Earth Day: National Wildlife Federation encourages gardening for wildlife

Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day!

Liv McAuslan and her family celebrated by installing garden beds outside their home to grow vegetables.

"Your own garden can be really important in protecting the environment in the sense that you don't have to go get your food from the store, and you don't have to have it imported," said the Seattle resident.

In these uncertain times, the National Wildlife Federation says gardening is a great way to follow stay at home orders while doing your part in protecting the planet. It's encouraging folks to take part in its Garden For Wildlife program by creating a wildlife-friendly habitat at your home.

"Creating a butterfly pollinator container habitat garden on your porch or balcony, you can make a huge difference by planting local native shrubs and trees that provide food and cover for wildlife," said Courtney Sullivan, with NWF.

Our own Q13 Master Gardener Tim Joyce also grows his own vegetables while providing a habitat for the birds, bees, and butterflies.

"Something I try to do is I try to make sure something's always pollinating, whether it's this kale or something, so there's something for our backyard friends to take advantage of," said Joyce.

Garden For Wildlife is a nationwide program and since it started in 1973, there are over 12,000 certified wildlife habitats in Washington state.

"It's a wonderful reminder to everyone that we share this space. We live together and it's really easy to coexist. We can support our wildlife neighbors by making small changes at home and having a focus on purposeful gardening activity to create wildlife habitat," said Sullivan.