“Where Our Wild Things Are” Backyard Habitat Tour 2011 is Looking for Host Habitats

By Jennifer Rotermund, PR Manager for the WOWTA Backyard Habitat Tour

On Saturday July 9, Shoreline will be home to the 2nd Annual “Where Our Wild Things Are” Backyard Habitat Tour (or WOWTA, for short). 

2010 WOWTA Garden

The tour is held in two different Shoreline neighborhoods each year and features a selection of properties certified as Backyard Wildlife Habitats. Last year’s tour took place in the Hillwood and Echo Lake neighborhoods and was a huge success. 

The WOWTA selection team, working to turn this fun event into an annual tradition in Shoreline, is beginning the process of putting together this year’s WOWTA Tour habitats and would like your assistance. 

If you are a Shoreline resident (living in a neighborhood other than Hillwood or Echo Lake) whose property is already certified as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat or has all of the properties to be certified and you’re interested in having your property considered for participation in the tour, please let us know.

Volunteering as a WOWTA Tour Host is fun and the time commitment is minimal. Here is what a couple of last year’s hosts had to say about their experience of being a WOWTA Tour Host:

2010 WOWTA Garden

 "Being invited to have our property included on the 2010 WOWTA Tour gave me the perfect opportunity to do what I had wanted to do for years: remove invasive plants and distribute native plants in our wooded area. Tour organizers were communicative, friendly, and best of all made no demands upon me as the gardener! The day itself flowed by with many respectful and interested "tourists" strolling through. The tour is not a beauty contest but a naturally inspiring walkabout. Being a part of it was a pleasure.” -Jocelyn

2010 WOWTA Garde

"If you are considering opening your garden to the tour this year, don't be nervous at all. It is not a beauty contest. If you have a yard that is working for and with nature, it will look amazing in the summer for the tour. My yard was viewed in February, the bleakest month in dead winter. The team could see how it would be lush in summer. We just mowed the little lawn we have and that was it! Hope you consider showing off your hard work this year. It is so important to spread our ideas and beliefs.” -Marti

If volunteering your property to be part of this year’s or an upcoming year’s WOWTA Backyard Habitat Tour sounds like something you’d like to do, please contact Barbara Guthrie right away at 206-542-3242.

If you would like to learn how to certify your property visit the NWF site. It’s easy an easy way to show your neighbors that you care about the health of wildlife and where you live.