Austin almost at goal for NWF certification
This summer I posted about Austin’s goal to become certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. With a population of 735,000, Austin would be the largest city in the country and the first in Texas to become certified.
Now I hear that Austin has nearly reached one of its goals already: getting 600 individual gardens certified as wildlife habitats. An October 15 press release announced that Austin needs “at least 600 individual yards, 10 common areas/workplaces and 6 schools certified as wildlife habitats and achieve other education and public outreach goals. Since the city first announced the initiative in March, the number of certified habitats within city limits has gone from 340 to 537.”
My garden is one of the newly certified. After learning of the initiative, I took a few minutes to register my garden online. Anyone who practices sustainable gardening by mulching, composting, conserving water, or using few chemicals, plus providing some food plants, shelter, and/or water sources for wildlife, will easily qualify. Certifying my garden helped Austin move closer to its goal, plus it got me a subscription to National Wildlife, a fascinating magazine with luscious photographs, which can also be read online.
You may find the December/January 2008 issue, which arrived today, as interesting as I did. It contains:
* An article about green roofs, with photos from Chicago and San Francisco, explaining how they cut energy costs, filter pollutants, cool urban heat islands, and provide habitats for endangered insects and birds.
* An announcement of National Wildlife‘s photo contest for 2008, and the winning photos from 2007. You bloggers who’ve been posting photos of animal activity in your garden should start selecting your best shots.
* A blurb about Houston Independent School District’s goal to create a Certified Wildlife Habitat at each of its 202 elementary schools by 2012, as a way of getting children excited about nature.
I hope every issue is this good.
Go Austin. That would be exciting to have your large city certified as a wildlife habitat. I have often thought about registering our garden but just haven’t gotten around to doing it. I even went so far as to read the registration form. I thik it is a great idea to encourage people to be aware of their environment.
Like you, I considered certifying my garden several times before actually doing it. I was deterred by the fee, but once I learned that Austin was trying to get certified, and knowing that the money goes to an excellent cause, I decided it was time. The program does encourage people to garden with wildlife in mind, and to put away the chemicals, which helps a community’s water supply. —Pam
Some great Tidbits to look into thank you.
That is awesome! I love all the forward-thinking things that happen down there. And congrats on your certification!
~Angela 🙂
How cool, congratulations on your certification.
Congratulations to you & Austin! (I’ve always thought it was the best city in Texas.) Thanks for the link to the article about green roofs. I didn’t know that Chicago has the most the country.
I’ve always thought that too, MMD. 😉 I was interested in that factoid about Chicago also. We visited the city in October and noticed several green roofs while we were there. —Pam
Way to go, Pam and Austin. I’ve often thought about my registering my land, and maybe, now I will.
You definitely should, Dee. The money goes to a good cause, and if you go a step further by purchasing a sign that proclaims your garden to be a wildlife habitat, you may even inspire your neighbors to follow suit. —Pam
Pam, I received my certification plaque this week. It’s now proudly displayed on my new fence (pic on my blog site). Thanks so much for alerting me to this. This is an organization I’ve supported in other ways previously, and this feels really good. I have a pic on my blog of it! Robin