Backyard Habitat Certification Program

Backyard Habitat Certification Program Plant Roots, Create a Habitat, Transform the World...One Yard at a Time. Banner photo credit: Peter Stevens
(1)

Abigail has done an amazing job transforming her Hillsboro yard that was mostly lawn into a yard full of natives balance...
06/19/2026

Abigail has done an amazing job transforming her Hillsboro yard that was mostly lawn into a yard full of natives balanced with a few ornamentals and edibles like raspberries and strawberries.

The south side of her front yard is full of sun-loving plants like California poppy, Roemers fescue, asters, camas, mock orange and is punctuated with a beautiful black hawthorn tree. The north side of the yard transitions into a lovely shady space with evergreen huckleberry, baldhip rose, bleeding heart, thimbleberry, sword and maidenhair ferns and fringecup. The backyard lawn has been replaced with an eco-lawn full of yarrow and clover and bordered by more mock orange. There’s an amazing catio to give her cat an enriching life while keeping the birds safe and she intentionally has left the lawn tall to provide safety for the garter snakes that adore the slugs.

Excellent job, Abigail! Congratulations on your Silver certification. We have no doubt you’ll reach gold in no time.

Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District

City of Hillsboro - Local Government

Tonya moved into this property two years ago from another property that she had restored to reach certification. The fir...
06/18/2026

Tonya moved into this property two years ago from another property that she had restored to reach certification. The first thing she did was to remove the landscape fabric in both the front and back yards. Then she got a couple ChipDrops and began planting native species. There was already tall Oregon grape and sword ferns, but she added 14 native trees and over 60 other native plants!

Tonya planted a thriving madrone tree, as well as Scouler's willow, cascara, vine maple, and black hawthorn. Serviceberry, red stem ceanothus, twinberry, and red-flowering currant are a few of the large shrubs that were added, as well as small shrubs such as birch-leaved spiraea, orange and hairy honeysuckle, kinnikinnick and birch-leaved spiraea. For groundcover, yarrow and grand collomia were in full bloom here, and goldenrod, Douglas aster, and large-leaved lupine won't be far behind! Wild ginger, trillium, oxalis and inside-out flower are thriving in a shady spot under a large shrub.

Tonya has started some of these species from seed and propagated others. She is a frequent volunteer at David Douglas Park where she leads crews in ivy removal, and she creates zines that she shares with neighbors in a free library. Tonya, you are a great leader in environmental stewardship for your community! Congratulations on your Platinum certification!

Clark County, WA

Vancouver, Washington City Government

David and Mary have lived in their Milwaukie home for many years, but three years ago decided to make some big changes t...
06/17/2026

David and Mary have lived in their Milwaukie home for many years, but three years ago decided to make some big changes to their yard. They began by removing the entire lawn in the front yard and planting a plethora of natives. They then removed half of the lawn in the backyard and began filling in next to a mature western red cedar.

In the sunny front yard, a gorgeous serviceberry has taken off in the middle of the yard. Red-flowering currant and birch-leaved spiraea have filled in as well as groundcovers such as Oregon sunshine, yarrow, pearly everlasting, and blue-eyed grass. In the shadier area by the house, inside-out flower, fringecup, oxalis and trillium commingle with evergreen huckleberry and sword fern. In the shadier backyard, goatsbeard and western meadow rue are thriving alongside shrubs including osoberry, snowberry, and tall Oregon grape.

David and Anne love sitting in their cool, shady backyard and enjoying the native plants and all the wildlife that they bring. They are thinking about adding a rain garden next! Congrats on your Gold certification and thank you for being an amazing example to your neighbors.

Clackamas SWCD

WeedWise: A conservation program of the Clackamas SWCD

City of Milwaukie

Meredith lives in the Curtin Creek neighborhood of Vancouver. She has volunteered her time and energy to Naturescaping o...
06/16/2026

Meredith lives in the Curtin Creek neighborhood of Vancouver. She has volunteered her time and energy to Naturescaping of SW Washington’s Wildlife Botanical Gardens for many years and established the first Backyard Habitat certified garden there. With a recent step back from that role, she finally has time to work on her own yard! There are mature natives along the driveway and a newly planted pollinator garden; nearly 100 native plants have been added here.

Mock orange, snowberry, and tall Oregon grape are a few of the species creating hedges along the driveway. In the pollinator garden, Junegrass, Oregon iris, pearly everlasting, farewell to spring, goldenrod and self-heal are getting established. Wild ginger, false Solomon’s seal, oxalis, Pacific waterleaf, and evergreen huckleberry are thriving in the shadier areas of the backyard.

Meredith is looking forward to expanding her naturescaped areas and adding a rain garden and a Pacific madrone tree. Meredith, you have done amazing work creating two significant habitat sites in Clark County! Congrats on your Silver certification.

Clark County, WA

Vancouver, Washington City Government

McKenzie and Landon have lived in the Sifton neighborhood in Vancouver for about 6 months, and have already made major c...
06/15/2026

McKenzie and Landon have lived in the Sifton neighborhood in Vancouver for about 6 months, and have already made major changes to the yard. They sheet mulched over most of the sunny front yard so that their lawn is now more of an area rug rather than a carpet. Then they planted 3 native trees and over 50 native shrub and groundcover plants, and added dead wood.

A Douglas fir and vine maples will create overstory canopy in the front yard. Shrubs such as red stem ceanothus, serviceberry and oceanspray will fill in next to smaller shrubs such as sword fern and snowberry. They planted blue eyed grass, yarrow, fireweed, junegrass and goldenrod to increase groundcover and attract native bees.

They have already noticed more birds visiting the front yard to perch on the dead wood. They are planning to replace the small ornamental tree with a cascara and to add a pond. McKenzie and Landon, it's great to see all these plants beginning to grow in your front yard. We can't wait to see what it looks like in the future! Congrats on your Silver certification.

Clark County, WA

Vancouver, Washington City Government

Carolyn moved into her house in La Center a few years ago, and decided to remove the vegetation on the sloped back half ...
06/13/2026

Carolyn moved into her house in La Center a few years ago, and decided to remove the vegetation on the sloped back half of her yard. She installed rocks and irrigation, and then worked with Frindizzle Designs on a landscape plan. She ended up planting nearly 200 plants, most of which are native species, and she constructed a gorgeous cement water feature!

A vine maple, as well as large shrubs including tall Oregon grape, mock orange, and red-flowering currant, are increasing shade and stabilizing the soil. Kinnikinnick, birch-leaf spiraea, and salal make up the small shrub layer. Broad-leaved penstemon is currently blooming behind the water feature, and other great pollinator species such as Douglas aster, goldenrod, and farewell-to-spring will be blooming soon!

Carolyn is ready to remove lawn and plant natives in the front yard next. She will be only the second resident in her HOA to make this change. Carolyn, you are setting an amazing example for your community! Congratulations on your Gold certification.

Clark County, WA

Josh's front yard in Beaverton was an ordinary lawn when he moved in, but he removed all the sod, and it is now totally ...
06/12/2026

Josh's front yard in Beaverton was an ordinary lawn when he moved in, but he removed all the sod, and it is now totally naturescaped. The backyard was a jungle of six different invasive plants; he has removed 100 percent of them.

In the shade of the magnolia tree and the house eaves in front there are sword ferns, deer ferns and fringecup. Sunny areas have a lush display of lupine, Douglas aster and more.

Congratulations Josh on your SILVER certification! You have made so many wonderful changes to your yard.

Tualatin Soil and Water Conservation District

Beaverton City Government

Shari and Joe in Cedar Hills have removed all the sod from their front yard, covered the area with a thick layer of wood...
06/11/2026

Shari and Joe in Cedar Hills have removed all the sod from their front yard, covered the area with a thick layer of wood chips, and planted a host of native plants: a quaking aspen, red-flowering currant, sword ferns, checkermallow, goldenrod and many more.

In the backyard, where they have a chicken coop and a large vegetable garden, they planted maidenhair ferns, trillium and bleeding heart under the shade of tall trees. A nurse log, mason bee house and bird bath provide even more for our pollinators and feathered friends.

Congratulations, Joe and Shari, on your GOLD certification! It is clear that you will be expanding the naturescaped area in your yard.

Metro

Dan's yard in the Multnomah Village area was an ordinary one with lots of grass when he moved in. In the past 5 years he...
06/10/2026

Dan's yard in the Multnomah Village area was an ordinary one with lots of grass when he moved in. In the past 5 years he has totally gotten rid of all the grass in the front yard, put down layer upon layer of wood chips, and planted a wide variety of native plants. Under the shade of two large deciduous trees are evergreen huckleberries and snowberries as well as numerous sword, deer, maidenhair and lady ferns. In sunnier areas are pearly everlasting, yarrow and Oregon sunshine.

Congratulations on your GOLD certification! As those plants grow and spread out, your yard will be even more welcoming for pollinators.

Metro

06/10/2026

Want to turn pavement into paradise? If you have a street-facing, publicly visible paved area that you'd love to see transformed into thriving green space, we want to hear from you. If it's a good fit, your yard could become the classroom for a hands-on community depaving event in the fall.

Ideal sites are:
• Street-facing and visible from the public right-of-way
• include 200-500 sq ft of pavement
• on the West Side
• Ready for a glow-up 🌿

Interested? Fill out this form by 6/21: wmswcd.org/stormwater-stars/need-help-with-stormwater/

Please share!

Address

Portland, OR

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Backyard Habitat Certification Program posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category