How to Get Started
Step One
Take our Certified Wildlife Habitat® Assessment Quiz to understand how your landscape is currently supporting wildlife or download the checklist.
Step Two
If your landscape qualifies for certification, go directly to the online application.
Step Three
If your landscape is not quite complete and needs more guidance, learn more about habitat essentials or visit our resources section for tips, guides, and videos. These tools will help you create specific types of wildlife and incorporate these elements into garden beds, meadows, or container gardens.
You can invite wildlife back to your own yard and neighborhood by planting garden beds, container gardens or totally transforming your lawn to a natural landscape. Imagine your garden teeming with singing songbirds, colorful butterflies, flitting hummingbirds, and other small wildlife.
A balanced Certified Wildlife Habitat® supports habitat essentials with a minimum goal of 70% native plants that provide multi-season bloom and are free of neonicotinoids.
Why Certify Your Habitat?
When you certify, the $25 application fee supports National Wildlife Federation programs that address the decline of wildlife habitat nationwide. A portion of your fee also supports work for local wildlife in select affiliate partner states. You will also become a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife® community and receive the following benefits:
- A personalized paper certificate.
- A one-year National Wildlife Federation membership.
- A complementary one-year subscription to National Wildlife® magazine.
- Subscription to monthly Garden for Wildlife® Habitats e-newsletter with gardening tips, wildlife stories, and other resources.
- 10% off National Wildlife Federation catalog merchandise for one year such as nesting boxes, feeders, birdbaths, and other items to enhance your wildlife garden through the NWF shop online site.
- Exclusive option to purchase attractive garden signs designating your garden as a Certified Wildlife Habitat® with the National Wildlife Federation.
How to Get a Certified Wildlife Habitat® Sign
Our high-quality garden signs are a great way to let neighbors know the intention of your garden/landscape and that it is wildlife friendly. However, only those who have created a wildlife habitat garden and earned Certified Wildlife Habitat® status can post the sign.
Certify now online and select from the following designs.
Classic Sign
$30.00
9" x 12" Recycled aluminum sign
Lawn Plaque Sign
$99.00
8" x 14" Rust-free recycled cast aluminum
Garden Flag
$30.00
12" x 18" Fade and mildew-resistant polyester
Ways to Create Habitat
While any small space with native plants and a water source can qualify for certification, if you have a larger area, consider incorporating a broader ecological landscaping approach. These efforts will support year-round resources for wildlife from the ground up.
Bonus Recognition Opportunities
LEED Certification
For properties working on LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, Certified Wildlife Habitats® Innovation Points.
Dr. Tallamy’s Biodiversity Map
Homegrown National Park—Certified Wildlife Habitats® can also qualify to be included on the Dr. Doug Tallamy’s Biodiversity Map.
