Bee Balm at Tapestry Community. Photo by Dottie Head
Certify your yard as a wildlife sanctuary
Georgia Audubon's Wildlife Sanctuary Program recognizes and encourages property owners to enhance their land for birds and other wildlife. Through planting native plants, removing or controlling non-native, invasive species, and providing food, water, and shelter, property owners can provide critical wildlife habitat and create a safe-haven for wildlife and people.
Georgia Audubon's goal is to create a network of certified wildlife sanctuaries across Georgia to counter the loss and degradation of wildlife habitat. To date, Georgia Audubon has certified more than 600 properties, and we are currently working with other local Audubon chapters, including Oconee Rivers Audubon Society, to create a unified program that will allow us to certify properties statewide! |
Click here to watch a video profile of Tapestry Community, one of the large properties certified through the Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Program.
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Georgia Audubon’s Certification Program is unique in that an Avian Advocate Volunteer Certifier visits your property to ensure requirements are met and provides support throughout the certification process. Property owners who meet requirements and pass a site inspection will receive a sign designating their property as a certified wildlife sanctuary. If a property does not meet certification criteria, the certifier will recommend steps that should be taken to bring the property up to certification standards and recommend a timeline for future certification. If you are interested in becoming an Avian Advocate volunteer, please email Zaria Dyer, Conservation Program Associate, for more information.
A Georgia Audubon membership is required for certification.
Please note that certification is currently available in the metro-Atlanta area and in the Athens/Oconee County area in the following counties: Barrow, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, DeKalb, Fayette, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Henry, Jackson, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Rockdale. Please email Zaria Dyer if you live outside these areas and are interested in having your property certified.
A Georgia Audubon membership is required for certification.
Please note that certification is currently available in the metro-Atlanta area and in the Athens/Oconee County area in the following counties: Barrow, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, DeKalb, Fayette, Forsyth, Gwinnett, Henry, Jackson, Madison, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Rockdale. Please email Zaria Dyer if you live outside these areas and are interested in having your property certified.
Certification Process & Timeline
Prior to Certication
- Review the program requirements to ensure you understand the criteria and meet the requirements for certification.
- If you have concerns, review our Resources page for help on improving your space.
Sign up and site visit
- Once you believe your property meets the requirements stated on this page, sign up here.
- After sign up, you will receive a welcome email (within a week) with a short survey to provide us with more details about your property.
- Once you complete the survey, you will be matched (usually within two weeks) with a Georgia Audubon Avian Advocate volunteer who will contact you to set up a mutually agreeable time to visit your property.
- During the property assessment, the Avian Advocate will gather information about your property to see if it meets our program requirements (this usually takes 1-2 hours, depending on the size/complexity of your space.)
Followup
After the Avian Advocate visits your property, you will receive an email with the status of your property--Certified or In-Progress (usually within two weeks of site visit).
- If Certified, you will receive a Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary sign and be added to our list of certified properties.
- If In-Progress, the Avian Advocate volunteer will follow-up with recommendations and resources for improving your space to meet our minimum requirements along with a recommended timeline. After adjustments are made, the applicant can contact the Avian Advocate and Conservation Program Associate for one follow-up assessment at no additional cost.
- Your certification will need to be renewed (at no additional cost) every 5 years. We will contact you via email when you are due for re-certification.
Sanctuary Examples
You can view examples of some of our more exceptional properties in the photos on this page and on our YouTube Channel
Sign me up
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Georgia Audubon is currently pausing our Sanctuary Certifications while we re-evaluate our program and prepare to roll certifications out statewide. All applications that have currently been received will be processed. We expect to roll our our new program no later than June 1, 2021. Please check back to sign up for certification, and thank you for your patience.
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A Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary with a variety of native plants. Photo by Dottie Head.
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Subscribe to our Wildlife Sanctuary newsletter
Georgia Audubon distributes a quarterly newsletter for our Certified Wildlife Sanctuaries. If you are already certified or if you sign up for certification, you are automatically added to this list. Individuals who are interested in becoming an Georgia Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary may sign up for this newsletter by filling out the form below. Georgia Audubon never lends or sells its mailing list to anyone for any reason.
