In the quest for my Master’s in Education, I’m currently student teaching at a school that sits on a few acres of land, some of which is pretty bare. I think it’s incredibly important to utilize nature as a learning tool and resource whenever possible, since teaching students about life and the Earth is essential. Because of this, Emily and I went to a National Wildlife Federation workshop a couple of months ago where we were inspired to design and create a wildlife habitat and we plan to do this with our students in the Spring. Schoolyard habitats are becoming more and more popular, but they are still somewhat rare. It takes a lot of time, planning, and money. Grant writing will be the first challenge of this project. A wildlife habitat benefits the animals in our area, improves the quality of our water and air, and provides a hands-on learning environment. If you are interested in doing this on a smaller scale in your backyard, you can get some great info from the NWF on their website. If you properly design it and plant only native plants that benefit your area wildlife, you can even get it registered as a certified wildlife habitat. Certificate, placard, and all. :)