Creating a wildlife-friendly garden or landscape is all about helping wildlife survive. Providing food, water and cover will help individual animals, but to ensure that species as a whole continue to survive in your area, they need to reproduce. In addition, some species such as amphibians or butterflies have totally different habitat needs in their juvenile phase than they do as adults, so it’s important to offer habitat in all phases of the lifecycle.
Wildlife need a sheltered place to raise their offspring. Many places for cover can double as locations where wildlife can raise young, from wildflower meadows and bushes where many butterflies and moths lay their eggs, or caves where bats roost and form colonies.
How can I give wildlife a place to raise their young?
You need at least two places for wildlife to engage in courtship behavior, mate, and then bear and raise their young:
- Mature Trees
- Meadow or Prairie
- Nesting Box
- Wetland
- Cave
Preparing your garden? View the checklist to ensure you have all the elements for wildlife.
Find your element—purchase elements to raise young from the National Wildlife Federation catalog.
Does your garden have all the elements to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat®? Certify today!
