Your Backyard Habitat

You can make a difference for wildlife in your own backyard. From creating a certified wildlife habitat to discovering wildlife in your own neighborhood and sharing the findings.

Certify Your Wildlife Garden
Join the thousands of wildlife enthusiasts across the country who have been recognized for creating havens for neighborhood wildlife in their very own yards. These individuals have provided the essential elements for healthy and sustainable wildlife habitats and have earned the distinction of being part of National Wildlife Federation's Certified Wildlife Habitat™ program.

Be Out There™
Studies show outdoor time helps children grow lean and strong, enhances imaginations and attention spans, decreases aggression and boosts classroom performance. In addition, children who spend time in nature regularly are shown to become better stewards of the environment. National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There™ movement is connecting American families to the outdoors to raise happier, healthier children with a life-long love of nature.

Get Out for a Green Hour
A daily dose of the outdoors will improve your family's overall well-being and inspire a life-long appreciation of wildlife and nature. Check out these activities and events and make time for a Green Hour today!

American Beauties Native Plants® 
This ground breaking program offers proven solutions for your landscape while creating beautiful garden habitats for desirable wildlife. American Beauties take the guess work out of native plant gardening by providing plants and landscape solutions that fit your site.

Build a Bat House
Bats love to eat mosquitoes! According to Bat Conservation International, a single bat can capture 500 to 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour! You might wonder why you need to build a bat house. Why can't the bats just find a nice tree? That is the challenge for many bat species as forests are cleared. Ideally they would live in a natural home but we build bat houses to help those who can't find space in a forest.

To Help Butterflies: Cater to Caterpillars!
Larvae are pickier eaters than nectar-sipping adults. Give monarchs and other species a boost by planting their favorite foods. Female butterflies lay eggs on plant species that their offspring will eat, so including favored host plants in your habitat helps ensure reproductive success. Maintaining an inviting space for these important pollinators also includes avoiding pesticides and herbicides, which kill not only target species but also beneficial insects and the foods they rely on.