We're Certified Now!

A few weeks ago, Pam at Digging posted about how Austin, Texas is trying to become certified by the National Wildlife Federation as a Community Wildlife Habitat. I remembered having plans to one day do this myself (just for my yard, not the whole community!), and decided to get myself moving and do something about it.

It turns out, though, that I didn't really need to "get myself moving" - I just needed to fill out an online questionnaire and give them my Visa number.

Yesterday, my shiny new sign came in the mail. I'm not yet sure where I'm going to put it, but I will definitely make sure that it's visible to my neighbors. Maybe it will inspire a few more of them to put away the fertilizers and pesticides.

Comments

[Colleen]

Congratulations! This is something I want to do in my own yard. I'm close to being ready, but there are still a few things I need to work on. Great job!

[Tracy]

Colleen: We got lucky in that we live on a pond and already had some wooded areas when we moved in. I think for most people, the most difficult requirement is not using chemicals. In our neighborhood, most people leave their property "wild" except for a patch of lawn by the house, but about half of them feel the need to "chemlawn" that little patch of grass.

[kris]

Good for you! It's a good thing. :)
Your tomatoes look so yummy - we have some coming in too - but not as many as you do!

[Tracy]

Kris: Thanks! The tomatoes are starting to do great - the hot weather might be driving me crazy, but it's obviously good for the tomatoes!

[RuthieJ]

Hi Tracy,
Congratulations on your backyard wildlife habitat certification! My habitat number is 23839 and I've had it for several years. It's very rewarding to look back at pictures from what I had when I started to what the backyard has become now.

[Tracy]

RuthieJ: Wow - that's great! Our number is somewhere in the 80,000's, so you've obviously been certified for a long time.

[Greengril]

That sign should be a t-shirt. You could wear it to you next neighborhood night-out. Congrats, Tracy!

[Tracy]

Greengirl: Hey, there's a good idea. I hope to reading about your certification on the Strib site soon!

[Pam/Digging]

Way to go, Tracy! And thanks for the shout-out. I didn't get any comments on that post, so I'm glad to know that it encouraged you to certify your garden as a wildlife habitat. You may not live in Austin, but the NWF program is doing good everywhere, isn't it?

[Tracy]

Pam: You definitely encouraged me to get it done - thank you! The more people that sign up, the fewer pesticides and fertilizers there will be in our soil - I'm all for that.