Garden for Wildlife & Certify Your Habitat!
Turn your outdoor space into a certified wildlife habitat and help build a healthier, more vibrant California.
HEALTHY YARDS. HEALTHY COMMUNITIES.
Why Your Garden Matters
California wildlife faces a crisis unlike any before in our lifetimes: habitat loss and fragmentation from development, along with the multiple impacts of climate change. Luckily, you can help wildlife by supporting them where you live! You can support birds, pollinators, and other wildlife in your own yard and neighborhood by using sustainable gardening practices or by transforming your lawn into a natural landscape.
Native plants are the foundation of a wildlife habitat garden. They provide ample sources of food, cover, and places to raise young. Planning and Conservation League’s partners at the National Wildlife Federation recommend that habitat garden spaces strive for 70% native plants. You can find native plant lists for your zip code through the Native Plant Finder or explore keystone plant lists for your ecoregion.
FIVE ESSENTIALS
What Makes a Wildlife Habitat?
A Certified Wildlife Habitat® provides the essential elements that all wildlife need to survive.
Food
Native plants provide fruits, seeds, nectar and leaves for wildlife.
Water
A clean, reliable source of water for drinking and bathing.
Cover
Trees, shrubs and native plants offer shelter from weather and predators.
Places to Raise Young
Native plants provide fruits, seeds, nectar and leaves for wildlife.
Sustainable Practices
Use eco-friendly gardening methods to create a healthy habitat for the long term.
JOIN A NATIONWIDE MOVEMENT
Get Certified
By creating a habitat in your outdoor space that provides the habitat essentials of food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices, you can even get recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat®! By certifying, your wildlife habitat will be recognized by both the National Wildlife Federation and the Planning and Conservation League.
Getting your space recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat helps you to advance the mission of the Planning and Conservation League and the National Wildlife Federation. Plus, it comes with tons of benefits!
- A personalized certificate.
- A one-year National Wildlife Federation membership and subscription to National Wildlife® magazine.
- A subscription to the monthly Garden for Wildlife® Habitats e-newsletter with gardening tips, wildlife stories and other resources.
- Exclusive option to purchase attractive garden signs designating your garden as a Certified Wildlife Habitat® with the National Wildlife Federation and the Planning and Conservation League.
A STRONGER CALIFORNIA
Why Your Yard Matters in California
California’s distinct plants and landscapes host a remarkable variety of wildlife. From monarch butterflies and native bees to backyard birds and other pollinators, our local habitats play an essential role. California is a critical link in the Pacific Flyway, and migratory birds depend on California as a rest stop on their journey. California’s diverse eco-regions also mean that native wildlife migrate within the state, moving from the valleys into the Sierra and other mountain ranges with the seasons.
By designing wildlife-friendly gardens, we can connect habitats across neighborhoods, support native species, and build more resilient communities—from our urban centers through our suburbs to our rural regions. By providing clean, cool water sources, we help wildlife cope with heat and drought.
Every garden counts. Together, we can develop healthier ecosystems and landscapes for people and wildlife across California.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP
Create a Wildlife-Friendly Future
Join thousands of Californians who are making a difference through the Garden for Wildlife movement.