AT: Gardening For Wildlife

Join the National Wildlife Federation’s Marya Fowler and Rebeca Quiñonez-Piñón as they discuss various programs and certifications that communities and their residents can implement locally to attract and protect wildlife. Since 1973, National Wildlife Federation’s Gardening for Wildlife Program has been educating and empowering people to turn their small pieces of Earth into thriving habitat for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife. Learn how this program can be implemented on every scale from porches, back and front yards to schoolyards and entire communities. We will share tips on engaging families through gardening and nature activities, engaging K-12 students in monarch and pollinator conservation and how we are creating a corps of volunteers in Texas that is dedicated to the creation of pollinator habitat and citizen science.

LaJuan Tucker will then discuss how the City of Austin has worked with NWF to implement and grow these programs. She will highlight Austin’s achievements as a Community Wildlife Habitat and Mayor’s Monarch Pledge Champion City. LaJuan will give tips and examples of community advocacy related to large and small scale habitat conservation and education, which can be used and adapted for other locations.