Let's get certified!
Background
Now that you have adapted your garden to meet the needs of pollinators and other wildlife, it is time to celebrate your efforts and certify your garden as Wildlife-friendly Habitat. As more land is developed for human use — transportation, residential, recreation or business, there is a decline of natural habitat for wildlife including pollinators. By providing food, water, shelter and avoid the use of pesticides your school garden can be a haven for pollinators and other wildlife.
In this lesson, we will review some of the requirements for garden habitat certification before you submit an application to have your garden certified by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. Under each of the habitat elements on the checklist, you garden must have two or three of the fundamental elements listed to earn a certified status. If an element is missing in your garden, discuss and work on it as a class project.
Habitat Element — Food
Does your garden have a variety of nectar and pollen rich plants? An array of plants particularly from your geographical area provides pollinators a healthy buffet! Native perennials, trees and shrubs are natural sources of food for pollinators as they have co-evolved and provide ecological support for their survival over many decades. It is important to have a variety of food sources in our garden to meet the diverse and changing needs of wildlife at different stages of their life cycle. Butterfly at the early stage as caterpillar feed on leaves from trees, shrubs or herbaceous plants such as dandelions and clover. While Monarch caterpillars rely on the nutrients from milkweed leaves, Painted lady caterpillar feed on thistle leaves and adult butterflies feed on nectar.
Nuts, fruits, seeds or berries are important sources of food for some species of birds — Acorn woodpecker, Black-capped chickadee and Blue jay while other species feed on nectar, insects, or a combination of all the food sources. The left over seeds and berries from autumn sustain overwintering wildlife in addition to supplemental feeders — seed bird, hummingbird or other feeders you find necessary. Oil-rich seeds like canola, sunflower or niger are healthy variety of seeds to consider for birds. When our gardens have have food at different seasons — spring, summer, fall and winter, we are contributing to the conservation of wildlife.
Habitat Element — Water
Water is important to wildlife for many reasons, including drinking, bathing, recreation, and reproduction. While bird baths are known to attract birds for a quick drink to quench their thirst or wash their feathers, butterflies will also visit birdbaths for a sip of water or extract nutrients from mud puddles. Wetlands, lakes and ducts are also important feeding sites for shorebirds, and fish. Amphibians such as frogs, toads lay eggs in shallow pool or backyard pond and need water or moist environment to survive.
Habitat Element — Shelter
Pollinating visitors are attracted to habitats that provide shelter — a place to rest, nest, hide from predators or inclement weather — severe cold, heat or rain. Leaves are important resting places for butterflies, and they enjoy warming their wings under the sun. So, place a flat stone in your garden to make a butterfly happy and relaxed. Shelter is also important for other pollinators like Bumble bees and solitary bees who are ground-nesters and would benefit from a bare ground in your garden. Pith of stems and twigs are also important nesting areas for solitary bees. Fallen leaves racked under a tree could serve as shelter for beneficial insects and beetles, bees and wasps are known to find refuge in dead woods.
Earth-friendly practices
After so much work in creating suitable habitat for your garden allies – pollinators, you want to avoid plan ting invasive species or use pesticides in your garden. These actions will ensure your garden continues to thrive and remain beneficial to pollinators. Invasive plant species out-compete local plants for food and water and endanger host plants thereby reducing the natural sources of food that co-evolved with our native pollinators. Pesticides when sprayed on seeds could remain all through the life cycle of a plant and could harm pollinators that feed on those plants as they feed on pollen and nectar.
Task
- Get your students outside and go to the garden area
- Review the attached “school garden certification checklist” with them
- Have them point out and discuss which elements you have in your school garden and how they might help wildlife
- If you’ve checked at least two or three box from each category, success! You’ve earned certified status
- Missing an element? Discuss with your students how you can add it in and make it a class project
EXTENSIONS
Students conduct research on habitat elements listed on the school garden certification checklist and discuss their findings in the class before going to the garden area
VARIATIONS
1 Teachers divide students into groups of four using the “pick from the hat” random student-paring method
2.Each student picks from a hat to join a group – food, water, shelter and earth-friendly practices
3. Each group will have an index card with a discussion question on each habitat category
-Why is it important to have a variety of food sources in our garden?
- Discuss the types of water sources you could have in a garden?
-Give examples of wildlife species and their preferred nesting sites?
-What can we do to ensure our garden continues to thrive?
4. Students write highlights of their discussions on cardboard or make graphic illustrations. Students reconvene to share group discussions with the class
DISCUSSION
- What is a “Wildlife-friendly Garden”?
- Why is it important to have habitat elements in our gardens?
- How can we maintain green and sustainable gardening practices?
Learning Objectives
- Understand habitat elements for Wildlife-friendly Garden
- Create a Wildlife-friendly Garden and apply for certification
Continue to New Education Kit: My Garden in Fall and Winter »
