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

A lone stag bellows in a flowerbed
Food
Hawk in water bath
Water
Hunters for the Hungry distributing food
Cover
Venison snack sticks, courtesy of the Hunters for the Hungry program
Places to raise young
Venison snack sticks, courtesy of the Hunters for the Hungry program
Sustainable practices

Food

Native plants provide food eaten by a variety of wildlife. Feeders can supplement natural food sources. To certify, your habitat needs just three food sources, such as foliage and pollen from native plants, a bird feeder, and suet.
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Hawk in water bath

Water

All wildlife need water to survive, and some need it for bathing or breeding as well. To certify, your habitat needs at least one water source, such as a stream, bird bath, or butterfly puddling area.

Cover

Wildlife need places to take shelter from bad weather, hide from predators, or hunt for prey. To certify, your habitat needs a minimum of two places to find shelter, such as dense shrubs, a brush pile, or a wooded area.
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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

Maintain your yard or garden in natural ways to ensure soil, air, and water stay healthy and clean. To certify, you need to use at least two sustainable practices, such as soil and water conservation, controlling exotic species, and organic maintenance methods.
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Meet Tony

Tony Lance headshotWith 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!

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How Your Donation Improves Conservation

When you donate to Tennessee Wildlife Federation, you become a catalyst for change through our programs that focus on the perpetual improvement of conservation, wildlife habitat, recreation, and more all across our beautiful state. 

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