Getting Started 
Butterfly and Pollinator Gardens 
Avian Habitats
Backyard Buffers 
Resources
Native Suppliers 

Getting Started 

All types of wildlife have four basic needs:  food, water, shelter, and space. Meet these needs and you create a habitat, a home for wildlife. How you provide for these needs, as well as the habitat present in your nearby area, will dictate what type of wildlife you attract. 

1.  Look at your backyard or school grounds. What types of habitat are present or nearby? Are there forests, streams, meadows, or wetlands on the border or across the street?  If so, think about expanding that type of habitat onto your property, or creating a corridor to link the habitats. This will allow the habitat to spill over onto your site, and provide valuable habitat, and even an outdoor classroom to study the local ecosystems in your own area. 

2.  Next, sketch a simple map of the property. Decide which areas are potential habitat areas. Along the back edge of the ball field that borders the creek? Behind the rear parking lot where all that unused lawn is? Remember to build upon existing habitats. 

3.  Now it's time to begin the habitat plan. Is the area you have chosen sunny, partly sunny, or shady?  Remember that trees will cast shade under or beside areas, and are ideal for creating a woodland garden.  Sunny areas are good for butterfly or hummingbird gardens.  Stream banks and wet areas are excellent choices for wetland or riparian (streamside) plantings, attracting a variety of wildlife. The key to developing such areas is researching what plants live in that habitat naturally. Wildlife depends upon plants that are native to the region, so include plants native to your area as much as possible.

Butterfly gardens are a popular way to attract wildlife to nearly any yard or patio. Such habitats can range from formal gardens to natural meadows. They also provide benefit to other pollinators, such as solitary bees and bumblebees that are vital to the health of our food crops and ecosystem. 

Pollinators, including butterflies, are one of the focus species of Wings of Wonder.  Team Monarch planted a large pollinator habitat using native species at the PPG Monroeville Technical Center in spring 2001. Local schools are using this for studies on the monarch butterfly and other pollinators (the Team Monarch field journal is also available on-line).

Buzz on over to the pollinator garden section. 

Avian Habitats

Creating a habitat for backyard birds can vary widely depending on where you live, surrounding habitat, and amount of land owned.  But a number of basics apply. 

Songbirds and hummingbirds are one of the focus species of Wings of Wonder.  Team Flight manages their property for various avian species at the Bayer Pittsburgh Campus, from bluebird nest boxes to humingbird gardens. Local schools are using this as a hub for studies on migratory birds (the Team Flight field journals are available on-line). 

Fly over to the avian garden section.

 Resources 

• Backyard Buffers helps corporations and homeowners create streamside buffers for wildlife, water quality, and a host of other benefits.
  
• Modules are on-line for teachers to explore the links between wildlife and habitat right outside their own backdoors. The Team Monarch and Team Flight modules were developed for Wings of Wonder.
  
• Developed in conjunction with the National Association of Conservation Districts and Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Pittsburgh office of the Wildlife Habitat Council offers workshops to teach area residents conservation practices for the backyard.
  
• The Backyard Conservation campaign shows you how agricultural practices used across the country can be adapted for use on the land around your home. These practices help the environment and can make your yard more attractive and enjoyable.  Tip sheets and a colorful 28-page booklet on Backyard Conservation are available free by calling 1-888-LANDCARE, or browse on-line.
  
• Detailed information on habitat for species ranging from the Eastern bluebird to bobwhite quail is available on-line through a partnership between WHC/NRCS Wildlife Habitat Management Institute. 
  
• The National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat campaign helps homeowners begin projects and offers certification.
  

• Nest boxes can be an excellent way to provide shelter for breeding for a variety of cavity-nesters such as bluebirds, chickadees, and tree swallows. The North American Bluebird Society can help you get started, from monitoring basics to choosing a location. 

• Visit TRHP's Wildlife Team Links page for many more useful websites regarding various species, from birds to frogs!

Native Plant Suppliers

 
Native plants such as this turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
are often more beneficial to wildlife and should be used
in wildlife gardens and habitats as much as possible.

Nurseries Offering Native Plants for Southwestern Pennsylvania Resources for Other States


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