The Brooklyn Centre Naturalists, a group of neighbors
and business people in the 44109
zip code area who are working to make Brooklyn Centre
a registered National Wildlife
Habitat, think that they have come up with a unique
holiday gift idea for the nature lover or
gardener on your Christmas list - a gift of a Certified
Backyard Habitat. . The recipient(s) of your gift will receive a membership in
the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), including a one-year subscription to
the award-winning National Wildlife magazine with inspiring wildlife articles and
nature photography. They will also receive a personalized certificate and
quarterly newsletters, and will be eligible to post NWF's special outdoor sign
designating their yard or garden as a wildlife-friendly Certified Wildlife Habitat.
If you would like to explore this idea for a truly one-of-a kind gift to the
gardener in your life, check out www.nwf.org/habitat or call 216-351-0254 and a
Brooklyn Centre Naturalist will be glad to help you. Any habitat enthusiast can
create a certified habitat; many of your friends and relatives probably already
provide the four basic elements that all wildlife need: food, water, shelter and
places to raise young. Employing sustainable gardening practices is also
important. One of the ways to achieve the goal of community wildlife habitat --
a designated area that promotes and fosters the vigor and diversity of native
birds and animals -- is to certify local backyards as habitats. Habitat
restoration is critical in urban and
suburban settings where commercial and residential development
encroaches on wildlife areas, limiting the availability of the resources wildlife
need to survive and thrive. Creating habitats not only helps wildlife, it also
can help to reduce global warming pollution and save energy costs. Burning
fossil fuels to heat and cool homes and maintain lawns releases carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere, which is the maximum greenhouse gas responsible for global
warming. Replacing lawns with strategically located trees and other native
vegetation can insulate homes from heat, cold and wind, reducing heating and
cooling needs and thus carbon dioxide emissions. Living in The Big Creek
Watershed which empties into the Cuyahoga River and encompasses the
Metroparks Zoo (a certified Natural Habitat) makes our area unique and a
natural place to live. This holiday gift-giving season,
consider surprising someone with a truly unique gift and at the same time
promote our neighborhoods as places where residents make wildlife a priority. The
health of our community depends upon the health of our environment!
(Gloria Ferris & Lynette
Filips)
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