Photo by Selvi Viswanathan, Community Wildlife Habitat Team Member. Courtesy/PEECPEEC News:
Volunteers at the Los Alamos Nature Center, operated by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC), invite the public to recognize New Mexico’s first “Community Wildlife Habitat“ (CWH).
Los Alamos is not only the first in the state to earn this important designation, but also one of only 85 communities in the nation to receive this prestigious title.
Luisa Grant of the Washington, D.C. office of the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), the sponsoring agency, will present a certificate of completion for Los Alamos County at 10:15 a.m., Saturday, April 23 during PEEC’s Earth Day event.
What does it take to earn this title? The CWH program started in 1997 as a way for homeowners, businesses, places of worship, schools, and community leaders to protect wildlife habitats in their locales. Realizing that human development encroaches on habitats, the NWF devised a set of requirements for certification.
These criteria promote healthy conditions for indigenous wildlife through educational activities, community outreach, and environmental restoration projects.
While most communities require a minimum of five years to complete the rigorous requirements for CWH certification, the small team of dedicated volunteers in Los Alamos accomplished their tasks in a record two years.
A large part of the team’s success was being able to partner with the PEEC at a critical time in the development of the new, stunning Nature Center in Los Alamos. Knowing that the community has been environmentally conscious for a long time and that awareness has been growing in the last decade, it was relatively easy to sign on more homes, business and schools.
Requirements for individual certification are enhanced in this community as it is surrounded by and interwoven with natural corridors that run throughout its neighborhoods. To become certified, each entity must provide the four basic elements that all wildlife need: water, food, cover, and places to raise young.
“Receiving the designation does not mean that the committee’s efforts are finished,” CWH team member Selvi Viswanathan said. “We will continue encouraging community residents, businesses and organizations to certify their properties, and the committee will continue to bring educational and outreach opportunities to Los Alamos.”
The Los Alamos Nature Center, site of the day long Earth Day activities, is located at 2600 Canyon Road, Los Alamos. For more information on Earth Day, PEEC, and the Community Wildlife Habitat program, contact PEEC at 505.662.0460 or go to www.peecnature.org.
Photo by Selvi Viswanathan, Community Wildlife Habitat Team Member. Courtesy/PEEC
Photo by Selvi Viswanathan, Community Wildlife Habitat Team Member. Courtesy/PEEC
Photo by Selvi Viswanathan, Community Wildlife Habitat Team Member. Courtesy/PEEC
Photo by Selvi Viswanathan, Community Wildlife Habitat Team Member. Courtesy/PEEC