| Birds, Bees and Butterflies |
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It's a Wildlife
Providing birds, butterflies, bees and the rest of nature's family a place to call home, food to eat and fresh water sources is an important aspect of keeping our planet beautiful. Adopting "naturescaping" is critical if we want to keep birds, wildlife and bugs as our neighbors. What Makes It Green? Our song bird populations have dropped steadily (5-10% per year) for the last several decades. The loss is primarily due to habitat loss. We also need to provide pollinators places to live and feed. Pollinating is important for the balance of our ecosystem. Bees in particular are critical pollinators, who pollinate about 130 fruit, vegetable, nut, ornamental, and fiber crops in the U.S. Eliminating or limiting the use of pesticides and fertilizers is another important element of a healthy home for wildlife (and humans for that matter). Use all natural products to promote plant growth and discourage pests. Also remember that not all bugs are "bad". Many insects play an important role in making our world a better place. What You Can Do In order to create a wildlife habitat, you need to provide the following:
Find out more about creating and certifying a Wildlife Habitat at the National Wildlife Federation's website - www.nwf.org.
![]() It takes the nectar from 10 million flowers to make one liter of honey. ![]() My kids built butterfly houses at a Home Depot Kid's Workshop one weekend. It was fun and easy! With a little help hammering and later painting, they were able to create and hang a home for butterflies in our backyard. You can purchase the do-it-yourself kits for creating bird, butterfly and bat houses for under $10 each online at www.homedepot.com.
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