Gary Allen has built a fish pond in his yard, and in the process attracted wildlife and a National Wildlife Federation certification as a backyard habitat. He welcomes raccoons, groundhogs, hawks, and other birds into his own little nature world. Elsewhere in Bowie,  Maureen Fine hosts brilliant monarch butterflies with a favorite food – milkweed.

A growing number of urban gardeners are participating in the new Backyard Habitat Program introduced by the City of Bowie's Planning and Economic Development Department in May. Through the program, city staff is seeking to recognize and cultivate a dozen otherwise unnoticed plant and animal species.

The backyard habitat program is the third of 12 action plans outlined in Bowie’s Environmental Infrastructure Action Strategy Plan, which was approved by the City Council in September with a goal of conserving and restoring the natural environment. The aim of the program is to encourage residents to replace turf in their yards with native plants such as Virginia Creeper in order to decrease lawn mowing and thus reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality.

Additionally, the native plants are more drought resistant and conserve water as well as absorb storm water runoff. ‘‘Most backyards would probably meet the criteria without doing much of anything,” said Senior Planner Elizabeth Chaisson. (To read the full article in the Gazette, click here.)

For more information about starting a backyard habitat, visit http://www.nwf.org/backyard/. A booklet about native plants in Prince George’s County is available through the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Web site.

The "Special" Ed Haraway team can help you get your home ready with advice on everything from gardens to garages based on our many years in real estate working with Maryland homeowners. We really are the "The Realtors Who Treat You Special!"