Bird Habitat Recognition is a new program from Audubon Pennsylvania that aims to create a culture of bird conservation by engaging and educating landowners about the value of habitat gardening and other “Audubon At Home” sustainable landscaping actions on private and public properties.

 

Bird Habitat Recognition will provide the resources to inspire property transformation and improvement of the ecological worth of “standard” landscapes. Through habitat landscaping with native plants, properties will have the potential to become integral parts of the natural mosaic by increasing their capacity to host greater biodiversity.

 

Efforts to attract birds and butterflies will create a healthy yard – one that has lost any need for toxic chemicals, requires less maintenance, is safe for kids and pets, and provides the benefit of experiencing nature on a regular basis.

 

Registrants will need some things in place: regional native plants on the property (at least 10 percent of all trees and shrubs on property should be native), a source of water, movement towards the discontinued use of synthetic chemicals (pesticides/fertilizers), areas providing cover, nesting sites, and food for birds.

 

Once these things are established it’s a simple process of applying (online or off), recording which elements of a bird habitat exist, and taking the “Healthy Yard Pledge.”

 

The property categories in Bird Habitat Recognition include: residential, commercial or business park, schoolyards and college campus, and public land including parks and preserves.

 

There is no cost to register a property. Yard signs are offered as a gift for tax-deductible donations of $30 to Audubon At Home, or can be ordered separately for as little as $10 each.

 

For more information, visit thePA Audubon's Bird Habitat Recognition Program.