Conservation Begins at Home
- Wildlife is directly affected by the choices that we make everyday. Living a more environmentally friendly lifestyle is one of the most powerful ways that we can all help wildlife. This includes reducing our consumption, waste, and carbon footprint. Look at your daily habits and see if there is anything that you can do to have a positive impact. Carpooling, composting, shopping for local products, and buying organic foods are all powerful acts that help protect wildlife and habitat.
- Begin a conservation garden in your yard. You can design it to attract butterflies, birds, mammals or amphibians and reptiles. Make sure to use native North American plants.
- Add nest boxes to your landscape. Consider adding a box for American Kestrels, Screech Owls, Eastern Bluebirds, Wood Ducks, etc. If you are not sure what would work best for your yard, give us a call and we can make a recommendation based on your specific landscape.
- Consider adding other habitat improvements to your yard such as water features, ground covers, and bird feeders. There are many websites to help you get started:
Going Native – see how easy it can be to support wildlife as well as the reasons to plant natives!
Brochure of easy things to do from the NWF
You can even certify your backyard wildlife habitat through the NWF
- Visit the North Carolina Natural Heritage site. They maintain a listing of all rare species by county. Familiarize yourself with the rare species of plants and animals in your county so that you can recognize and help protect them.
- Advocate to reduce the habitat fragmentation that is occurring in the Piedmont. Where there are opportunities to keep continuous wild areas untouched by roads and developments, help encourage careful land planning and management with the needs of wildlife in mind.
- Recycle! Check with your local waste management services to determine what products can be recycled in your area. As an example, you can recycle empty toilet paper rolls!
- Reduce! Try using 1 paper towel after washing your hands, instead of 3. Turn off lights when not needed.
- Reuse! You can use empty egg cartons to start seedlings for a garden. Many of your used kitchen containers can be used to make awesome crafts.Remember, it’s the little things that count.