Appeared in:
- E-Magazine Feb.2, 2010 as Suburban Habitat Restoration
- Fullerton Observer July 2009, page 20
- Santa Monica Daily Press as Creating Refuge One Backyard at a Time, June 11, 2009 (pdf, page 4)
- Orange Coast Voice as Saving Wildlife Habitat, September 2008, page 11
- Southern Sierran, July 2008
Suburban Habitat Restoration: One Backyard at a Time
by Sarah S. Mosko, Ph.D.
Yards certified through the National Wildlife Federation can post this sign.
Whether you fret over dwindling rainforests or attribute disappearance of neighborhood cats to displaced coyotes, most of us recognize loss of wildlife habitats as a growing environmental concern.
As an alternative to hand-wringing, the National Wildlife Federation offers ordinary citizens the means to take action by establishing a Certified Wildlife Habitat in their own backyard. It’s not only enjoyable but very easy. I know because I did it in a matter of weeks despite starting out a gardening illiterate unable to name one in ten plants in my own yard.
Here’s how the program works. A yard has to qualify in all five areas outlined below, but each offers a wide range of options and only one to three is required per category. Then there’s a two-page checklist to fill out – works on the honor system – and a $15 processing fee. That’s it.
Posted by Sarah (Steve) Mosko 
Boogie Green 