National Wildlife Federation's
Community Wildlife Habitat

St. James has been registered to become a Community Wildlife Habitat. In order to achieve community-wide certification we will need to certify a percentage of individual properties (homes, parks, businesses, and others) and conduct education and outreach programs. The sections below list the requirements properties must meet in order to become certified wildlife habitats. Your yard may already qualify if it has these. It's easier than you think!

Provide Food

Food can consist of fruit, nuts, seeds, berries, pollen, vegetation, and can be supplemented with bird feeders.

Provide Water

If you are fortunate enough to have a pond, creek or other body of water on your property, you are all set. Otherwise, provide a birdbath or a ground level dish of water.

Provide Cover

Cover can consist of trees, shrubs, vines, flower garden, rock pile, wood pile, or other structures where wildlife can find shelter from storms or predators.

Provide Places to raise Young

Similar to cover, this can be any structure that wildlife can use to build a nest and raise a family. It may also include nesting boxes.

Sustainable Gardening Practices

Limit the monoculture turf and create natural areas with a variety of plants. Decrease the use of chemicals in the landscape. Remove non native invasive plants and replace with native vegetation.

Certify your Property!

Once you feel you have some level of each of these elements, then you are ready to certify your property. It doesn't have to be perfect and it can be a work in progress. Use the link below when ready:

More about habitats

Certify your property

There are currently about nine certified wildlife communities in North Carolina. St. James would be the first and only community or town east of Raleigh to become a Community Wildlife Habitat.

St. James as a
Community Wildlife Habitat

Becoming a NWF Community Wildlife Habitat needs your involvement and support. Though we have registered with NWF, our community must meet specific goals, provide education programs, and complete some tasks before we become fully certified. For starters, we need at least 150 properties in St. James to become individually certified. Other properties we can certify for points include our community gardens, town building landscapes, nature preserves, fire station landscapes, and golf courses. The Dosher Wellness Center, St. James Properties, the town Community Center, and other properties can also be certified. They just need the elements above.

We have a project coordinator who is managing the process for us and we welcome your help. The most important thing you can do right now is to get your property certified and get your neighbors to do the same. The good news is that most properties in St. James already have most of the required elements in place in order to be certified. And, it takes less than 15 minutes on line to complete the application. The NWF fee is $20. You can also order an official NWF certification garden flag to show off your efforts. Hard copies of the application are available if you prefer.
Keep an eye on our progress by monitoring the St. James certification process on the NWF webpage.

For questions, please contact SJC Board Member Ernie McLaney erniemclaney1@gmail.com

Check our progress

Need More Information?

National Wildlife Federation's Community Wildlife Habitat