Education

Learn more about wildlife native to your area.

Become an explorer! Spend time watching the wildlife in your backyard and/or local parks. Read books about the common wildlife in your area. Ask your parents to take you to a local wildlife preserve. Many offer programs for kids.

Create a wildlife habitat in your backyard.

Plant native trees, bushes, and flowers. This will give wildlife places to eat, hide, and even nest. A bird bath and bird feeders help support local birds.

Keep the environment clean.

Put your garbage in trash cans. Clear litter and other trash from parks, trails, and roadways that can harm wildlife. Not only does this help keep the animals safe, it makes the areas more pleasant to visit.

Leave wild animals in the wild.

The best place for a wild animal to survive is in their natural environment. If you see an animal you really like at a park or on a trail, leave it be. Take a picture to remember it.

Don’t feed wild animals human food.

Human food can make wild animals sick. It can also create a dependency on people that causes harm to wildlife, as they no longer look for food on their own. Plus, it’s dangerous to get too close to wild animals.

Make your cat an indoor cat.

While your cat may love going outdoors, they cause more harm to wildlife than you may think. They can kill birds, squirrels, and mice. They can even kill toads and frogs. All these animals have important purposes in the environment, so keep your cat inside and protect the wildlife in your area.