Skip to main content
CWF logo
Sign In
Username

Password
Forgot?
Not a Member?   Register Today
Français
Donate
Shop
Subscribe
  • Donate
    • Ways to Give
    • Single
    • Monthly
    • Shop CWF
    • Adopt-an-animal
    • Fundraise
    • In Tribute
      • In Honour
      • In Memory
    • Gift of Securities
    • Symbolic Gifts
    • Legacy Giving
    • Corporate
      • Major Gifts
      • Sponsorship
  • About Us
    • Why Canada's Wildlife Needs Us
    • Contact Us
    • Supporter Centre
    • FAQs
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Board Of Directors
    • Foundation
    • Senior Staff
    • Reports
    • Privacy & Policies
      • Accesssibility
      • Policies
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Coasts & Oceans
    • Forests & Fields
    • Lakes & Rivers
    • Endangered Species & Biodiversity
    • Education & Leadership
    • Connecting With Nature
  • Resources
    • Check out our resources
    • DIY
    • Downloads
    • Encyclopedias
    • Events
    • For Educators
    • Games
    • Printed Materials
    • Reports & Papers
  • News & Media
    • Blogs
    • Brand Guidelines & Logos
    • In the News
    • Magazines
    • Newsletters
    • Press Releases
  • Blog
  • Magazine
  • Shop
  • Site Search
  • Sign In
  • Français
  • Donate
  • What We Do
  • Resources
  • News & Media
  • About Us
  • Français
  • Site Search
  • Sign In
  • Français
  • Ways to Give
    • Single
    • Monthly
    • In Honour
    • In Memory
    • Adopt an Animal
    • Shop CWF
    • Symbolic Gifts
    • Fundraising
    • Legacy Giving
    • Gift of Securities
    • Corporate
  • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Supporter Centre
    • FAQs
    • Corporate Partnerships
    • Jobs
    • Funding
    • Board Of Directors
    • Foundation
    • Senior Staff
    • Reports
      • └ Annual
      • └ Financial
    • Privacy & Policies
      • └ Accesssibility
      • └ Policies
  • What We Do
    • Coasts & Oceans
    • Forests & Fields
    • Lakes & Rivers
    • Endangered Species & Biodiversity
    • Education & Leadership
    • Connecting With Nature


    • Agriculture & Habitat
    • American Eels
    • Aquaculture
    • Backyard Birds
    • Bats
    • Bioblitz
    • Camping and Nature
    • Chinook Salmon
    • Conservation Awards
    • Educator Training
    • Expecting Parents
    • Family Nature Club
    • Fish Passage
    • Freshwater Turtles
    • Gardening For Wildlife
    • Gardening in Schools
    • Monarchs
    • National Wildlife Week
    • Photo Club
    • Pollinators
    • Right Whale
    • River Barriers
    • Rivers to Oceans Week
    • Teens in Nature
    • Wildlife in Winter
    • Young Adults in Nature
  • Resources
    • DIY
    • Downloads
      • └ Booklets & Handouts
      • └ Colouring Pages
      • └ E-cards
      • └ Podcasts
      • └ Reports & Papers
      • └ Wallpapers
      • └ Webinars
    • Events
    • Encyclopedias
      • └ Native Plants
      • └ Invasive Aquatic Species
      • └ Common Animal Fact Sheets
      • └ Common Plant Fact Sheets
    • For Educators
      • └ Curriculum Fit
      • └ Educational Units
      • └ Lesson Plans
      • └ Resource Sheets
    • Games
      • └ Interactive
      • └ Quizzes
      • └ Crafts & Activities
    • Printed Materials
      • └ Calendar
      • └ Magazines
      • └ Manuals
      • └ Posters
  • News & Media
    • Blogs
    • Brand Guidelines & Logos
    • In The News
    • Magazines
    • Newsletters
    • Press Releases
  • Why Support Wildlife
  • |
  • What We Do
  • |
  • Get Involved
Donate
Adopt
Facebook Twitter Wordpress Youtube Instagram Pintrest

Boost Backyard Biodiversity

cwf-fcf.org > English > Resources > ... > Habitat Projects > Map Your Backyard
  • Do It Yourself Projects
  • At Home
  • Habitat Projects
  • Outside

Background
Nearly everyone admires songbirds, sea turtles, and flying squirrels, but we must also appreciate the vital roles played by algae, bacteria, fungi, and tiny invertebrates. These unsung heroes of nature help to purify water, recycle nutrients, generate oxygen, decompose waste, and manufacture soil. In fact, the health of wild creatures and humans alike depends on the diversity of these tiny invertebrates, plants, and micro-organisms. Remember, all species - from moose to microbes - are important, so let's hear it for those tiny creatures we usually ignore or don't even know exist!

You would be amazed at the biodiversity that thrives in a typical patch of farm soil measuring half a hectare by 15 cm deep. You would find:

• 1 to 2 t of fungi - organisms that live on dead matter;

• 1 to 2 t of bacteria - single-celled creatures;

• 90 kg of protozoa - one-celled animals;

• 45 kg of algae - tiny water plants; and

• 45 kg of yeasts - microscopic plant-like organisms.

Procedure
You can encourage a biodiversity of small but very important wildlife species by doing absolutely nothing. Often, the less you do, the more you can help wildlife. If we stopped cutting our lawns and battling with "weeds", we would create valuable habitat for all sorts of creatures, but such a drastic step might cause a big fuss in the neighbourhood.

Here are some extreme possibilities to consider:

• Leave grass clippings on the lawn so they can fertilize the earth. See "Pamper Your Lawn With Free Fertilizer" for more information.

• Declare your property a chemical-free zone for wildlife.

• If you can't learn to love dandelions, organize a family "weed-a-thon" to dig up unwanted plants by hand rather than using chemical weed-killers. See "Choose Wildlife-friendly Lawn Care" for more ideas.

• Don't clean up leaves and dead plant material until spring. Seeds, old berries, and insect pupae and eggs can be important food sources for migrating birds in early spring, when the pickings are slim.

• Don't burn brush piles or put them out for the trash collector. Leave them where wildlife can use them for perching, preening, courting, nesting, or sheltering.


Facebook Twitter Wordpress Youtube Instagram Pinterest
CWF

About Us

  • Ways to Give
  • Contact Us
  • Supporter Centre
  • Corporate Sponsorship
  • Careers
  • Funding
  • Board of Directors
  • Foundation
  • Reports
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy & Policies

What We Do

  • Endangered Species & Biodiversity
  • Lakes & Rivers
  • Coasts & Oceans
  • Forests & Fields
  • Education & Leadership
  • Connecting With Nature

Explore

  • Agriculture & Habitat
  • American Eels
  • Aquaculture
  • Bats
  • Below Zero
  • Bioblitz
  • Canadian Conservation Awards
  • Canadian Conservation Corps
  • #DoMoreForWildlife
  • Fish Passage
  • Freshwater Turtles
  • Gardening For Wildlife
  • Great Canadian Campout
  • Monarchs
  • Mother Goose
  • Photo Club
  • Pollinators
  • Reconnecting Canadians
  • Right Whale
  • River Barriers
  • Salmon
  • Rivers to Oceans Week
  • Wild About Birds
  • WILD Education
  • WILD Family Nature Club
  • WILD Outside
  • WILD Spaces

News & Media

  • Blogs
  • Newsletters
  • Press Releases
  • Magazines
  • In the News
  • Branding Guidelines & Logos

Resources

  • DIY
  • Downloads
  • Encyclopedias
  • Events
  • For Educators
  • Games
  • Reports & Papers
  • Manuals

Partner Websites

  • AquaticHabitat.ca
  • BanWithAPlan.org
  • Canadian Marine Animal Response
  • Foundation
  • Hinterland Who's Who
  • iNaturalist.ca
  • Love Your Lake
  • Quest for Canada's Great Whales
Français - Accueil

© 2021 Canadian Wildlife Federation. All Rights Reserved.

Charitable registration # 10686 8755 RR0001