Welcoming Wildlife Home

This program provides simple steps and a wealth of resources to create beautiful spaces that make a big impact for local and migratory species from small window boxes to vast habitat corridors. Implementing climate smart sustainable gardening practices benefits people and communities across North America.

Explore options below for the ways you or your organization can be part of the movement to increase even more wildlife friendly acres across backyards, public gardens, school districts, corporate campuses, colleges and universities, places of worship, and community spaces across the country and at select sites across the world. All these efforts incorporate Habitat Essentials with native plants.

Learn how anyone, at any age, in any place, can help and receive recognition for their efforts through a few different certification options. Check out the list of benefits individuals receive when they certify.

• Bee: Busy, organized, social, productive, community-oriented, industrious, focused, detail-oriented.
  • Favorite Food: Pollen and nectar (naturally!), especially from wildflowers. Also enjoys a good sip of sugary water on a hot day.
  • Gets along best with: Other bees (obviously!), flowering plants, gardeners, and anyone who appreciates a well-structured project.
  • Struggles to connect with: procrastinators, and anyone who messes with their hive.
• Squirrel: Energetic, playful, curious, resourceful, adaptable, quick-witted, independent, sometimes forgetful (where did I bury those nuts?).
  • Favorite Food: Acorns, nuts (all kinds!), seeds, fruits, and the occasional bird feeder raid.
  • Gets along best with: Other squirrels (for playful chases), birds (who share their trees), and anyone who leaves out peanuts.
  • Struggles to connect with: Dogs (the eternal nemesis), anyone who tries to steal their nuts, and people who move too slowly.
• Butterfly: Graceful, beautiful, transformative, free-spirited, delicate, optimistic, adaptable, a little bit dreamy.
  • Favorite Food: Nectar from colorful flowers, especially those with long, tubular shapes. Also enjoys a sip of fruit juice or overripe fruit.
  • Gets along best with: Flowers (their best friends!), other butterflies, sunshine, and anyone who appreciates beauty.
  • Struggles to connect with: Caterpillars (too much past trauma!), anyone who tries to catch them, and gloomy Gus types.
• Turtle: Patient, wise, grounded, calm, resilient, steady, persistent, peaceful, enjoys the simple things.
  • Favorite Food: Leafy greens, aquatic plants, worms, insects, and the occasional berry. Also enjoys basking in the sun (not technically food, but essential!).
  • Gets along best with: Other turtles (for slow races), frogs (who share their love of ponds), and anyone who appreciates a good nap.
  • Struggles to connect with: Hares (too speedy!), anyone who rushes them, and noisy environments.
• Frog: Adaptable, resilient, optimistic, communicative, observant, curious, a bit of a trickster, enjoys a good leap.
  • Favorite Food: Insects (especially flies, crickets, and grasshoppers), worms, spiders, and anything else they can catch with their long tongues.
  • Gets along best with: Insects (delicious!), other frogs (for chorus practice), and anyone who enjoys a good swim.
  • Struggles to connect with: Snakes (for obvious reasons), anyone who disturbs their pond, and dry environments.
• Bird: Free-spirited, adventurous, communicative, optimistic, independent, observant, graceful, musical.