in the spring. Most nurseries can tell you which varieties attract and support wildlife. Particular species of butterflies are attracted to specific flowering plants. For example, monarch butterflies depend on milkweed.
- Provide water. Whether a simple birdbath or a home made pond, a source of clean, fresh water to drink makes a big difference for wildlife. Consider a ground-level basin for small critters that can't reach a pedestal bird bath. Water also attracts butterflies and dragonflies. Amphibians and some insects like dragonflies also require clean bodies of standing water for their aquatic young.
- Plant some native plants. By native, we mean plants that evolved in our part of the world. Even if you enjoy the flowers of modern cultivars bred from natives, make sure to plant some true wild natives to get their benefits for wildlife. Native plants are part of the natural ecosystem, and are the food and shelter for a variety of wildlife. Whether one dogwood or a whole yard of native prairie, native plants make a big difference. They also require less care and tend to be hardier than non-natives, which saves both time and money.
- Plant heirloom varieties. Don't rely solely on hybrid seeds, which cannot reproduce from year to year anyway. Look for seeds from heirloom varieties when you can find them, save the seeds and replant them. Also, look for seed packets labeled "open pollinated" to feed those native birds and bees.
- Get credit for your good efforts! The National Wildlife Federation Backyard Wildlife Habitat T Program certifies good backyard habitat. If you qualify, you will become connected to a large network of others who are doing good things for wildlife in their yards. You will also receive several useful resources, including an attractive sign that proclaims your backyard as certified wildlife habitat. (See NWF in the resources below.)
For More Information:
Books:
- Attracting Birds, Butterflies and Other Backyard Wildlife by David Mizejewski
- Noah's Garden: Restoring the Ecology of Our Own Backyards by Sara Stein
- The Wild Garden : Planning Backyard Habitats by Charlotte Seidenberg
- Beastly Abodes: Homes for Birds, Bats, Butterflies, and other Backyard Wildlife by Bobbe Needham
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