habitat is to create a wonderful learning environment for children while
providing a habitat for wildlife. The gardens do not need to be award-winning
and should not be solely adult planned and orchestrated. The best thing
you can do is to include children in as many of the steps as possible.
Learning doesn't just begin with the end product; you can incorporate
benchmarks at every step of the process, from planning to maintenance.
Inventorying and Data Collection: Learn how to work with youth to examine your site and collect data. From the data, you can analize what you have to work with. From this analysis you can begin your site development.
How to Map and Make a Working Sketch of Your Site: There are several steps involved with creating a schoolyard habitat. The first is mapping and measuring your site and creating a site plan. What is a site plan? It is an assessment of your site and its conditions and a plan of action.
Design, create and Improve Your Site: 4-H Wildlife Stewards Member School Habitat Education Sites are dynakic. With human input, they mature, decline, renew and transform over time. Site plans are the base from which all current and future development takes place
Pacific NW Native Plants Functions and Suggested Plants: a useful resource for understalnding how to incorporate native plants by their function.
Pacticit NW Native Plants by Plant Community: Whether your habitat is a prarie, a fir forest, a mixed deciduous forest, a wetland or scrub-shrub, there are many excellent native plants that can be used for your habitat. This site includes pictures, notes, and plant specifics.
Monitoring Your Habitat through Photo Plots: Monitoring is an effective way to find out if your wildlife habitat project is meeting its goals and objectives. Monitoring can show how well, or how poorly, a management system is working. It can help you identify needed changes and can how others can create wildlife habitats on school grounds. Learn how to use photo monitoring, one of the most basic monitoring techniques.
Create a Garden Pond: Of all the habitat features that attract wildlife to your school garden, a garden pond could be the most rewarding. This 8-page handout is a great resource for giving you step by step instructions for creating a pond for your school habitat.
Watering Tips for Your Garden: Helpful tips to keep in mind for keeping your habitat watered.
Tools for Creating Your Wildlife Garden: This page from a veteran 4-H Wildlife Steward provides resources, ideas, tips and tools for keeping in mind as you develop your site.