Arizona Wildlife Federation - Garden for Wildlife

Garden for Wildlife

Photo by Debbie Staudacher

Wildlife Habitat Certification

Whether we plant veggie gardens, flower beds, orchards, or native plants, vegetation provides wildlife with habitat essentials: food, cover, and a place to raise young. You can be that neighbor—be that inspiration to others—by certifying your lawn or garden as a wildlife habitat.

Certify your wildlife habitat here!

When you certify your habitat and when you purchase the metal sign shown to the right, a portion of the cost supports Arizona Wildlife Federation and the National Wildlife Federation's programs to help stop the decline of habitat for bees, butterflies, birds, amphibians and other wildlife. Habitat loss is one of the leading causes of species decline today.

What are the components of a Certified Wildlife Habitat?

FOOD

WATER

COVER

SUSTAINABILITY

Check out our videos on gardening for wildlife in Arizona:

YouTube Channel Playlist: Garden for Wildlife in Arizona

How do I get more involved in gardening for wildlife?

Do-It-Yourself projects

Activities for the family

For science

Reduce the water you pay for to water your garden. Learn to harvest FREE water on your property—passively or actively!

Compost in the desert?! The UofA Cooperative Extension can help.

Do you geek out on designing your space? Check out this resource on garden design for wildlife from National Wildlife Federation.

There are so many fun ideas for gardening with children from the National Wildlife Federation.

Find activities for school or home from Kids Gardening.

Go for a camp out or camp in — either way, "Camp on!" with the National Wildlife Federation.

National Wildlife Federation highlights a few of the citizen science projects out there for wildlife.

Record seasonal changes of your garden's native plants and the behaviors of the wildlife that visits with phenology!

Got birds in your back yard? How about participating the Backyard Bird Count?

Where can I buy native plants for my location in Arizona?

Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix has excellent collections of desert and desert-adapted species and hosts a semi-annual plant sale.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Superior lies a thousand feet higher in elevation from the valley and has a variety of plants for sale for the desert and transition zones.

The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has an excellent collection of desert plant in direct use by wildlife.

Native Seed Search, based in Tucson, features traditional food plants of the Southwest as well as pollinator plants.

Arizona Native Plant Society

Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Texas

The University of Arizona has a native plant search engine for ideas of what to plant, as does the Audubon Society.

Garden for Wildlife News in Arizona

Bisbee's Wildlife Garden

The Arizona Wildlife Federation has partnered with Project Wildlife Bisbee, a committee dedicated to branding the town of Bisbee as an official Community Wildlife Habitat with the National Wildlife Federation.

On the first weekend of September 2023, Project Wildlife Bisbee celebrated their official certification as a Community Wildlife Habitat. The weekend was also the annual Bisbee Bloomers Gardens Tour which, for the first time ever, highlighted 10 of the town's NWF Certified Wildlife Gardens and as well as Project Wildlife Bisbee's two-acre Wildlife Garden in Vista Park.

We are incredibly excited about this project and all efforts in Arizona to develop wildlife habitats for species everywhere — especially in places where it's difficult for wildlife to find food, shelter, and secure places for raising their young.