Create Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard

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3. Provide Cover: Critters need places to hide and raise young?here's where logs, brush or rock piles come into play. Shrubs also are great cover sources, as are nesting boxes for squirrels and birds. If you're considering a nesting box or two, keep in mind that bat houses are easy to make, and bats are great at controlling insect populations, especially mosquitoes (to learn more, read ' Fantastic Bats'). If you have a couple of dead trees on your property, you already have a great shelter for creatures of all kinds.

4. Maintain: Now, all you have to do is keep your new friends in mind when you are tending to your garden and yard. Garden the green way using mulch and compost, and avoid pesticides. Chances are your native plants won't need much help, anyway. Try reducing your lawn area, too, by expanding your gardens. You'll save a lot of time and gas by mowing less, as well as reduce the need for water and fertilizer. Another easy and eco-friendly gardening practice is to collect rainwater in buckets for irrigating. More green gardening tips can be found in 'The Gardener's Guide to Global Warming,' a report from NWF that outlines the threats of climate change and what gardeners can do to help.

5. Certify: Not only will you enjoy new neighbors such as frogs, songbirds and butterflies, but you can go one step further and certify your new habitat with NWF. They will provide you with an official certificate and free membership, complete with a subscription to their magazine. They'll even send a press release to your local newspaper if you'd like. Go to www.nwf.org/backyard/certify.cfm to submit your application online, or call (800) 822-9919.

Handy Habitat Sites:

For more helpful information about attracting wildlife, read ' Create Wildlife Habitat' and check out the tips from these Web sites:

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