ACTIONS
CREATE AN ACTION PLAN FOR WILDLIFE
Help create habitat for native birds, bees, butterflies and other native wildlife.
Help nature thrive wherever you are
Habitat restoration for wildlife is something we can all take part in — from growing a small patch or container garden of native plants to transforming a larger green space into habitat. Creating habitat might feel like a big project, but when we break it down into individual steps with an action plan, we find an achievable path towards combatting climate change and supporting biodiversity by creating habitat.
Native plants help reverse biodiversity loss
Habitat creation comes in many forms, including gardening, a popular way for students, staff and faculty to connect with nature where they live, learn or work. However, ornamental gardens do little to support the birds, bees and butterflies that co-evolved with native plants. In fact, the imported and horticultural varieties we often plant typically have little food or habitat value for wildlife.
In contrast, when you plant native plants in your outdoor spaces, you are reconnecting those spaces to the natural landscape and creating ecological corridors for wildlife to move through. No experience is required! And planting even one native plant will make a difference.
Which native plants should you plant to support local wildlife? What type of habitat can you create with the space available to you? Who can help you bring your idea to life? Whether you will plant or not, working through these questions using our action plan resources will expand your understanding of your role in fighting climate change. It can also inspire others to welcome wildlife to the spaces where they live, learn and work.
Create habitat for wildlife one step at a time
Contribute to healthy Canadian habitats
Creating healthy habitat with native plants is easy. To get started, download the Ecozones & Easy to Grow Native Plants resource to explore your region’s needs. You can begin with a small container garden where you live, learn, or work, or start a larger project. Every native plant you add will help to increase the health and resilience of your landscape for wildlife and people too.
Plant big or small
What resources will you need?
Look ahead — if you wish to bring your action plan to life, how can others help? Identify who you might need on your team, considering family members, roommates, coworkers and your campus community.
Connect and share, track and celebrate
Track your impact for healthy habitat, and celebrate your space as part of a healthy, resilient landscape.
Explore your space
Use our resources to get to know your space and what it will need to better support wildlife.
Identify native plants suited to your environment
No matter where you are, you can find native plants suited to the conditions in your ecozone that will contribute to habitat for wildlife.
How-to steps
1. Get to know your space
Learn about the local ecosystem that your home, campus or workplace is a part of, its history, its plant and wildlife biodiversity, and what it needs to thrive. This includes:
- Discovering what habitat already exists in your space
- Identifying types of habitat in the surrounding neighborhood
- Exploring Indigenous knowledge and connections to your habitat
- Understanding why native plants are important
- Identifying the native plants that grow in your area and wildlife species that depend on them
- Exploring your space’s sunlight, moisture and soil and assessing which native plants are likely to grow well
2. Select your habitat type
Using the habitat calculator in the guide Create an Action Plan for Wildlife will help you narrow in on the type of space you have and which restoration projects are best suited for it.
3. Build out your idea
Chart a path to creating this space for wildlife, including what, where and when you will plant and who will help. Identify:
- Project goals and planting location
- Any permissions needed
- Who could be involved, including friends, classmates or coworkers, campus clubs, your sustainability office or campus grounds team, etc.
- How others could use this outdoor space
- Which native plants you will plant and where you can source them
- What tools and materials will you need
- How to prepare the site
- How to maintain the site after you’ve planted (also called a habitat stewardship plan)
4. Record your impact
Creating an action plan is a critical step towards restoration. Report back in your Living Planet @ Campus user dashboard that you’ve completed an action plan. In your community, share tips and connect with others who want to create habitat for wildlife. You can also count your action plan towards your Living Planet Leader certification under the Personal Application of Sustainability category. If you implement your action plan, your efforts and impacts can be recognized under the certification’s Leadership & Teamwork category.
5. Next Steps (Optional)
Bring your action plan to life! Present your plan to other members of the community to raise awareness or garner support. If it’s not the right time to implement the plan, revisit it to understand if it can be adapted or approached in smaller steps. No matter what your next steps look like, taking the initiative to create an action plan is an important awareness exercise supporting your learning and understanding of the role that you can play in helping to protect wildlife and fight climate change.
WHY PARTICIPATE
Increase your knowledge and skills and enjoy that special feeling that helping nature inspires! No matter the size of your project and whether you bring it to life or not, creating an action plan is an important step towards restoring habitat for wildlife. As you participate, watch your connection to nature grow and inspire others.
Increase your knowledge and skills
Learn about the value of native plants to wildlife and how to create garden habitats that are more resilient to climate change.
Project planning and implementation
Gain experience in planning and bringing simple habitat creation projects to life. Apply this in your community or future workplace. More and more, workplaces are interested in engaging employees around environmental volunteerism and adding habitat to their spaces. By introducing this activity in the workforce, you will stand out.
Your Living Planet Leader Certification
You can count your action plan for wildlife towards the Personal Application of Sustainability category.