Create and Certify Your Own Wildlife Habitat
Gardening for wildlife is fun, inexpensive, and an easy way to make a lasting impact for wildlife.
Tennessee Wildlife Federation is committed to wildlife habitat conservation, big and small. So, we’ve partnered with National Wildlife Federation (NWF) to help you create a wildlife haven in your own yard—whether you have a rolling rural property, a tiny urban lot, or a container garden on your balcony.
But you don’t have to stop at home. You can even take on certifying your school, your church, or even your entire community—just like Knoxville did.
After all, 90 percent of Tennessee’s land is in private hands. That means providing the basics for our diverse wildlife is up to you!
Every Certified Wildlife Habitat provides wildlife the essentials
Food
Water
Cover
Places to raise young
Sustainable practices
Food
Water
Cover
Places to raise young
Wildlife needs resources to reproduce as well as to protect and nourish their young. To certify, your habitat needs at least two places wildlife can raise young, such as a nesting box, mature trees, or a thicket.
Sustainable Practices
Meet Tony
With the help of Tony Lance, our resident naturalist, ornithologist and gardening guru, you can put your commitment to conservation in action. When we each do our part, we can keep Tennessee the most biologically diverse inland state in the country.
The application processing fee is just $20 and you’ll receive a certificate to designate your newly Certified Wildlife Habitat. You’ll also receive exclusive NWF member benefits while supporting conservation statewide.
Have questions about certifying your wildlife habitat? Send him a message!
Learn more
Conservation Groups File to Defend Longstanding Clean Water Protections
Clearer, more consistent clean water protections for streams, fisheries, and wetlands that provide habitat and protect communities from storms are at stake.
Wildlife Crossing Efforts in Great Smoky Mountains
On average, more than 28,000 vehicles travel on I-40 between Tennessee and North Carolina every day. This interstate cuts through incredible wildlife habitat in the Great Smoky Mountains. Wildlife are either restricted to one side of the highway or have to find a way to cross it to access essential resources such as food, water, mating sites, and cover.
Water Planning Requires a Regional Approach
Imagine: it’s early fall. The sun is shining. You’re driving west from Middle Tennessee. As you get beyond the cities, you look out the window at the landscape. Trees, a mix of greens and yellows and oranges, are all around. The trees begin to give way to openings with towering stalks of corn and vast fields of soybeans. The land is at its most fruitful—and it brings you a sense of peace.