Conservation Tools

Audubon At Home provides tools to improve yards -- whether they be at home, work, school or play -- so that people, birds and other wildlife can thrive.

Summary

Audubon At Home (AAH) and its Bird Habitat Recognition Program (BHR) provide techniques for: (1) improving backyard habitat at any property scale, and (2) increasing the understanding and appreciation of the connection between human-influenced landscapes and the conservation of common birds. These programs are managed by Audubon Pennsylvania.

AAH offers tools and techniques through its website audubonathome.org and direct, professional trainings and assessment to property owners. Its purpose is to assist property owners to alter or improve land use in ways that invites nature. AAH presents a perspective that allows a harmonious and beneficial existence of people with natural, native plant and wildlife communities.

Participants may utilize the resources that AAH/BHR provides, including: web, personal contact (such as Audubon Advisors and public presentations) other avenues of communication, partnership programs with Audubon Chapters and other environmental organizations. Newly-gained knowledge may influence personal choices that are intentionally ecological and support bird populations in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Track Record

National Audubon Society created Audubon At Home in 2002. Publications and web content were developed in subsequent years with some localized efforts taking place in Ohio, Northern Virginia, and California. Pennsylvania hired dedicated AAH staff in January 2007 to implement a state-wide effort and facilitate partnerships with environmental organizations, schools, parks and workplaces. With its simple ethos and focus on birds, AAH has quickly been embraced by a variety of audiences and partners.AAH has helped several hundred property owners throughout the state transform land into habitat with emphasis on native plant communities that provide for birds while also reducing chemical pollutants. Several schools and parks in the state have created educational demonstration gardens. AAH has helped other environmental organizations by co-hosting events such as native plant sales, leading programs and presentations at nature centers and other facilities, and co-sponsoring conferences and other events. BHR has created a network of “birdscapers” and trained professional advisors throughout the state, assessing properties in the urban environs of city centers to large-acre properties in rural counties.A cohesive message espousing the benefits of habitat gardening has gained a presence in the state due to AAH and has improved bird habitats where people live, work, and recreate. 

Typical End Users

• Property owners of any kind and size of property seeking better resource management techniques and property recognition
• Land trusts seeking to engage property owners in better natural resource management and ongoing recognition
• Schools administrators, students, teachers, and parents at elementary, middle, high school, and universities
• Park authorities, including municipal, state, federal
• Corporations seeking to improve native plant species on their campus and potentially reduce operating costs
• Nature centers and preserves implementing a natural resource management plan
• Townships wanting to advance recognition of local Audubon Important Bird Areas
• Audubon Chapters and other environmental organizations desiring local programming 

Conservation Impact

• Enhancement and extension of natural areas and Important Bird Areas: For those properties within or in the vicinity of natural areas, preserved land, or Important Bird Areas, AAH will improve the best management practices at many property sizes and scales by engaging people to become better stewards within a natural area around a recognizable and attractive feature – birds.
• Improved “backyard habitat” for birds: By landscaping with ecological intent, property owners can increase their carrying capacity for common bird species. Better management of natural resources will yield greater nest success for breeding birds, better survivorship of winter residents, and increased utilization by migrating birds.
• Ecological Literacy and Property Owner Recognition: Fostering an understanding of the natural world and the human connection to it will have positive, long-term impacts on conservation through future decisions and actions.

What You'll Need

• Property that can be improved or transformed into habitat.
• A desire to “go natural” and plant natural species in one’s garden and landscape. This will challenge one’s use of showy non-native plants and shrubs and accept the concepts of landscaping for birds.
• A desire to seek knowledge of and then accumulate best management tools and techniques regarding native plants to nurture birds, their allies, and what they need to survive.

Obstacles and Challenges

• User and public acceptance of a different perspective on what “beautiful” means and the practices this new perspective entails.
• The availability of native plant materials, learning about them, and the associated costs with implementation. While readily found, native plants take a bit more effort than standard exotic landscape plants commonly found at commercial nurseries and retail outlets.
• The dangers posed to birds on human-influenced landscapes (plate glass, cats, pesticides, etc.)