Ed. note – Here’s the latest from contributor Sarah Heath. Sarah, a real estate broker with Matrix Real Estate, writes about North Seattle life on her personal blog, North Seattle Sarah. Every Saturday, Sarah brings us her musings on life in Green Lake.
A house near mine has several signs posted that both amuse and confuse me. The first, which I love, is this:
It’s hard to read in the photo, but its simply states “Trespassers will be Composted.”
The second sign, the one that got my curiosity going, is this:
How could a regular house, in the middle of Green Lake, be a Certified Wildlife Habitat? What’s going on in their yard that isn’t going on in others?
Here’s what I found, from the National Wildlife Federation’s website. Any home can apply for this certification, with a $20 application fee, if they can prove they have the following in their yard:
- Food source (native plants, seeds, fruits, nuts, berries, nectar)
- Water source (birdbath, pond, water garden, stream)
- Places for cover (thicket, rock pile, birdhouse)
- Places to raise young (dense shrubs, vegetation, nesting box, pond)
- Sustainable gardening (mulch, compost, rain garden, chemical-free fertilizer)
While many of our homes do at least a few of these things already, kudos to this certified home that provides all of this. As much as we hate the pests that sometimes get into our trash, we do choose to live in the northwest and should learn to live with, and among, our neighborhood wildlife. Simple things like birdbaths and birdhouses really help the little critters around us – and according to King County’s wildlife page, an estimated 4 million birds are killed each year by pet cats – so I think we owe them!
(Ed. note – the Woodland Park Zoo is offering a series of backyard habitat classes this fall. Read more here.)
Unfortunately, I discovered last week that our very own Green Lake Park would NOT qualify as a Certified Wildlife Habitat – they use pesticides! I snapped this photo on my phone earlier this month as I jogged around the park:
Information about herbicide and pesticide use at Green Lake Park can be found here.
