Recycling
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
1-800-Recycle
Recycle Electronics
NRCS Composting
Create Your Own Compost
Composting - EPA
Compost Info Where You Live
Compost Info Where You Live
Household Waste
Recycle on the Go
US Fish & Wildlife
Urban Wildlife
NRCS-Wildlife Habitat
Wildlife Habitat Incentive Programs
Backyard Habitat
NWF Certified Wildlife Habitat Program
Patio Plants for Birds and Butterflies
Butterflies & Moths of North America
Backyard Wetland
Cats Indoor Campaign
Individual Actions to Protect the Ozone Layer
AirNow
Personal Emissions Calculator
Green Landscaping with Native Plants
USDA Plants Database
Cooperative Extension System Offices
National Invasive Species Information
Being Neighborly
NRCS-Mulching
Nutrient Management
The Problem Defined
Fuel Economy Guide
Environmental Calculator
Energy Star
US Department of Energy
EPA - Water Efficient Landscapes
EPA Watersense
EPA - How to Conserve Water
H2oUse - Water Saver Home
NRCS - Water Conservation
Water - Use It Wisely
EPA-Do's and Don'ts Around the Home
Adopt Your Watershed
Source Water Protection
Citizen's Guide for Protecting Our Coasts
Environmental Kid's Club
Smithsonian - In My Own Backyard
Junior Master Gardener
Wildlife Gardener
Personal Emissions Calculator
Environmental Impacts of Paper Choices
Water Use Calculator
Your Car's Impact on the Environment
Calculate Your Personal Impact
Energy Calculators
Carbon Footprint Offset
Backyard Conservation
Cooperative Extension System Offices
Public Libraries
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Resources Conservation Service
Cooperative Conservation
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

©Copyright Betsy S. Franz

Hybrid automobiles and reusable shopping bags are one way to go green. But to truly benefit the environment you are trying to protect you have to start outside.

Since 2003, this site has been educating and encouraging property owners to Take Care of their Share of the local environment.…their own homes and yards. Our aim is to provide information to all residents, old and new alike, about what they can do as individuals to help conserve, preserve and restore the beauty of the land around them. By making sound environmental choices on their own piece of property, we believe that each citizen can make a difference in helping to create a healthy environment throughout the world.

Many builders are taking the initiative to learn the principles of green building to create more environmentally sensitive homes. But each property owner also has the opportunity to do their part by maintaining healthy landscapes that are beneficial to local wildlife. Whether it's the planting of a tree for local bird nesting, the creation of a butterfly garden, the elimination of chemicals or the choice to leave a small corner of native plants for wildlife, each small decision is a step in the right direction for preserving the natural beauty of our country.

By eliminating chemical use, choosing plants that require less supplemental watering and replacing lawn with shade providing landscape plants, a "backyard naturalist" contributes to the health of the entire surrounding ecosystem. The result is lower electric bills, lower water bills, cleaner natural water supplies and yards that are home to birds, butterflies, gopher tortoises, herons and possibly even foxes, bobcats and deer.

As property owners, each of us has the opportunity to affect not just the environmental health of our land, but because of the interconnectedness of all land and all species, the continued health of the entire planet.

As you go through the pages of this website, we encourage you to contact us and let us know what you find helpful or what you find lacking. If you have a suggestion for information that should be included, please let us know. In the meantime, we encourage you to take these steps to preserve your section of the local environment....your own homes and yards.

Together we can make a difference to the health and beauty of our entire planet. We all just need to learn to Take Care of Our Share.

Project Backyard Brevard - A Green Brevard -Copyright 2003-2008 Betsy S. Franz - All rights reserved