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Certify your garden as a
“Wildlife-friendly Habitat”

Raise awareness. Inspire others. Make it official.

Any Garden Can Provide Wildlife-friendly Habitat

Can one person make a difference for wildlife? Absolutely.

A great place to start is in the garden. By garden, we mean any outdoor space that is influenced by a green (or not so green!) thumb. Everything from veggie gardens to water gardens, acres of land to containers on a patio, a meadow maintained for butterflies to a curated perennial bed, shoreline properties to urban plots – all outdoor spaces can help wildlife. No matter your location, level of experience, garden style or budget, your garden can be beautiful and beneficial for wildlife.

And together, we’re better.

By joining Canadians who make their gardens wildlife-friendly, you help increase suitable habitat for local and migratory wildlife, some of which may be species at risk. As more land is developed for human activities, each wildlife-friendly garden is a haven that can act as a stepping stone between larger areas of habitat, essential for many species’ survival.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Garden Habitat Certification recognizes Canadians who make their home, school, business or community gardens suitable for wildlife by certifying their outdoor space as a “Wildlife-friendly Habitat”.

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Making A Garden Wildlife-friendly

If you’re wondering how to make your garden wildlife-friendly, we’ve got you covered. The application form will guide you through the process but if you’d like more information, tips and ideas, visit our How to Garden with Wildlife in Mind section.

Why Certify?

When you certify your garden, we’ll add your wildlife-friendly habitat to CWF’s map that shows our collective impact. Then we can all see Canada’s wildlife-friendly habitat grow! Sharing your Garden Habitat Certified garden with family, friends, neighbours or on social media platforms (using #cwfgardens) can raise awareness in your community about the importance of wildlife-friendly gardens. It can also inspire others to see real life examples of different kinds of gardens that provide wildlife-friendly habitat.

View Garden Habitat Certification in a larger map

CWF Wildlife-friendly Demonstration Garden - maps, lists and photos

Here are some more perks! You will:

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Receive official recognition from CWF, including a certificate and window decal
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Be subscribed to Grow Wild, our gardening e-newsletter
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Be among the first to learn about new garden content, opportunities and programs
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Be eligible to purchase an exclusive garden sign

Eligibility

To qualify for Garden Habitat Certification, your outdoor space must meet the needs of wildlife. Chances are you already have many of these elements and practices in place:

You must have one or more sources of water, food and shelter in your garden and use earth-friendly gardening practices to maintain it.

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Application Process

Before you Apply

The application form should only take about 10 minutes to fill out once you have the following on hand:

Photos (maximum of five) that include a mix of overall and close up shots of your outdoor space and its features from any season. A picture is worth a thousand words - photos help our Garden Habitat Certification committee to come to a final conclusion.

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garden photos 4 garden photos 5 garden photos 6
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sketch 5 sketch 6 sketch 7 sketch 8

To share more photos, please do so on social media platforms
using #cwfgardens.

Optional: A sketch of your garden indicating the general layout
and features. You may find it useful for planning and fun to do.
It can be simple or elaborate; drawn by hand or with a computer
program if you like.

Apply Now!

Choose from three ways to apply:

  1. Apply online
  2. Apply by mail with our printable PDF form
  3. Call us at 1-877-599-5777 and we’ll mail the form to you
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My Application is in…

Please allow several weeks for processing. Successful applicants will receive a letter, certificate and decal in the mail to indicate that their outdoor space is “Certified Wildlife-friendly Habitat”.

My Garden is Certified! What’s Next?

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Purchase a Sign


Signs are exclusively available to those with Garden Habitat Certification by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. You can display a sign to promote your garden as a safe and sustaining place for wildlife and to encourage others to create habitat in their own gardens.

Learn More >
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Citizen Science


Engage in citizen science when you document wildlife that visit your outdoor space by taking photos with the iNaturalist Canada app or uploading digital photos at iNaturalist.ca. You don’t even need to know names of the species, thanks to its photo recognition software and online community of knowledgeable people that help confirm identifications. The data you collect contributes to a growing wealth of knowledge of Canadian wildlife species.

Learn More >
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Share


Show others how it’s done! Share your wildlife-friendly garden pictures and anecdotes on social media platforms by using #cwfgardens.
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Start the conversation


Maybe your bat house hasn’t attracted any visitors yet but your neighbours are probably curious! Let your family, friends and neighbours know what you’re doing and why it’s important to you. Voicing issues that matter to you is essential for creating change.
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Help Your Community


Find out if your local school, library, naturalist groups or garden clubs are interested in helping wildlife in their gardens and help them get started.

Order a Garden Sign

Can one person make a difference for wildlife? Absolutely.

Display a sign to promote your garden as a safe and sustaining place for wildlife and to encourage others to create habitat in their own gardens.

If you choose to purchase a sign and would like to include a donation with your order, your contributions will help support CWF’s conservation education programming. From sharing CWF’s work with your family and friends, to making a donation, your support goes a long way to help wildlife. We are not able to do this work without you, so thank you.

These are exclusively available to those who are Garden Habitat Certified by the Canadian Wildlife Federation. You must sign in to access this page.

Order Now

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Articles on Featured Garden Habitat Certified Properties

Read about other Canadians and their Garden Habitat Certified properties.

Disclaimer: Please be advised that this Garden Habitat Certification does not provide any legal rights or protections to the certified property. The owner of the certificate, and related certified property, must adhere to the laws, by-laws and regulations governing their respective municipality and province.