Wildlife Habitat Brochure

Habitat In Our Community

The Shoreline Community Wildlife Habitat Project, part of National Wildlife Federation’s Certified Wildlife Habitat™ Program, helps create habitat throughout our entire community! The basics - food, water, cover and places where wildlife can raise their young, are required in backyards, businesses, schools and community gathering places.

Currently, coast to coast, there are 20 certified communities, with many others (including us) actively working towards certification.

Our Vision

Shoreline is a place where experiencing the sights, sounds, feelings and smells evoked by the natural world are honored

All native creatures prosper in the habitat gardens and wildlife corridors of Shoreline

Salmon swim upstream to spawn in Thornton, McAleer, and Boeing Creeks

Our native birds are common sights appreciated by all

Green gardeners all over our city promote and practice water conservation and reduction of chemical use

Shoreline is a needed and welcome link in the chain of certified communities adjacent to one another, creating a “Wildlife Corridor” in the Puget Sound Trough that aids resident wildlife and birds migrating via the Pacific Northwest Flyway

We are facing a future where every action we take is increasingly significant to how our world will look and sound. Imagine the silence when birds no longer sing; or a time when all our fruits and vegetables are chemically pollinated because bees are no longer around to pollinate them; when the endangered salmon reach a point of no return; when we long for the trees that once kept us cool and brought a sense of calm to hectic days. When we link our backyards together by planting along property lines, we help re-establish a system of wildlife habitat corridors, creating a place where we can live in balance with the native plants, two-legged, four-legged, swimming and flying creatures of our little piece of the life boat we call earth.

As population density grows, construction for human use covers more and more of the native habitat that was once the domain of native life forms, upsetting the delicate balance these diverse populations need to survive.

Sustainable landscaping reduces our dependence on water during dry seasons and mitigates flooding during wet seasons. It also reduces dependence on fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides which send toxic runoff to our streams, Puget Sound and the ocean.

Our Mission

Preserve, restore, create sustainable habitat to benefit & protect wildlife and ourselves.

Build a strong sense of community by inspiring neighborhood stewardship and pride.

Our Goal is to satisfy National Wildlife Federation's Community Certification requirements -

We plan to:

Certify 500 or more Backyard or Balcony Habitats
Create 3 or more Demonstration Gardens
Certify 5 Schoolyards
Certify 10 Businesses
Complete at least 2 Public Improvement Projects
Establish baseline data on native birds

A Sustainable Wildlife Habitat provides food, water, shelter and a place to rear young. Your yard may already possess many wildlife resources.

All you need are:

Water: birdbath, shallow dish, pond, stream, wetland, or lakeshore

Food: seeds, berries, nectar, pollen from plants, trees, or bird feeder

Shelter: dense vegetation, brush or rock pile

A Place to Rear Young: trees, shrubs, ponds, or nesting boxes

It’s Easy to Certify

Applications are available from the Shoreline Habitat Team or from the national website: http://www.nwf.org/backyard/certify.cfm

Just fill it out the Backyard Habitat Sanctuary Form and send it in with $15

For only $5 you can certify your Backyard Habitat Sanctuary with Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife. Applications are available from the Shoreline Habitat Team or from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife website: http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/backyard/index.htm

Just fill it out the Backyard Habitat Sanctuary Form and send it in with $5

Benefits

A safe place for your children to play