Anna’s Hummingbird Photo by Soo Baus/Audubon Photography Awards

Habitat Patch Program

Gold Level Certification

Ellen Berggren and Larry Ridenhour

Ellen and Larry started with standard non-native landscaping at their Boise home, and now native plants occupy 100% of their front yard. They use drip irrigation and mulch to conserve water, don't spray for spiders or use herbicides, and they have many wildlife-friendly features. Ellen and Larry are active volunteers and grow native plants for the Golden Eagle Audubon Native Plant Nursery. We thank Ellen and Larry for providing healthy habitat for our birds and insects and giving back to the community.

Marilyn Eagleton

Marilyn’s home along Loggers Creek in Boise is a bird paradise. Marilyn has augmented the benefits of the creek, by using native plants in 60% of her outdoor area. She has native groundcover, flowering perennials, berry-producing shrubs, and provides lots of habitat for bees and other insects. She controls all weeds without the use of pesticides and has no lawn. Her Screech Owl nest box is occupied. Marilyn is an active volunteer lending a hand to many community habitat restoration projects. Thank you for creating an oasis for birds and insects.

Patti Gregor and John Crank

More than 50% of Patti and John’s Boise yard is landscaped with native plants, and all four levels of vegetation are established. They have excellent water and weed management, use no pesticides, provide beneficial insect habitat and have a water feature. Insects thrive all-year long because they leave the leaves in the fall and hold off on garden ‘clean-up’ in the spring to allow insects to hatch. Additionally, they participate in community science and take classes to keep learning. Their Habitat Patch is a bird, insect and wildlife oasis in our urban setting. Thank you!

Lisa Reed

Lisa Reed’s love of birds prompted her to overhaul her Boise yard. She ripped out ivy and lawn and converted 60% of her yard to native vegetation. Mature trees shaded much of her property so Lisa selected species that tolerate the shade, and she also selected ‘firewise” species because she lives in the wildland urban interface. It may look like Lisa forgot to 'clean up' her yard in the fall, but it looks like a healthy home to butterflies, beetles, bees, spiders and more. Lisa has treated her windows to prevent bird collisions and she provides water and nesting boxes. Thanks for welcoming insects to your yard and supporting our beloved birds.

Janet and Russ Buschert

Janet and Russ have more than 100 species of Intermountain West native plants on their large property in Eagle. Part of the area has been “re-wilded” with species that were there before development. Those areas are not irrigated. All four layers of vegetation are present. The native understory shrubs harbor lots of insects and produce berries the birds love. They have a rock garden and provide water for drinking and bird baths. The Buscherts open their yard to students from nearby schools so they can learn about healthy habitat. Thanks for your years of hard work Russ and Janet.

Joan and Frank Mattern

Joan and Frank Mattern have removed grass and planted both sun-and shade-tolerant native shrubs. The shrubs provide the essential mid-layer of plants that birds like for cover and food. They installed a permanent water feature with a bubbler to provide for bathing and drinking all year. And they added more habitat for insects including gravel mulch and piles of sticks. Joan and Frank are active volunteers focusing on habitat restoration and maintenance on public land. Thanks for your great work.

Cynthia and Bill Clarke

Cynthia and Bill have a very large lot and still keep rush skeletonweed, cheatgrass, medusahead, Russian thistle and wild rye in check. Managing a long list of invasive weeds without applying high-hazard pesticides is one of the Gold Level certification requirements. These non-native plants take up valuable yard space without providing much, if any, benefit to birds and insects. And they can easily spread to other properties. They currently grow a huge variety of native and drought-tolerant plants around the home and allow the native sagebrush habitat to persist on much of their foothills property. Thanks to Cynthia and Bill for supporting native birds and insects.

Kate Meyer

Kate made enormous improvements to her yard in just one year after her Habitat Adviser visit. Kate planted numerous mid-layer shrubs including golden currant, fernbush, and mock orange and other native plants. She put up a screech owl nest box, built a toad house, created water features for insects and birds, volunteered at our Boise River ReWild project, and took community classes. Kate's been paying attention to the insects that visit her Habitat Patch too. Way to go Kate.

Haley Hinze and Austin Small

Haley and Austin put a lot of hard work into taking out lawn, controlling weeds, building a beautiful rock wall (aka insect and reptile heaven), digging a pond with water circulation and selecting appropriate plants for their property near Military Reserve. They've installed an extensive drip irrigation system and mulched many of their plants to conserve water. Haley and Austin talk about the importance of healthy habitat with their friends and continue to learn through classes. We think their yard is amazing and so do the birds and wildlife.

Amy Hutchinson

Amy's yard is a fabulous example of what happens when you plant native vegetation and wait. Amy’s yard has mature overstory trees (spruce, pinyon pine, Colorado blue spruce), understory trees (Hawthorne, elderberry, chokecherry, mountain ash), shrubs (sumac, dogwood, potentilla, ninebark, snowberry, Oregon grape, currant), and ground-covering native plants (geranium, tickseed, sand cherry, globemallow, and asters). In addition to the plants, Amy has many nest boxes, feeders, window treatment to prevent bird strikes, many piles of logs to attract beneficial insects, continuous nectar-rich floral bloom, and several maintained water features. Thanks Amy for creating such a healthy yard ecosystem.

Kris Barrash

Kris has lived in her home many years, all the while planting bird-friendly vegetation and eliminating weeds. Along with native plants, including Cascara buckthorn, sagebrush, rabbitbrush, curl-leaf mountain mahogany, fernbush, yucca, Arrowleaf balsamroot, penstemons, buckwheats, sandworts, fleabanes, Wyethia, columbine, and western sword fern, Kris provides excellent insect habitat. She has stumps and twig piles, and there are patches of open ground for ground-nesting bees. Kris is active in Habitat Patch programs and helps her friends and neighbors improve their landscape. Kris's yard is an advertisement for healthy habitat and her hard work is greatly appreciated.

Silver Level Certification

Sean and Liz Finn

Sean and Liz’s yard is full of native bushes including Oregon grape, snowberry, golden currant and serviceberry, and they have understory and overstory trees along with loads of flowering plants. Native species occupy more than 25% of their yard. They treat their windows to reduce bird collisions, have two bird baths and two nest boxes. The weeds are controlled without use of pesticides, and they make sure not to purchase plants pre-treated with neonicotinoid pesticides. They keep their cute cat indoors. Sean and Liz give generously of their time to community habitat protection and restoration projects. We appreciate your hard work.

Debbie Wiggins

.Debbie has transformed her home on the bench and continues to add native species. Her native plants provide lots of food and shelter for birds. They include a variety of penstemons, golden currant, red osier dogwood, bitterbrush, great basin sagebrush, low sagebrush, mountain mahogany, netleaf hackberry, rabbit brush, yarrow, and numerous others. Debbie attends most of the Habitat Patch events to continue learning and teaches Golden Eagle Audubon's 'Create a Bird-Friendly Yard' class. Thanks Debbie for giving the birds a healthy home.

Helen Fisher and Mark Seyfried

Mark and Helen’s large yard in Boise is teeming with bugs and birds. Not only do they have native plants that flower, grow berries, and produce seeds, they provide habitat for lots of bugs. They leave their leaves in the fall and don't do spring clean up until late spring. This allows insects to overwinter, lay eggs and hatch. They have bare ground for ground-nesting bees and lovely piles of sticks for insect cover. They don't spray for spiders and have stickers on the outside of their windows to prevent bird collisions. They tend a Boise River Rewild Project plot, help with bird surveys and more. We thank Helen and Mark for providing healthy habitat for our birds and insects and giving back to the community.

Nancy De Witt

Nancy's yard is very bird-and wildlife-friendly because she provides water, insect-nesting habitat and lots of native plants that provide shelter and food for birds and insects. Everything thrives because she doesn't use pesticides and she doesn’t disturb insect nests in the winter and early spring. She conserves water by mulching her plants, directing stormwater into her yard and using drip irrigation. Her yard is a sanctuary for birds, especially during the summer heat. Nancy volunteers for bluebird and raptor surveys and continues to learn by taking classes. We appreciate Nancy’s passion for birds and healthy habitat.

Suki Molina

Suki’s yard in the Boise Foothills has well-established trees that provide shade and shelter. Native shrubs, shade-tolerant groundcover and flowering plants compose the other three layers of vegetation. Each layer supports different species of birds throughout the year. Their sunny hillside habitat needs to be fire-wise - no flammable sage brush - so the plan is to plant rabbitbrush and a variety of forbs in the fall. They drip irrigate and turn the water off after a big rain. A rock wall provides ideal habitat for insects. Suki loves to talk to her friends and neighbors about bird-friendly plants and practices. Thanks for welcoming the birds.

Alex and Brian Brooks

Two enormous black cottonwood trees keep watch over Alex and Brian’s Boise yard. Cottonwoods are a keystone species for this region. They support many more species of insects than non-native trees typically found in yards. The abundance and variety of insects helps nesting, migrating and resident birds. Alex and Brian also provide water for bird drinking and bathing. They have an abundance of native flowering plants, including milkweed, yarrow, blanket flower, penstemons, cone flowers (echinacea), sunflowers and columbine which provide nectar, seeds and more insects. Their two young children enjoy the yard along with the birds.

Julia Page and Pat Ford

Julia and Pat have four vegetation layers and many native plants including mountain mahogany, golden currant, sagebrush and forbs. They don't use pesticides and go after the weeds with a shovel or vinegar. They conserve water, leave brush piles for bugs and continue to learn by attending classes. They reduce bird mortality by limiting use of outdoor lighting, treating their windows so birds can see them, and they don’t have a cat. Julia uses her gardening skills by volunteering at the Warm Springs Pollinator Garden and Boise River ReWild. Thanks for making your yard bird-friendly.

Suzanne and Hawk Stone

Suzanne and Hawk have a large yard with several nest boxes and bat houses. They have piles of wood that provide insect habitat and keep the grass long in some areas for the insects. They are lucky to have large black cottonwood trees and plan to plant willows, the two native keystone species for insects in the Treasure Valley. They have just about every native shrub including serviceberry, elderberry, oakleaf sumac, Oregon grape, syringa, red osier dogwood, and big sage, as well as flowering plants including columbine, orange globe mallow, milkweed, echinacea, fleabane, and purple sage. Thanks for creating a bird sanctuary in the city.

Karen Fullen

Karen has been steadily eliminating lawn at her Boise home, replacing it with a wide variety of native plants. She’s planted chokecherry, serviceberry, golden currant, oak leaf sumac and elderberry that provide berries many species love, especially in the winter. The buckwheats and asters provide seeds for seed eaters, and the many species of penstemons support insects throughout the growing season. Monarch butterflies have visited her showy and narrowleaf milkweed. Cheatgrass and other problem weeds are pulled by hand. Birds are attracted to the sound of moving water and her water feature has a pump to circulate the water over rocks.

Vicki Flier

Vicki's yard is bursting with colorful native flowers including common sunflower and blanket flower. They support pollinators in the summer, and, in the winter, birds love to eat the dried seeds and insects live in the dead stems that Vicki leaves standing. At the suggestion of her Habitat Patch Adviser, Vicki added a water feature for birds and bees. Fresh water is important throughout the year. Vicki's yard in West Boise complements habitat provided at nearby parks and schools. Thanks Vicki.

Kristin Gnojewski

Kristin has a well-planned Habitat Patch that she’s designed to meet the needs of a wide variety of insects and birds. It includes Fernbush, Golden Currant, Oregon Grape, Bee balm, Sulfur buckwheat, Rocky Mountain Penstemon, Serviceberry, Purple sage, Basin big sage, Rabbitbrush, and Wood's Rose. She provides lots of water including one feature with moving water. She leaves her leaves in the fall and provides twigs and wood for insects to overwinter. Kristin contributes data to iNaturalist and volunteers many hours to local organizations. Her homeowners association recently adopted new front yard criteria better for insects and birds. Thanks Kristin.

Colleen Greenwalt

Pollinators and birds love Colleen’s Habitat Patch. Native plants cover more than 25% of her yard, and only a small amount of grass remains. Colleen grows milkweed, several penstemons and buckwheats, purple coneflower, sedum, sunflower, fernbush, lavender, asters, all super pollinator plants. She has a bird bath, bird feeders that supplement the seeds and bugs on the native plants, and two bird nest boxes. Her windows are treated or screened to prevent bird collisions. Colleen continues to learn about bird-friendly habitat by attending lectures. Thanks Colleen.

Cindy Marlow

Cindy has made great habitat improvements at her 1976 ranch home since joining the Habitat Patch Program in 2022. Working around the large trees, she’s planted important native species including sumac, elderberry, Oregon grape, Rocky Mountain juniper and sticky geranium. She doesn’t spray for spiders and leaves the leaves in the fall. Cindy participates in community science projects counting blue birds, owls and bees recently. She’s a Master Naturalist and grows plants for the Golden Eagle Audubon Native Plant Network. Thanks for welcoming the insects and birds Cindy.

Micah Lauer

Micah’s Habitat Patch provides food and shelter to birds and insects throughout the year. Micah is a bona fide native plant nerd as he has dozens of species and he knows them by their scientific names. He understands that cultivars (human-developed types of plants) don’t always have the same beneficial properties as plant varieties developed thru natural evolution. They may not smell the same, attract the same insects, produce abundant seeds, etc. Micah waters with a mix of drip and micro-sprinklers, and many areas don’t get watered at all. Micah loves to help his neighbors improve their habitat and that creates a larger oasis for birds and insects.

Shirley Leow

Shirley moved into a new home planted with traditional landscape. There is a lot of sun and the HOA-required front lawn needs watering. Using suggestions made by Habitat Patch adviser Kelley Davis, Shirley got to work expanding beds in the front and back and planting sun-loving natives. Her rock garden in the front has sedums, stonecrop and other low-growing plants and she asters, penstemons, and shrubs now growing in the back. Shirley keeps a list of what she’s planted and where and how it’s faring. She’s created insect habitat with sticks, rocks and areas of bare ground. From not much to Silver Level in one year is fantastic Shirley.

Patio Level Certification

Judy Snow

Judy's patio is packed with bird-and-wildlife-friendly plants and features. Large shrubs including serviceberry and ninebark provide food and shelter while flowering plants including coneflowers, asters, bee balm and liatris support insects and seed-eating birds. Rock piles and twigs shelter insects. A small bird bath provides important water. Judy welcomes spiders knowing they are an important food source for many birds and hummingbirds use spider webs to build their nests. Judy participates in bird counts and is a Habitat Patch Program adviser for Golden Eagle Audubon. Thanks Judy.