Garden for Birds

Launched in 2025, Garden for Birds is a community initiative that provides guidance to bird enthusiasts about native plants and habitat features they can add to their properties to better support birds. The goal is to create a patchwork of habitat that can provide vital resources for birds across North America.

Through monthly emails during the growing season, participants receive a checklist of seasonal actions to support birds, such as planting native plants to feed birds in the spring and leaving leaves on the ground in the fall to provide habitat for overwintering invertebrates. The program shares information about why native plants matter, what regional native plants to consider adding, where to get plants, and information on additional steps that can be taken to help support biodiversity at home.

Garden for Birds also offers webinars and other opportunities for learning about creating bird-friendly habitats, along with an eBird Project where participants may share bird observations. In addition, participants are encouraged to share before and after habitat pictures to document changes in their landscapes over time, which help tell stories of transformation around the United States and Canada and help inspire others to take action.

What can Garden for Birds offer land trusts?

Land trusts can use information from Garden for Birds to help manage the landscapes they steward, such as at nature preserves or around their own headquarters. In addition, the resources and educational opportunities offered by the program may be of interest to land trust members and donors. Land trusts may download materials from Garden for Birds to support their own programming, explore the site to find native plants to add to their landscapes, and share the suggested bird-friendly actions in communication materials to help engage community members in conservation.