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No matter where you live, you can provide wildlife habitat. A few simple changes are all it takes to transform the “typical” yard, apartment, rental home or other living arrangement into a space that animals will visit.
Two ingredients comprise most yards in the U.S. The first is lawn: a carpet of nonnative grass (must be green) that has been an American standard since the 1950s. The second is a border of nonnative plants growing around the nonnative lawn. The same applies for most apartment complexes.
 A 2018 study by scientists at the University of Delaware concluded that as nonnative plants in a given yard increased, the number of bird species and bird nests decreased. In other words, if you want to provide a home for native wildlife, you’re going to need at least some native plants.
The Story of Rob
Rob Williams, a retired lawyer, does not possess a degree in botany but he has a lifelong passion for observing and conserving wildlife. This, more than anything, pushed him in the direction of creating a wildlife friendly yard.
“I grew up in northeastern Indiana,” Rob revealed. “There are little places there, just scattered woodlots, remnant tiny places, where original woods and wild flowers still persist.”
In these tiny oases, Rob connected with garter snakes, moths and, of course, his beloved birds. Decades-old memories of these habitat fragments reminded him of the value that even minuscule pieces of nature retain. And he realized that truism should apply to his own yard.
 Gesturing to his backyard garden, he explained, “We started this project in 1991, and the only thing in the front yard was a dogwood that was in the process of dying, you know. So, everything else has been planted.” He paused and shook his head. “It was mistake after mistake.”
The Turning Point
But something happened a few years into his yard transformation project: He found a book that changed everything. Rob showed off his first edition autographed copy with pride.
“As far as living where we do, this is the most practical guide, helpful guide on how to have wildlife in your backyard,” he said. “If I had one thing to recommend to anybody, I would say get this.”
 “This” is Planting a Refuge for Wildlife, a book created by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and now in its second edition. This DIY manual outlines the different elements needed to create a wildlife friendly yard, highlights the best plants to attract native wildlife species and provides an overview of why this type of work matters. The book, Rob continued, offers plenty to get started, “but some things also have to be learned by doing.”
Rob leaned back in his chair and stated, “Part of the problem with native plants is that you sometimes have to wait a long time for results and the most important things you plant are the trees and shrubs. You know, I see people and they say they want native plants and they start out buying a daisy or a milkweed which is fine, but what really makes a difference more than anything for wildlife is trees.”
What a Yard!
On a tour of Rob’s yard, he pointed out tree species after tree species. He had been patient, clearly, and had a canopy of native trees and an understory full of native shrubs and wildflowers. Although it was the dead of winter, one could tell that his yard offered a smorgasbord of food and shelter options to native wildlife. Carolina chickadees gave their irritated alarm call as he interrupted their lunch. Eastern towhees ignored him and kept raking through the leaves to look for seeds and insects. Rob seemed more like a visitor than the curator of all this diversity.
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 The benefits his yard offered extended outside of his property. A brush pile occupied a back corner, something that you don’t see too often in suburban yards. When Rob described his rationale for creating it, he illustrated how great an impact simple changes like a brush pile can make.
I see some of my neighbors bagging leaves in plastic bags headed for the landfill,” Rob said with a hint of disappointment. “And then they go and buy pine straw mulch for their garden. You know, leaf litter, that's a food source for a lot of birds. A lot of other critters like leaf litter too and at the same time, you're sparing the landfill all of that plastic. And the same thing with a brush pile. You can put all the accumulated brush out there on the curb, and then it gets hauled off to the landfill and doesn't really serve any function. Or you can have a brush pile, and lots of species like the brush pile.”
Your Turn
You can save work for yourself, enhance wildlife habitat and create less plastic waste. All it takes to make this change, or any of the others mentioned, is commitment and an attitude shift. Your yard does not have to be a moat, protecting the home from “the wild.” It can be a bridge, connecting habitats and the species that inhabit them.
“It seems like you only have to make a minor … adjustment to have that diversity. We can live in harmony with that kind of biodiversity around us by only doing a few things different. It doesn't really require that much, and it makes it kind of a rewarding, interesting place to live.”
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 To learn more about enhancing your site (backyard, porch or acreage) for wildlife, visit FWC’s Backyard and Beyond website. Explore tips on how to plant a refuge for wildlife and order the book if you’re interested in getting started.
If you are a resident of Tallahassee, you can start your native plantings by ordering two free trees.
Join FWC for the Leon County City Nature Challenge on April 26-29. Get started now - join Florida Nature Trackers projects and download iNaturalist.
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