Audubon At Home

A healthy yard is not really a "yard" at all. It’s a habitat, a sanctuary for wildlife and for you and your family. A healthy habitat provides a natural haven beneficial to birds, other creatures, and people, and is an extension of your home and part of a larger ecoregion. Learn how to be a responsible caretaker of your piece of the earth.

Backyards and other private lands provide essential habitat for many species of birds. Ensuring that birds have good sources of food, nesting sites, clear water, and protective cover becomes more important every day, as more habitat is lost to development, degradation and fragmentation.

When you and your neighbors join together to create habitat for birds, bats, and butterflies, the impact of your individual efforts will be multiplied many times over. Your combined efforts can create a healthy refuge for wildlife and people by connecting isolated patches of habitat and by restoring the ecological integrity of your community.

By adopting a few basic principles, your yard, schoolyard, country home, apartment, or neighborhood can become a sanctuary for wildlife. As you create habitat that supports birds and other wildlife, you also ensure that your yard remains healthy for you and your family. And by learning about the plants and animals native to your area, you renew your connection with the natural world

Create healthy habitats in your backyards and other spaces by planting native species, removing invasive plants, reducing pesticide use, conserving water, protecting water quality, and keeping birds safe.