Backyard Habitat ​Certification Program

2022 Fall Backyard Habitat Certification Program
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​2022 Backyard Habitat Certification Program Brochure
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Create a Certified Wildlife Habitat:
Whether you have an apartment balcony or a 20-acre farm, you can create a garden that attracts beautiful wildlife and helps restore habitat in commercial and residential areas. By providing food, water, cover and a place for wildlife to raise their young you not only help wildlife, but you also qualify to become an official  Oakland Conservation District Certified Wildlife Habitat---Complete with plaque and yard signage!  
 
Not sure what a Backyard or Wildlife Habitat entails? We've provided a basic overview below just for you! 
​Provide Food for Wildlife 
Everyone needs to eat! Planting native forbs, shrubs and trees is the easiest way to provide the foliage, nectar, pollen, berries, seeds and nuts that many species of wildlife require to survive and thrive. You can also incorporate supplemental feeders and food sources. 
Supply Water for Wildlife
Wildlife need clean water sources for many purposes, including drinking, bathing and reproduction. Water sources may include natural features such as ponds, lakes, rivers, springs, oceans and wetlands; or human-made features such as bird baths, puddling areas for butterflies, installed ponds or rain gardens. 
Create Cover for Wildlife 
Wildlife require places to hide in order to feel safe from people, predators and inclement weather. Use things like native vegetation, shrubs, thickets and brush piles or even dead trees. 
Give Wildlife a Place to Raise Their Young 
Wildlife need a sheltered place to raise their offspring. Many places for cover can double as locations where wildlife can raise young, from wildflower meadows and bushes where many butterflies and moths lay their eggs, or caves where bats roost and form colonies.