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Your Backyard Habitat

~Contributed by Beverly Guthrie

A Beautiful Garden Year Round

Want to have a beautiful, fragrant, blooming, fruiting garden year round while at the same time supporting urban wildlife?  Then certifying your yard, apartment or office as a Texas Wildscape is the program for you!  The process can be as simple as providing food, water and shelter year round, or as complex as you have time for.

To get started, click "Certification as a Texas Wildscape" or copy and paste the link below to a new browser window:  

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/wildscapes/certification/tx_wildscapes/

All the information you need for turning your outdoor area into an oasis for both people and wildlife is given on the website above. 

If you’d really like to challenge yourself, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has partnered with the National Wildlife Federation in creating an advanced certification that combines the best of both agencies’ programs. 

The Best of Texas Backyard Habitat Certification is issued by both organizations jointly.   Earning the distinction takes dedication to planting native plants as well as requiring extra attention to things like composting and water conservation.

To reach information on this certification level, click "Certification as a Best of Texas Backyard Habitat" or copy and paste the link below to a new browser window:  

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/wildscapes/certification/best_of_tx/

The application and all the information you will need to earn this distinction for your yard can be found there.

Additional Information on a Backyard Habitat

• Feathered Frustrations
• Rabbits Eating Your Plants?
• Solving Problems with Crows
• Solving Urban Duck Problems
• Solving Problems with Pigeons
• Solving Problems with Woodpeckers