
Many of us use the springtime to make our homes more welcoming for our neighbors and guests, but what about wild neighbors? What if our outdoor spaces became mini-havens for our animal and plant friends?
During the Welcoming Wildlife theme, we’ll be exploring the many things we can do in our outdoor spaces –whether that’s an entire backyard or a small window box– to help increase biodiversity and create habitats for the other creatures who call this planet home. The more people working together with wildlife in mind, the healthier our ecosystems will be. Together, we’ll navigate everything from best planting practices to city regulations.
This page is the hub for all things Welcoming Wildlife. Explore the resources tabs below if you want to learn more about the different ways you can welcome wildlife into your outdoor space.
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Welcoming Wildlife
Check out the resources below to learn more about ways you can welcome wildlife into outdoor spaces.
- plants + gardens
- pollinators
- certified wildlife habitats
- Healthy yards
- birds
- living with pests + predators
- Small outdoor spaces
- indigenous knowledge
- local businesses + resources
Native Plants
- Why Native Plants Matter | The Audubon Society explains why using native plants in our outdoor spaces is important.
- Cincinnati Zoo’s Native Plant Recommendations
- The Importance Of Using Native Plants In Your Landscape
- How to Make DIY Wildflower Seed Bombs
Gardens + Soil
- Gardening for Life | Doug Tallamy makes the case for using native seeds in your garden to help increase biodiversity.
- Want Biodiversity? Feed the Soil | Blog from the Cincinnati Nature Center about the importance of soil
- Birds, bees and bugs: your garden is an ecosystem, and it needs looking after | Tips for garden management with wildlife in mind
- Natural Garden Pest Control | EarthEasy put together a very in-depth guide to garden pest control. They cover everything from prevention to non-toxic remedies to beneficial insects.
- Biodiverse Gardens: Where doing less is more
- How to Build a Backyard Garden with Ecobricks | Ideas for Action
- 17 Water Saving Tips for Container Gardens
What to plant to attract wildlife
Pollinator Information
- Xerces Society | This organization advocates for invertebrate conservation and has a number of resources dedicated to protecting pollinators.
- Flower Fidelity: Ohio’s Pollinators and What to Grow for Them in Your Garden | Resources from Edible Columbus about Ohio’s local pollinators
Planting for Pollinators
- Attracting Pollinators to the Garden
- Plant a Pocket Pollinator Garden (PPG) in 2021! | Ohio’s Native Plant Month put together a guide for creating a mini pollinator garden
- Gardening for Pollinators | Advice from the U.S. Forest Service
- Want to Boost Butterflies? Aim for a “Caterpillar Garden” | Make sure your butterfly garden includes host plants that support every life stage, from egg to caterpillar to winged adult.
How to turn your space into a certified wildlife habitat
- Certify Your Habitat | The National Wildlife Federation has one of the most popular and straightforward certification processes
- The Benefits of Certified Wildlife Habitat Status | This article explains some of the benefits to certifying your space
Why traditional lawns are bad for biodiversity
- Love Your Lawn? Let It Grow. | The Sierra Club shares some info about why lawns are so bad for the environment.
- Lawns are for suckers. Plant a garden — for the climate! | Grist offers some ideas for how to work with your environment, not against it
How to have a yard that welcomes wildlife
- What are Healthy Yards?
- How to turn your yard into a year-round wildlife haven | Tips on welcoming wildlife to your yard no matter what season.
- How to Turn Your Yard Into an Ecological Oasis
- Yard Signs | Having clear signage not only helps to share information about the importances of making our yards welcoming to wildlife, but it also has been proven to deter complaints from neighbors. This site lists a variety of signs so you can find the one that is most appropriate for your lawn.
- More Sustainable (and Beautiful) Alternatives to a Grass Lawn
- Meet the Ecologist Who Wants You to Unleash the Wild on Your Backyard | Interview with Doug Tallamy, a big advocate for increasing biodiversity in our outdoor spaces
Local lawn rules and ordinances
Resources coming soon
How to attract birds to your space
- For Beginners: Four Can’t-Miss Ways to Attract Birds to Your Yard or Deck | Advice from the National Wildlife Federation
- How to Create a Bird-Friendly Yard | The Audubon Society’s tips from creating a bird haven
- How to Attract New Birds to Your Backyard
Feeding Guides
- Backyard Wildlife | Bird feeding tips based on the season from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Dealing with backyard + garden pests
- Humane solutions to help your wild neighbors | The Humane Society of the U.S. has TONS of resources for living with animals we consider to be backyard pests. There is an article for just about any backyard pest you can think of.
- Natural Garden Pest Control | EarthEasy put together a very in-depth guide to garden pest control. They cover everything from prevention to non-toxic remedies to beneficial insects.
- Scrap the trap when evicting wildlife | Why even humane traps can cause unintended issues for wildlife.
- Cicada Brood X and your yard: Much more benefit than harm
- EWG’s 2018 Guide to Bug Repellents
- A world without bats would look very different than the one you know — and not for the better.
- How to attract bats to your backyard
Backyard Predators
- The Humane Society of the U.S.’s site also has tons of ideas for dealing with backyard predators, we’ve pulled a few of the articles most relevant to local predator issues:
General Tips
- Turning a Small Space Into a Big Attraction for Wildlife | The National Wildlife Federation offers some tips for welcoming wildlife if you only have access to smaller outdoor spaces.
- 5 Backyard and Balcony Habitats You Can Build to Attract Wildlife | Small things you can build to attract wildlife to your outdoor space
Window boxes + Container Gardens
- Window boxes for wildlife | Tips for turning your window box into a haven for wildlife
- How to create a container garden for wildlife | How to welcome wildlife to your window boxes, flower pots, and other containers
- 20 Vertical Gardening Ideas: Grow More In Less Space | Don’t have a lot of space? Building a vertical garden might be a good way to attract wildlife.
- Wildlife Gardening in Small Spaces
- 17 Water Saving Tips for Container Gardens
Attracting Birds
- I Live In A High-Rise Apartment In The City. How Can I Attract Birds? | Some tips from Cornell University’s bird lab about attracting birds when you don’t have much outdoor space.
- How to Turn Your Balcony or Terrace into a Garden for Birds | Tips for turning your balcony into a “birdgarden”
Indigenous Peoples have always been well-aware of the importance of biodiversity, living with respect for land and natural systems. It is important to recognize the history of violent colonization, forced removal, and systematic racism that has led to Indigenous communities being some of the hardest hit by the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss. As governments and organizations turn to Indigenous communities for guidance, we must recognize the harm done, advocate for Indigenous Rights, and let these communities lead the way. We encourage you to learn more about the Indigenous communities where you live. Imago wants to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Kaskaskia, Osage, Shawandasse Tula, Myaamia, Adena, and Hopewell people.
- | An in-depth look at why tribes risk exploitation when sharing climate change solutions.
- Why Indigenous Peoples and Traditional Knowledge are Vital to Protecting Future Global Biodiversity | A look at Indegenous Communities across the globe who have always lived with respect for biodiversity.
- Gardening Advice from Indigenous Food Growers
- How A Seed Bank Helps Preserve Cherokee Culture Through Traditional Foods
- Indigenous Seed Savers Gather in the Andes, Agree to Fight Climate Change with Biodiversity
Local organizations advocating for biodiversity
- Cincinnati Wild Ones | “Wild Ones educates people on the importance of native plants, for the health of the environment and everything living in it.” Their site has tons of resources if you’re interested in learning more about welcoming wildlife into your yard.
- Cincinnati Zoo Pollen Nation | This is the Zoo’s hub for all things related to pollinators. Help the Zoo reach their goal of registering 500 new pollinator gardens this year.
Local businesses and nurseries where you can purchase native plants + seeds
- Keystone Flora
- GoNativesNow
- OPN Seed | Located in Northern Ohio, but they have an online store.
Local examples of biodiversity loss
- How Cincinnati’s Plant Landscape Is Changing | A look at how Cincinnati’s plant landscape has changed since the 1800s
- How Martha, Cincinnati’s celebrity passenger pigeon, shaped conservation in America
- The last Carolina Parakeet