Wildlife, from playful chipmunks to flitting butterflies and melodic songbirds, can bring a magical charm to your outdoor space. And with a few simple improvements to your backyard, you can create homes and food sources that encourage these creatures to stay. No only will you be able to enjoy their beauty, but you'll also play a role in supporting the health of local ecosystems.
Build Your Wildlife Garden From the Ground Up
Creating a wildlife-friendly backyard begins with thoughtful planning. When designing your space, remember to account for both the horizontal area of your yard and the vertical space that extends from the ground to the treetops. Each layer supports different species, offering numerous chances to nurture a variety of creatures.
- How to Start a Wildlife Garden From Scratch: Here's how you can plan, establish, and maintain a thriving wildlife garden.
- Building a Winter Habitat for Wildlife: Discover simple ways to support wildlife by enhancing areas near water sources, placing rocks strategically, and taking other small actions.
- Creating a Wildlife Garden: Learn how to transform your garden into a sanctuary for local wildlife by providing essential resources and habitats.
Attract Bees, Butterflies, and Native Bird Species With Plants
Focus on selecting native plants that naturally attract pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds, like milkweed, bee balm, and roses. These creatures not only enhance the beauty of your space but also help pollinate your plants and those in the surrounding environment, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. Some excellent plants to consider for your habitat include black cherry, hawthorn, oak, sumac, common juniper, and wild grape.
- Attracting Pollinators to Your Garden Using Native Plants: Discover how native plants can attract and support pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds.
- Creating a Pollinator Paradise: This page explains how planting native species can bring bees, butterflies, and local birds to your garden, supporting pollination and biodiversity.
- Attracting Pollinators With Flowering Plants: Learn how planting flowers can help bring bees, butterflies, and birds into your garden.
Create Backyard Habitats for Raising Young
While food, water, and shelter are essential for supporting individual animals, creating areas where wildlife can reproduce and raise their young is vital for sustaining species. A well-rounded habitat should include at least two spaces dedicated to courtship, mating, and nurturing offspring. These spaces can take many forms, such as nesting boxes, mature trees, dense shrubs, or even meadows and prairies.
- Management Practices for Enhancing a Wildlife Habitat: Here are the most important habitat management practices for wildlife, including controlling noxious weeds and providing appropriate brush piles.
- Creating Nesting and Shelter Areas in Your Backyard: Find out how incorporating features like plants and ponds can provide safe spaces for animal mothers and fathers to nurture their offspring and thrive.
Add Water Sources to Your Wildlife Sanctuary
Animals need water to drink, bathe, and, in some cases, reproduce. Adding features like birdbaths, fountains, or ponds can attract a variety of species, from birds to amphibians and aquatic insects, enhancing the biodiversity of your backyard.
- Creating Wildlife-Friendly Water Features: Explore simple ideas like ceramic birdbaths and shallow dishes to make your yard a water source for wildlife.
- Tips for Setting Up a Bird Bath to Attract Birds: It's easy to position, maintain, and enhance a bird bath to draw more feathered friends to your outdoor space.
- Make a Simple Water Source to Support Pollinators: This page discusses how to create an easy water source to keep bees, butterflies, and other pollinators hydrated.
Create a Winter Wildlife Backyard Habitat
Install feeders, nesting boxes, and birdhouses to keep birds warm and fed during winter. Evergreen shrubs can offer shelter when other plants are bare, and a steady supply of fresh water can keep animals hydrated through the colder months.
- Six Ways to Make Your Outdoor Space Winter-Friendly: Explore simple strategies, like adding feeders and building a brush pile, to help wildlife survive and thrive during the winter months.
- How to Make Your Garden a Winter Oasis for Wildlife: Here's how you can transform your garden into a cozy haven for animals during the colder months with food, shelter, and water.
- Preparing Your Yard for Winter Wildlife: Discover how to ready your yard for the winter and attract birds.
Avoid Chemical Pesticides
Chemical pesticides can poison wildlife and contaminate soil and pollen, harming pollinators. Use organic methods and physical barriers to manage pests safely. By avoiding chemicals, you can help protect the delicate balance of the local ecosystem.
- Effects of Pesticides on Our Wildlife: This page discusses how chemical pesticides harm wildlife, including bees and butterflies.
- Think Twice Before Using Pesticides: Explore the harmful effects of pesticides on wildlife and discover eco-friendly alternatives.
- Organic Gardening Practices: Learn how to grow a thriving garden using natural methods that promote healthy plants, support wildlife, and protect the environment.
Use Non-Harmful Pest-Deterrent Methods
Manage pests humanely by using barriers to protect crops from deer, securing trash to deter raccoons, and fixing gaps in your home to block rodents. Proactive maintenance ensures a pest-free yet wildlife-friendly environment.
- Landscaping Methods to Keep Pests Away: Effective landscaping techniques like proper plant spacing can help to keep pests out of your home.
- Alternative Pesticide Management for the Lawn and Garden: Discover the natural and eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides that can protect your lawn and garden.
- Applying IPM in Your Home and Landscape: Here's how you can use integrated pest management (IPM) to control pests by focusing on prevention, monitoring, and natural solutions.
Obtain a Wildlife Sanctuary Certification
You can have your yard certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a wildlife sanctuary by meeting certain requirements. Some of the most important ones include providing food, water, and protected areas where animals can nest and minimizing the use of chemicals.
- How to Certify Your Yard as a Wildlife Refuge: Learn the simple steps to certify your yard as a wildlife sanctuary, from creating the ideal space to registering your space with the right organizations.
- How to Get Your Green Space Certified: Find out the steps to certify your green space as an official wildlife habitat by meeting requirements for wildlife to thrive.
- NWF Community Wildlife Habitat Certification: The National Wildlife Foundation certifies individual habitats as well as entire communities.
Additional References on Wildlife Habitats
- How to Build a Pollinator Garden: This is a comprehensive guide to selecting the right items, including rocks and plants, to create environments that attract and sustain pollinators.
- 13 Ways to Build Your Humane Backyard: The Humane Society outlines strategies to create a backyard that supports wildlife, including providing water sources, natural food, and shelter.
- Gardening for Pollinators: This page provides insights into understanding your growing conditions and choosing flowers and plants that bloom throughout the seasons.
- Designing a Pollinator Habitat: This article discusses key considerations for creating welcoming spaces for pollinators.
- How to Create a Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard: WildArk provides practical steps to transform your backyard into a sanctuary for different wildlife species.
- Easy Things You Can Do to Protect Endangered Species: Learn ten simple, everyday actions that can make a big difference in protecting endangered species.
- Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Garden: This page provides tips for selecting native plants and garden features that support a wide range of wildlife, including birds and insects.
- Tips for Attracting Animals to Small Urban Yards: Purdue University discusses how even small urban spaces can support wildlife through thoughtful planting and habitat features.
- The Do's and Don'ts for an Inviting Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Discover essential tips for creating a welcoming wildlife habitat in your backyard, including what to include and what to avoid.
This article was posted by Chad Kremp
