Fall Backyard Habitat Class Series at Woodland Park Zoo!

Want to learn how to create habitat for wildlife in your backyard, schoolyard or community garden?

At this series of five classes, you'll learn from experts from Seattle Audubon, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Native Plant Society and Woodland Park Zoo about how to attract birds and other wildlife to your backyard, select and care for native plants, recognize and remove invasive plants species, coexist peacefully with the wildlife you attract, conserve water, manage your backyard without the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides, place feeders and bird houses, and get your yard certified as a Backyard Habitat.

Classes are designed to build on each other as a series, but may also be taken separately.

Cost: $25 per person / $100 for the five-part series if you register before 6:00 pm on Tuesday, September 21st.

Introduction to Backyard Habitat: Site Analysis and Design
Tuesday, September 28th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Join Allen Howard, Woodland Park Zoo horticulture staff, to learn the basic principles of creating habitat for wildlife, with a focus on planning, site analysis, and design.

Natural Yard Care in the Fall
Saturday, October 9th from 10 am to 12:00 pm

Join E.J. Hook, Woodland Park Zoo horticulture staff, to learn seasonally appropriate sustainable gardening practices, including composting, mulching and proper fall planting.

Fall Plants and Planting
Saturday, October 9th from 1:00 pm to 3 pm

Join Monica Vander Vieren, Washington Native Plant Society Native Plant Steward, and David Selk, Woodland Park Zoo horticulturist, to discover how different plants in your garden can provide for the basic needs of wildlife. The class includes a plant walk around zoo grounds focusing on aesthetic and size considerations, as well as proper planting techniques.

Attracting Birds to Your Yard
Wednesday, October 27th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Join Neil Zimmerman, Seattle Audubon Outreach Chair and Master Birder, to learn how to attract and care for birds in your yard through plant selection, placement and maintenance of bird feeders and nestboxes, and use of water features.

"Problem" Plants and Animals
Tuesday, November 16th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm

Join Sasha Shaw, King County Noxious Weed education specialist, and Chris Anderson, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife biologist, to learn how to identify and eradicate problem weeds and coexist peacefully and legally with all wildlife that are attracted to your backyard habitat.

For more information or to register, please see the Backyard Habitat page on the zoo's website.