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National
Wildlife Federation
Backyard Habitat Program
By
Betsy Franz
I have always been an avid nature lover, and this
interest
recently led me to sign up with the National Wildlife
Federation to become a Wildlife Habitat Steward trainer.
My original desire was to receive training so that I could
go before small groups (perhaps students, boy scouts,
teachers, etc.) to teach them how to create wildlife habitats
at their schools or homes. However, during the course of my
training, my enthusiasm for the importance of this program
grew, and along with it, my goals for what I wanted to
achieve for myself and for our county.
I originally thought of Backyard Wildlife Habitats
as
something that people created for themselves; a place that
human beings “lured” wildlife into their yards for their
own
viewing pleasure. The extensive reading and homework projects assigned
by the National Wildlife Federation
enlightened me to the true importance of these backyard
areas as places of refuge for species whose natural habitat is
being quickly encroached upon by new construction, nonnative
plants and chemical landscaping procedures.
So, I came up with a lofty new goal. My goal now is
to
educate as many people as I can about the importance of
backyard wildlife areas and to eventually have Brevard
County obtain the highest number of National Wildlife
Federation certified Backyard Wildlife Habitats in the
state. Currently, Broward County has the highest number
of certified habitats at 220, while Brevard is second with
117. I think that by presenting this challenging goal to the
residents of Brevard County, we may be able to make a
tremendous difference to the wildlife and natural beauty of
our area.
This is a very exciting project for Brevard County!
Since the National Wildlife Federation is such a well known organization,
reaching this goal will give national recognition to our County
and how wildlife friendly we are.
If you are not familiar with the National Wildlife
Federation’s Backyard Habitat Program, basically, they encourage
people to create (or preserve) an environment which provides the
four basic needs of wildlife: food, water, shelter and a place to
raise their young. But rather then just suggesting bird feeders
and birdbaths, they stress the importance of using native plants
and chemical-free practices, etc. More information can be found
about this program at their web site at:
http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/
In order to provide training to others that may want
to
participate with this project, I have agreed to facilitate training
sessions for anyone interested in becoming a National Wildlife
Federation Habitat Steward Volunteer. This training is only
given in a few locations throughout the state, so having the
training in Brevard County is another big first for our area.
Once the Stewards finish their training, they will be able to
assist students, teachers, community organizations, local
builders or families in designating and maintaining a wildlife
habitat in their school yard, community, business or home.
Since I don’t have the education or knowledge to teach this
training myself, what I hope to do is get together as many guest
speakers as I can who are enthusiastic and knowledgeable
about appropriate subjects, such as Florida Native Plants,
local birds, backyard wildlife, creating water features, organic
practices in the yard, etc.
I am very excited to have this opportunity to work
with the
National Wildlife Federation on this project but also feel like
I
may have gotten myself in over my head. I thought that I would
be able to get some enthusiastic volunteers to help me with this
project, but so far, I have not succeeded. The requirement to
become a National Wildlife Steward Volunteer is to attend 24
hours of training, so that is what I must plan and schedule. My
goal was to have this training in late March or sometime in
April of 2003.
I am eagerly searching for enthusiastic speakers,
as well as
other nature lovers and naturalists in the county who might be
interested in helping me to plan and facilitate this training or
to just provide suggestions which might allow me to make this
project a success.
Eventually, I may try to seek sponsors to provide
such things as refreshments, etc. for the trainees. I believe that
I may be able to get Florida Today to provide some publicity to
the project, since the Gannett Facility on U.S. 1 is one of the
current certified habitats in our county.
I would like to hold part of this training in the
new
Environmental Center at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary. This
facility would be ideal, as it would give us a close-up view of
local plants and wildlife and areas to participate with hands-on
activities such as creating butterfly gardens or water features.
Another thought was to have some of the training in one of
the new classrooms at the Brevard Zoo. To cover 24 hours,
the training would probably best be scheduled for two or more
weekends.
If you would like to be a part of this exciting project,
please contact me at any time, by e-mail (betsntom@netzero.net),
or phone (321) 259-6585. At this point, I am particularly in need
of enthusiastic, expert speakers, co-facilitators, planners, or
even encouragement and helpful suggestions.
Also, please pass this message on to anyone that you
can think of that might be interested in this project,
or perhaps in taking the Steward training once it is
scheduled.
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Audubon Society Chapter and the National and State Audubon Societies
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Have
you found a sick or injured bird or wild animal? If so, please contact:
Florida Wildlife
Hospital
(321) 254-8843
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