Conservation Made Simple

How to Set Up a Wildlife Friendly Backyard

Creating a wildlife friendly backyard is easier than most people think. Here are some great resources you can use to take action.

Websites:

• www.audubon.org  Click on 'Audubon at Home' from the menu bar at the top of the page. This will take you directly to their 'Healthy Yard' resources which is a great site.
• www.nwf.org  The National Wildlife Federation has a helpful site. Click on 'Outside in Nature' from the main menu bar, or many of their other relevant links.
• www.enature.com  This site has a great section called 'Native Gardening' that provides information on what to plant, and what not to plant in your area.
• www.wildflower2.org  More North American native plant information.
• www.fws.gov  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service site. This site covers everything, from invasive species, to regularly used environmental contaminants, to partnering with landowners to restore habitats. This site also contains lots of downloadable information.

To start you off, here are some activities that anyone can do, in almost any region, to help our wildlife by creating safe homes for them or by gathering information...

• Biodiversity in Your Backyard
• Build a Bat Box
• Build a Birdhouse
• Create A Successful Butterfly Garden!
• Make a Toad Abode
• Neighborhood Nestwatch

How many different kinds of animals live in your backyard?

Although children might spend a considerable amount of time in their backyards they may not always notice the diversity of wildlife that lives there! This activity is a great way to help children become more aware of their surroundings by developing keen observation skills. Children love to discover the world around them. Telling them about all of the great creatures that are so close to their home will spark their curiosity and inspire them to flip over logs to discover the wonders that lie beneath. This will hopefully make them want to conserve these new-found animals and help them form a connection with nature. These are lessons that will last a lifetime.

Things you need:

• 18 Assorted plastic animals found in backyards (e.g. spiders, butterflies, squirrels)
• Identification Cards (two different types with 9 animals per card)
• Crayons - if using a coated centra or erasable sublimation card, black contractor lumber crayons work best. The writing stays on the card and not the child.
• Towel - when selecting a towel to purchase for cleaning of the card, try and select one that has texture to it. It will be easier to wipe the crayon off.

What to do:

• Before you begin, set up the plastic animals in a setting that might resemble a backyard. Place the animals in locations where they might actually be found in nature.
• Tell the children that we need their help finding animals in our backyard. Ask the children to name some animals they see around their homes. Do they do anything special to help those animals out? You may briefly discuss things like bird feeders, bird baths and how they positively impact wildlife.
• Hand them an identification card and writing tool. Tell the children to find as many animals as they can. When they find an animal, they can cross it off of the card. Also, tell the children that when they are finished, return the writing tool and identification card to you.
• As the children are exploring the backyard tell them to look high and low because animals live everywhere! Offer the children assistance by giving clues about where an animal might live, what color it may be or what food they eat.
• When finished, talk with the children about the activity. For example, what was their favorite animal find? Do they find any of these animals in their backyard? Do they have anything in their yard to help animals (bird feeder, bat box, bird bath, compost bin)? Close the conversation with a take away message. For example, “All animals are important, even the creepy crawly ones, so try not to squish bugs!”, “Care for wildlife at home by providing them with a backyard habitat by planting flowers or trees as food, hanging a bat box or even filling a bird bath!”, “You can recycle like a bug by starting a compost pile!”, “Instead of throwing your plastic bottles away you can recycle them and make them into a bird feeder!”
• Once finished with the conversation, wipe card clean with a towel.
• Children always like to be rewarded after finishing an activity, so this is a great opportunity for a give away that has a conservation message. Your institution can try stamps, temporary tattoos, stickers or bookmarks as inexpensive rewards.
• After they have found all of the animals on their card be sure to mention that zoos like this one are great places to see animals, but their own backyard is full of fascinating wildlife too. Challenge them to find nine different animals in their own backyard once they get home.

Creating your own identification cards:

The artwork for the identification cards is included in the toolkit. To create your own identification cards you can use a variety of fabrication choices from inexpensive to costly. Choose an option from the list below that best suits your institution!

Paper - One time use

This inexpensive option works well as children can take away the identification card when they are finished and re-use it to play the activity in their own backyard! We recommend that if your institution chooses this option that you select a recycled, heavy weight paper (card stock). Also,you won’t have to worry about purchasing towels to clean crayon off of the identification card!

Laminate – Reusable

This option works well because the identification cards can be re-used and are easy to replace.Have the identification card printed on a recycled, heavy weight paper (card stock) and laminate. With this option, a standard crayon can be used to mark the identification card and easily wiped off with a towel.

Coated Centra - Reusable

This is a printing process that you can contact your local printers to find out more. This product has a clear, cleanable surface (similar to a laminate) that contains the artwork. It is then adhered to a plastic centra backing. Over time, this surface can peel off of the centra. This option would not be ideal for a long-term program, but is great for the short term.

Erasable Sublimation boards

This option is the most expensive, but it is also a long-term option because the cards are durable and can be re-used hundreds of times over. This identification card is a durable Lexan plastic.The artwork is imbedded in the plastic through a process known as sublimation. Images can be printed in black and white or color. Another advantage to this option is that the plastic can easily be written on with a black lumber crayon and wiped off with a towel.

Top 7 reasons why you should build a bat box:

1. BATS EAT BUGS- without predators, insects would soon overwhelm the earth. Bats consume enormous quantities. One little brown bat can consume 1200 bugs in an hour, often 2 in a single second. A nursing mother (like your bat box will attract) will eat more than her own body weight nightly – up to 4500 insects, including pests like mosquitoes!
2. BANANAS, PEACHES, AVOCADOS, FIGS, DATES, MANGOES, CASHEWS… - Bats pollinate all of these fruits, which means they help these plants reproduce and grow more fruit. No bats = No Fruit!
3. OTHER ANIMALS DEPEND ON BATS – Bats are the “Farmers of the Rainforest” which means they are the key pollinators and seed dispersers of lots of rainforest plants on which many animals depend. Without bats, these plants could not exist. Without these plants, other animals in the rainforest could not exist. The Baobab tree is another good example. Bats are the only ones that can fly up underneath the tree’s blossoms and reach the pollen. This tree is so highly depend-ed on by other animals; it is called “The Tree of Life”.
4. BATS ARE ENDANGERED – Bats are exceptionally vulnerable to extinction, in part because they're the slowest reproducing mammals on earth for their size. Most only have one young per year.
5. BATS HAVE BEEN ON EARTH FOR 50 MILLION YEARS!
6. BATS ARE MAMMALS, TOO, JUST LIKE US!
7. VAMPIRE BATS ONLY LIVE IN LATIN AMERICA – Even in Latin America, they only prey on livestock, while they’re sleeping and the livestock don’t even realize they were bitten. They don't even get sick or die because the bat drinks such a small amount of their blood. Your bat box will probably attract: little brown bats, big bats, and eastern pipistrelle. These bats eat only INSECTS and FRUIT not blood!

Bat Reality:

• There are almost 1000 species of bats. This is about 25% of all mammal species.
• Bats are not blind and don’t get tangled in people’s hair, although these are popular misconceptions.
• Many bats are able to find food and avoid obstacles at night without using their vision. They do this by using echolocation, however not all bats are able to echolocate.

What do bats do for us?

• Insect-eating bats are very important to us as a natural source of pest control.
• Fruit-eating bats re-grow the forest by pollinating flowers and dispersing seeds.
• A single bat can eat about 600 mosquitoes in one hour!
• Bats also feed on many insects which we consider agricultural pests.

What can we do to help bats?

• Many bats need our help! More than 50% of American bat species are in severe decline or already listed as endangered.
• By constructing a bat house near your own home, you can help increase their chances for survival by giving them a place to live.

How to build a bat house

• You will need 6 feet of 1 x 12-inch board and ten feet of 1 x 10-inch board. (DO NOT use any board that has been chemically treated.)
• Spacing between the partitions should remain the same. This design has varied crevice sizes most often used by bats in the United States
• All inner surfaces of the bat house must be rough or horizontally grooved so that the bats can get a firm foothold.
• Use rough lumber and turn the rough sides inward.Cut small horizontal grooves at 1/2-inch intervals on the smooth sides of all partitions.
• Apply a bead of silicone caulk along all exterior joints to prevent heat loss. This holds in the bat’s body heat, increasing the probability of occupancy.
• Place the house 10-15 feet above the ground. Bat houses placed on the side of the building or on a pole seem to be the most attractive to bats. Try to avoid placing the bat house in a tree because of the threat of predators.
• The bat house should face the east or the southeast to catch the morning sun.
• If the bat house is placed near a natural water source this may increase your chance of attracting bats.
• Be patient! It may take some time for the bats to move into their new home. Do not open the house to check for bats. Guano, or bat droppings will be visible once the bats have taken residence.

For more information about bats or to purchase a ready-made bat house, contact:
Bat Conservation International
PO Box 162603
Austin, TX 78716-2603
www.batcon.org

Build A Birdhouse

Birdhouses are an easy way to have more birds around your home or in your woodlot. In this fact sheet,we explain how to build houses for different kinds of birds and provide tips for setting them up. As lands become more developed, birdhouses become more important. On this sheet is a pattern for a birdhouse, and a list of measurements so you can adapt the pattern for different species. Tailoring the house you build to the needs of species you want to attract will increase your chances of success.

For all houses, here are some general guidelines:

1. Provide a hinged side or roof so you can easily clean the house each spring–early March is a goodtime. Use rust-proof hinges to make the task easier. Keep in mind that raccoons can open a hook and eye.
2. Drill at least four 1/4-inch drain holes in the bottom of every house, and two 5/8-inch ventilation holes near the top of each side of the house.
3. Provide a roof with at least a two-inch overhang on the front to protect the entrance hole from wind-driven rain, and to prevent cats from reaching in from above.
4. The sides of the house should enclose the floor to keep rain from seeping into the house and nest.Recess the floor 1/4-inch up from the bottom to further prevent rotting caused by moisture.
5. Don’t put perches on any bird house. Take them off houses that you purchase. The only birds that prefer them are starlings and house sparrows.
6. Keep entrance holes on songbird houses 1 3/8 inches or smaller to keep out starlings and house sparrows. (Purple martins are an exception.)
7. Space boxes at least 25 feet apart (300 feet for bluebird houses) to reduce conflicts. Most birds are territorial and protect the area around their nests. Goldeneye mergansers and wood ducks are not territorial, so you can place their houses closer together. Purple martins live in colonies and prefer‘apartment houses’ to single-family houses.
8. Wood is the best material to use. Do not use pressure-treated lumber because when it gets wet it can give off vapors that are poisonous to birds. Preservatives, such as paint or stain, can be used on the outside of the box, especially the back, but not on the inside. Do not use creosote as a preservative.
9. Do not use tin cans, milk cartons or metal for nest boxes. They can overheat and kill the eggs and young birds. The only exceptions are commercial aluminum martin houses.
10. Other animals may take up residence in your boxes, including mice, squirrels, bees and wasps. If unwanted, remove them. Be very careful not to get stung, otherwise put up a few extra boxes to make room for both the expected and unexpected tenants.

Create a Successful Butterfly Garden!
Did you know that not only are butterflies beautiful, they have also proven very beneficial in pollinating many varieties of flowering plants. Many plants rely completely on butterflies for pollination.

A water dish, flowers, lots of sunshine and an area with dark moist soil protected from the wind are all you need to create a butterfly garden! Remember to:

• Check your lawn at various times throughout the day to see which area receives the most sun. Butterflies, like all insects, need sunny pots to raise their body temperature.
• Avoid using pesticides around these plants. Butterflies are as affected by pesticides as much as harmful insects.
• Provide the butterflies with a water source. Any type of shallow container will work. Give them fresh water often.
• Be sure to include plants for all life stages. This means nectar plants for adult butterflies and host plants for caterpillars.

Good Butterfly Nectar Plants and Caterpillar Host Plants:

• Ageratum, Milkweed, Dill, Fennel, Parsley, Bee-balm, Coneflower, Passion Vine, Mustard, Hibiscus, Marigold, Salvia, Day Lily, Mallow, Phlox, Zinnia, Dahlia, Asters, Lantana, Impatiens, Butterfly Bush, Lilac, Snapdragons, Sassafras Tree, Cosmos, Blue Porterweed.

Where have all the butterflies gone?

• Due to loss of habitat, butterflies are rapidly disappearing. Wild flowers are often confused as weeds and are eliminated with herbicides. Butterflies depend on these flowers for food. When the Flowers die, butterflies have no food or place to lay eggs. Butterflies are also very sensitive to air pollution. Even slight carbon monoxide from car exhaust can affect butterflies.

What Else Can I do to Help Butterflies?

• Learn about the butterflies in your area. Keep a journal of the different species you see in your garden.
• Try to buy organically grown food at your local market. These butterfly friendly foods are produced without the use of pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
• Use natural insect-controls such as predatory insects. Ladybugs and praying mantises are nature's pest control. As carnivores, they feed on many harmful insects and serve as great protectors of your garden. Order these insects from your local garden center.
• Support organizations that are active in butterfly research and conservation.
• Reduce carbon monoxide by walking, carpooling or even purchasing a hybrid car and help keep the air clean.
• Visit www.nwf.org to learn more about Backyard Habitats.

Make a Toad Abode

A friendly toad will gobble up many harmful bugs that come into your garden. You can try to get toads to move in by making toad house. Interestingly enough, once toads make their home in your garden, they may stay there for the rest of their lives - which can be as long as ten years!

Things you need:

• Clay Pot (4 inch)
• Paints or Paint Pens - bolder colors work better

What to do:

• Have kids paint their own pot with the paints provided.
• After the paint has dried, have the kids take the pot home and use it as a home for a toad.
• Place the clay pot on the ground, upside down, and prop up one side with a small rock. This is the toad's house.
• The house is ready. Now hope a toad moves in.

Activity Tips:

• Create a display with dirt, live plants and a few sample pots that have been painted. Place some plastic frogs/toads by the pot to demonstrate how the abode works.
• Set up this activity in a location where kids can stop back and pick up their pots after the paint has dried.
• Paints - bolder colors work better. Paint pens are less messy than paint and paint brushes and do not require a lengthy drying time.
• Toad accommodations can be as simple as a board lying on the ground, if there's a little room beneath it. Also, there are lots of commercial toad houses available these days.

Neighborhood Nestwatch

Throughout the year, a variety of different birds appear in our backyards and neighborhoods. The Smithsonian's Neighborhood Nestwatch program provides an opportunity for you to be a biologist in your own backyard or neighborhood. Your observations will help produce important information on the health, stability, and reproductive ecology of our feathered friends! Click here for a take home sheet.

Visit the National Zoo's website at: http://www.fonz.org/nestwatch.htm for more info about Neighborhood Nestwatch!

Downloads

• Biodiversity in Your Backyard
• Neighborhood Nestwatch
• Make a Toad Abode
• Wildlife Friendly Backyard