Certifying Your Own Sanctuary

Previously, we’ve covered gardening for wildlife, native plant gardening, and plant sanctuaries, like United Plant Savers.  You can create your own certified wildlife habitat!  Whether you have a large tract of land or just a small lot, there are many state and national certification programs to recognize your efforts as a gardener and budding conservationist.

Nationally, the National Wildlife Federation and Audubon Society have certification programs for your landscape.  Then, there are many state-level programs for certification.  Here in West Virginia, we have the West Virginia Wild Yards program through the DNR.

What’s the benefit of certifying your landscape?  Aside from the obvious benefits to your local biome, certifying your landscape can boost your home’s value!  In fact, the National Wildlife Federation estimates that an investment of about $500 can increase property value in time from 3 to 10%. On a $100,000 house, that’s $3,000 – $10,000.

Recently, on Bob’s LIVE, we were joined by Jim Fregonara to learn about the West Virginia Wild Yards Program.