CREDIT: LINDA RIVARD
You can invite wildlife back to your own yard and neighborhood by planting garden beds, container gardens or totally transforming your lawn to a natural landscape. Imagine your garden teeming with singing songbirds, colorful butterflies, flitting hummingbirds, and other small wildlife. Create your Certified Wildlife Habitat® with basic steps and benefits below.
The Basics
To get started, download the checklist with requirements for creating and becoming a Certified Wildlife Habitat®. Learn more about native plants and review examples of the requirements for habitat essentials: food, water, cover, places to raise young, and sustainable practices. Our resources section has tips, guides, and videos to help you with specific types of wildlife and to incorporate each of the elements into garden beds, meadows, or container gardens.
A balanced Certified Wildlife Habitat® supports habitat essentials with a minimum goal of 70% native plants that provide multi-season bloom and are free of neonicotinoids.
A Deeper Dive
While any small space with native plants and a water source can qualify for certification, if you have a larger area, consider incorporating a broader ecological landscaping approach. These efforts will support year-round resources for wildlife from the ground up.
Bonus Recognition Opportunities
LEED Certification
For properties working on LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, Certified Wildlife Habitats® Innovation Points.
Dr. Tallamy’s Biodiversity Map
Homegrown National Park—Certified Wildlife Habitats® can also qualify to be included on the Dr. Doug Tallamy’s Biodiversity Map.
Benefits of Certification
When you certify you will become a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife® community and receive the following benefits:
- A personalized certificate.
- A one-year National Wildlife Federation membership and subscription to National Wildlife® magazine.
- 10% off National Wildlife Federation catalog merchandise such as nesting boxes, feeders, birdbaths, and other items to enhance your wildlife garden.
- Subscription to 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.
Certify Today
When you certify, your $20 application fee inspires others to make a difference and supports National Wildlife Federation programs that address the decline of wildlife habitat nationwide. A portion of your fee also supports work for local wildlife in select affiliate partner states.
How to Get a Certified Wildlife Habitat® Sign
Only those who have created a wildlife habitat garden and earned Certified Wildlife Habitat® status can post the sign.
There are two ways to receive your sign:
- Certify now and you'll have the option to purchase a sign.
- Already certified? Log in to purchase a sign.
