Get certified

And Educate your Neighbors

There are numerous programs that offer help in managing for a healthy yard and then offer certification if you meet their requirements. We encourage you to learn more, change your landscaping habits (if needed), and then certify your property. Then educate your neighbors by displaying signage in your garden. The following organizations and programs are leaders in showing the way.

  • The National Wildlife Federation (NWF)
    The NWF encourages homeowners and communities to create local havens for wildlife by following six easy steps: (1) providing food by planting native plants that have nectar, fruits and seeds; (2) supplying water to wildlife that depend upon it from backyard ponds, birdbaths, or even puddles (try to do this year-round); (3) creating cover in your landscape, such as rock or brush piles, evergreens, snags, and even man-made bird and bat houses. These all provide needed protection for wildlife: (4) providing places to raise young (good cover, like native trees or shrubs, are also ideal locations to reproduce and raise the next generation); and (5) gardening sustainably employing practices such as reducing the amount of lawn, foregoing chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.  If you follow these practices you will be able to (6) apply to certify your property as a Certified Wildlife Habitat.
    Ewing is also working to become certified as a Community Wildlife Habitat. This requires educational outreach efforts and the certification of approximately 250 properties in town. Please help us out and certify your property.
  • The River Friendly Program with The Watershed 
    The Watershed‘s River-Friendly Certification Program is designed to help individuals, businesses, schools and golf courses contribute to a clean water and a healthy environment thru education and improvement of land stewardship practices. The four cornerstone goals of the program are to reduce pollution, conserve water, restore habitat for wildlife and educate the public about becoming better environmental stewards. 
  • The Monarch Waystation Program 
    Monarch Waystations are places that provide resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Requirements include planting in sufficient density to provide shelter; providing monarch host plants (milkweed of various types); providing an array of annual, biennial, and perennial nectar plants; and sustainable landscaping practices.
  • Butterfly Garden and Habitat Program The North American Butterfly Association can help you create a paradise for butterflies while encouraging habitat restoration, no matter the size of your area.