National Wildlife Federation/ San Diego County

NWF Expanded Ideas

Mar 14, 2006

I participated this morning in a great conference call
with two NWF staffers and two other hosts, both from
New York. Some of the ideas we discussed follow. NWF
is interested in expanding the habitat program to put
more emphasis on establishing wildlife corridors to
help migratory birds, etc. Here are the highlights of
the call which certainly provide us with some things
to consider:

How do volunteers see themselves involved in the
program?
-Tap into things volunteers are already doing, like
gardening networks
that have already been set up.

What would volunteers need from NWF?
-Clear vision and goals for the program - including
what we want the
city to be like/look like.
-The program needs to merge with what volunteers are
already doing.
-Handouts!
-Activities, projects, actions that their groups can
do or present at
events for other groups to do.
-Projects for children.

Ideas:
-Partner with the green building council to work with
them on including
wildlife habitat as part of their Green USA community
certification.
-Feature habitats in a certified habitat open house
(open "yard")
like the open houses put on by the NE Sustainable
Energy Association.
-Create a regional template with specific directions
for people on how
to get started creating a certified wildlife habitat.
Include practical
ideas and projects appropriate for the region. Use
lesslawn.com as an
example.
-It would help to figure out what keeps people from
getting involved
with creating wildlife habitats. Perhaps have a focus
group to get
insight into this.
-Create opportunities for people to see what certified
wildlife
habitats look like. Get more public spaces (like
zoos, libraries, state
parks, etc) to create wildlife habitats and include
signage to educate
the public. This education would help change public
perception of what
a "natural landscape" looks like. Something like this
needs a
dedicated volunteer to get it started and follow
through.
-Feature a regional native plant in the Habitats
Online (or some other
format) as an easy thing to plant so beginners can get started.

Connie Beck
(619) 749-4059
Holisticgardener@yahoo.com