Backyard Enhancement

Adding native plants and using wildlife-friendly landscaping methods can greatly enhance your backyard habitat. The following resources will provide information on what can be added to backyards to improve them for local wildlife. 

The SCCP has developed the Gardening with Native Plants in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley guide. This colourful, multi-page booklet will guide you in choosing top shrubs, trees, and flowers that will benefit local wildlife. Paper copies are available for purchase from the SCCP. The guide was inspired by the Habitat Acquisition Trust’s Gardening with Native Plants guide created for the Victoria/Southern Vancouver Island region.

To find out where to view and buy native plants on the South Coast, the SCCP has developed a list of local native plant nurseries and native plant demonstration gardens. 

Another gardening website to provide inspiration is Metro Vancouver's Grow Green website - an on-line guide for eco-friendly lawns and gardens in Metro Vancouver, in partership with UBC Botanical Garden.

In addition to specific species at risk factsheets, Environment Canada’s Develop with Care series also provides general information for homeowners interested in preserving and enhancing the natural values of their property. See Develop With Care: Environmental Guidelines for Urban and Rural Land Development in British Columbia for more information.

Pollinators provide an important natural service; many plants depend on these creatures to transfer pollen between plants, fertilizing them so they can reproduce. Without pollinators, many of our food crops could not grow. Attract pollinators to your yard with the Earthwise Society’s list of Bee-Friendly Plants for Your Garden and Farm and the check out the Xerces Society's website for Invertebrate Conservation for a number of conservation resources. Incorporating native plants which flower at different times of the year will help support local pollinator populations. Always remember to avoid using pesticides which can kill beneficial insects like bees as well.

For information about the pollinators of BC and other bee-friendly plants, see The Pollinators of Southern British Columbia, a webpage put together by Dr. Elizabeth Elle, professor at Simon Fraser University.

Interested in learning what you can do to make your farm more wildlife friendly? The Environmental Farm Plan is a program which helps owners of agricultural land learn how to "green" their farming practises. The program involves a visit from a knowledgable represenative who completes an assessment of your property and provides recommendations of sustainable farming practises. Funding may be available to help with the implementation of these recommendations.