Area Certifications

Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary Certification
Illinois Audubon Society
Would you like to create a bird and butterfly sanctuary in your yard/neighborhood? At your local school, library, church or business? Do you enjoy attracting wildlife to your home? Do you maintain the four elements of habitat: Food, Water, Shelter, & Sufficient Space? Would you like to have a beautiful garden blooming with native flowers from early spring throughout the summer and late into the autumn? If you said yes to any of these questions, then your property can become a Certified Bird and Butterfly Sanctuary. Your sanctuary can be as small as a few native flowers arranged in a few pots on your patio or as large as a few hundred acres. For more information, click here. To certify your backyard/property, click here for application. Fee: $20.00.

Monarch Waystation Program
MonarchWatch.org
Each fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the United States and Canada to mountains in central Mexico where they wait out the winter until conditions favor a return flight in the spring. The monarch migration is truly one of the world's greatest natural wonders yet it is threatened by habitat loss at overwintering grounds in Mexico and throughout breeding areas in the United States and Canada. Looking for a listing of all registered habitats? To view the complete registry listing of all Monarch Waystations please visit the Monarch Waystation Registry.

Monarch Waystations are places that provide resources necessary for monarchs to produce successive generations and sustain their migration. Without milkweeds throughout their spring and summer breeding areas in North America, monarchs would not be able to produce the successive generations that culminate in the migration each fall. Similarly, without nectar from flowers these fall migratory monarch butterflies would be unable to make their long journey to overwintering grounds in Mexico. The need for host plants for larvae and energy sources for adults applies to all monarch and butterfly populations around the world.

To show your support of monarch conservation, you can have your monarch habitat certified as an official Monarch Waystation by Monarch Watch by clicking here. Your habitat will be included in the Monarch Waystation Registry, an online listing of Monarch Waystations worldwide, and you will be awarded a certificate bearing your name and your habitat's unique Monarch Waystation ID number. Fee: $18.00.

Conservation@Home and Conservation@Work
Landowners that practice good environmental stewardship and conservation of local resources are the heart of Conservation@Home and Conservation@Work. We award each Conservation@Home and Conservation@Work property a sign, identifying its certification as a wildlife haven and environmentally friendly landscape. Whether it’s creating a butterfly or rain garden with native plants, using organic fertilizers and pesticides, or removing invasive vegetation, every little action we accomplish on our own properties works toward our greater goal of cleaning up our water, providing natural habitat and creating healthy landscapes for people and wildlife.For more information on how to get certified, click here. Conservation@Home Fee: $25.00 for current members of The Conservation Foundation, $50.00 for non-members. Conservation@Work Fee: $250 for businesses and organizations.

Better Buildings Challenge
U.S. Department of Energy
In the U.S., it costs $200 billion a year to power the buildings where we work, shop, and go to school and another $200 billion for industrial energy use. On average 20-30% of this energy is wasted. By reducing the waste of energy in buildings we can save energy and money, create good jobs, and avoid significant emissions of CO2. That’s why DOE challenged leading CEOs and executives of U.S. companies, manufacturers, universities, school districts, multifamily organizations, and state and local governments to take the Better Buildings Challenge. Hundreds of organizations have taken the Better Buildings Challenge to reduce energy use throughout their portfolios by at least 20% over 10 years. Join the challenge by clicking here.

The National Wildlife Federation
Anyone can create a welcoming haven for local wildlife. Turning your yard, balcony container garden, schoolyard, work landscape, or roadside greenspace into a Certified Wildlife Habitat® is fun, easy, and can make a lasting difference for wildlife. When you certify you will become a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife™ community and receive the following benefits:

  • Personalized certificate
  • A one-year membership in the National Wildlife Federation and subscription to National Wildlife® magazine
  • 10% off the National Wildlife Federation catalog merchandise, including nesting boxes, feeders, birdbaths, and other items to enhance your wildlife garden
  • Subscription to monthly Garden for Wildlife e-newsletter with gardening tips, wildlife stories, and other resources
  • Exclusive option to purchase attractive garden signs designating your garden as a Certified Wildlife Habitat® with the National Wildlife Federation
  • The secure $20 application processing fee and sign purchase directly support the National Wildlife Federation's programs to protect wildlife and its habitat.