Certified Backyard Habitat Program

1. Assess your outdoor space: Walk your property and evaluate whether it currently provides the four habitat essentials — food sources, water, cover, and places for wildlife to raise young. Any size outdoor space qualifies, from a small balcony garden to a large backyard.

1. Add habitat elements: If your space is missing any of the four essentials, add them. Plant native species for food and cover, install a birdbath or rain garden for water, and add brush piles, nesting boxes, or dense shrubs for shelter and breeding.

1. Visit the certification portal: Go to certifiedwildlifehabitat.nwf.org to access the online application. The process is entirely self-guided and can be completed in one sitting.

1. Complete the self-assessment checklist: Fill out the online form describing how your property meets each of the four habitat requirements. Be specific about the plants, water features, and shelter elements present on your site.

1. Pay the application fee: Submit the $25 certification fee (schools certify for free). This fee includes a one-year NWF membership and subscription to National Wildlife® magazine.

1. Receive your certification: Upon approval, you will receive a personalized paper certificate and access to the monthly Garden for Wildlife e-newsletter. You may also purchase an official Certified Wildlife Habitat® sign to display on your property.

1. Continue improving your habitat: Certification lasts indefinitely, but NWF encourages ongoing improvements — adding more native plants, sustainable practices, and additional habitat features over time.

The program evaluates whether a property provides the four core habitat essentials that wildlife need to survive and thrive. These are assessed through a self-reported checklist submitted via the online application portal.

1. Food Sources: Applicants must demonstrate at least one food source for wildlife. This can include native plants that produce seeds, berries, nectar, or nuts; supplemental feeders (bird feeders, hummingbird feeders); or host plants for caterpillars and other insects. Native plants are strongly preferred as they provide the most ecologically appropriate food.

2. Water Sources: At least one clean water source must be present. Acceptable options include birdbaths, ponds, rain gardens, water gardens, or other features that provide drinking and bathing water for wildlife. Moving or drip water features are especially encouraged.

3. Cover: The property must offer at least one form of shelter where wildlife can hide from predators and weather. Examples include dense shrubs, brush piles, rock piles, evergreen trees, log piles, or meadow grasses.

4. Places to Raise Young: Applicants must show that wildlife can breed and rear offspring on the property. This can be met through mature trees with cavities, dense shrubs for nesting, nesting boxes, host plants for caterpillars, or water features that support amphibian reproduction.

There is no minimum property size requirement, and no third-party inspection is conducted. The assessment is entirely self-reported, and certification is granted administratively once the checklist is submitted and the fee is paid.

The Certified Backyard Habitat Program operated by the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania is a regional affiliate of the National Wildlife Federation's (NWF) Certified Wildlife Habitat® program, one of the most widely recognized residential habitat certification programs in the United States. The NWF program has certified over 200,000 individual properties covering more than 2.5 million acres, making it by far the largest program of its kind in North America. The low cost ($25), simple self-assessment process, and strong brand recognition of both NWF and regional Audubon chapters make it highly accessible to everyday homeowners and gardeners.

The program sits in a growing market of "citizen conservation" certifications that have gained significant momentum alongside the native plant gardening movement. Trends such as the "No Mow May" movement, the rise of pollinator gardens, and Doug Tallamy's "Homegrown National Park" concept have all driven increased public interest in wildlife-friendly landscaping. This has benefited the NWF program and its regional affiliates, as more homeowners seek tangible recognition for their conservation efforts. The program competes with similar offerings from the Xerces Society, Monarch Watch, and the Homegrown National Park pledge, but NWF's scale and brand recognition give it a dominant position.

From a professional credibility standpoint, this certification carries limited weight as a career credential but strong community and reputational value. It is widely used by schools, community gardens, and places of worship as a visible symbol of environmental commitment. For landscaping professionals and conservation educators in western Pennsylvania, affiliation with the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania adds regional credibility and networking value beyond what the national NWF program alone provides.

The National Wildlife Federation's Certified Wildlife Habitat® program was launched in 1973, making it one of the earliest formal programs in the United States to encourage private landowners to actively manage their properties for wildlife. It was created in response to growing concern about habitat loss driven by suburban sprawl and conventional landscaping practices that prioritized aesthetics over ecological function. The program's founding premise — that millions of small private properties, when managed collectively, could form meaningful wildlife corridors — was ahead of its time and has since been validated by landscape ecology research.

Over the decades, the program expanded from a mail-in certification process to a fully online platform, and grew from a few thousand certified properties to over 200,000 across the U.S. and internationally. The Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania became a regional affiliate partner, offering a locally branded version of the certification that channels a portion of application fees back into regional conservation work in the Pittsburgh area and western Pennsylvania. This affiliate model allows the national program's infrastructure and credibility to be leveraged at the community level, with local Audubon chapters providing education, outreach, and habitat gardening resources tailored to regional ecosystems and native plant communities.