(AUSTIN,
Texas, August 13, 2015) The National Wildlife Federation (NWF), America’s
largest wildlife conservation and education organization, is pleased to
recognize that the American Botanical Council (ABC) in Austin, Texas has
successfully created a Certified
Wildlife Habitat® through its Garden for Wildlife program.
NWF celebrates ABC’s efforts to
create a garden space that improves habitat for birds, butterflies, frogs, and
other wildlife by providing essential elements needed by all wildlife such as
natural food sources, clean water, and shelter. The NWF certification is part
of the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a national effort to restore
critical habitats for pollinators.
“The
American Botanical Council would not exist were it not for plants, so we are
committed to doing whatever we can to support a habitat in which the plants and
their allies thrive,” said ABC Special Projects Director Gayle Engels. “With
2.5 acres and more than 20 theme gardens to steward, the ABC garden team
strives to provide an optimal setting for pollinators and all the other small
creatures that interact with the plants and use them for food and shelter.
Becoming a Certified Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation
seemed to be a natural extension of that commitment.”
“We are so excited to have another passionate wildlife gardener join us and
create a Certified Wildlife Habitat. Over the last 40 years, nearly 200,000
wildlife gardeners have joined NWF’s Garden for Wildlife movement and helped
restore wildlife habitat right in their own yards and neighborhoods,” said
David Mizejewski, a naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation. “Turning
your space into a Certified Wildlife Habitat is fun, easy, and makes a big
difference for neighborhood wildlife,” he added.
“ABC’s wildlife habitat encompasses its entire 2.5 acres,” Engels noted. “While
our organization has not sought organic certification, the garden team has
followed organic gardening tenets since the purchase of the property in 1997.
In addition, we provide water, food, and shelter for wildlife in the gardens
and along the borders, which are kept as wild spaces.”
NWF’s Garden for Wildlife program encourages responsible gardening that helps
pollinators and other wildlife thrive. It encourages planting with native species
like milkweed (Asclepias spp.) and
discouraging chemical pesticide use. More information can be found at www.nwf.org/habitat.
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