Backyard Wildlife Habitat

1. Backyard Wildlife Habitat Hannah Plumpton

2. Making a difference • Private landowners own 70% of land • Most wildlife depend on landowners • From balcony to farms • Everyone can make a difference

3. Backyard Wildlife Habitat • What is needed • Food • Water • Shelter • Places to raise their young

4. Providing Food • Use native plants, shrubs, and trees • Native plants are adapted to the area • Use plants that provide food for wildlife • Nuts, berries, nectar, bird feeders, suet

5. Providing Water • For drinking, bathing and reproduction • Constant supply of water year round • Fresh water several times a week in warm weather • Birdbath, stream, puddling area, and much more

6. Creating Cover • Thickly canopy shrubs, thickets, and brush piles • Bird, bat, butterfly houses • Dead trees provide for a variety of species

7. Places for Wildlife to Raise Their Young • Place to reproduce, raise young to adulthood • Safe from predation and bad weather • Is also often doubled as cover • Mature tree, nesting boxes, thicket, and snags

8. Native vs. Non-native Plants • Wildlife benefit more from native plants • Non-native often out compete native • Native plants often require less fertilizers • Several wildlife depend on native plants

9. Green Benefits • Decrease erosion by planting shrubs and trees • Diverse habitats attracts a wide variety • Plants help warm/cool homes • Replace carbon dioxide with oxygen

10. Aesthetic Benefits • Attractively arranged plants • Seeing wildlife up close • Good for sketching and photography • Enjoying time outside

11. Schoolyard Wildlife Habitat • Choose a site good for wildlife and humans • Create a work plan • Involve the community • Good outdoor learning experience