Some helpful resources for joining communities, learning about native plants, and designing your own yard habitats:
1)
Certified Backyard Habitat Program
Transforming the world one yard at a time
(The sign you're seeing everywhere, and why people keep saying PPL all the time)
Columbia Land Trust and Bird Alliance of Oregon offer this unique program to support the creation and expansion of urban natural habitats. These habitats contribute to the broader conservation efforts of our parent organizations by strengthening and expanding wildlife corridors, creating connectivity between public and private lands.
2)
A Demonstration Garden for Creating Backyard Wildlife Habitats
The Wildlife Botanical Gardens are a cohesive blend of specialty theme gardens, spread over two acres in Southwest Washington. The gardens, and devoted gardeners, demonstrate and teach gardening concepts that attract birds, butterflies, hummingbirds and other wildlife to residential gardens.
Vancouver Bee Project is creating a community effort to educate on the importance of pollinators by engaging folks of all ages as they strive to maintain Vancouver’s Bee City USA certification. These folks are VERY active - you'll see them around if you are even remotely paying attention to events around Vancouver and Camas.
4)
The WA Native Plant Society's mission is promote the appreciation and conservation of Washington's native plants and their habitats through study, education, and advocacy. They'll hook you up to classes, plant walks, the incredibly well-written and researched Douglasia journal, and more!
5)
The Native Plant Society of Oregon works tirelessly for plant and habitat conservation. For nearly 60 years, members of the Native Plant Society of Oregon have been visiting the wild places of Oregon to enjoy, conserve, and study its natural vegetation. They have several chapters, including a Portland one.
Oregon Flora is an extensive database of native plants where you can find lots of images, distribution, and general facts with an extensive internal search engine.
7)
King County's guide to native plants, featuring native plants of Western WA and gardening tips for our northern friends. Find plants, create custom lists, read How-To articles, and more.
8)
WA Dep of Fish & Wildlife's Habitat at Home - their effort to encourage Washingtonians to connect with nature where they live, work, and play. By learning ways to increase biodiversity through planting native plants, coexisting with wildlife, and making decisions that positively impact the health of our communities, we can all make a difference.