Hi David,

I am a member of PARC (Partners for Amphibian and Reptile Conservation) and volunteered to contact you regarding the show and the building of backyard habitats for reptiles and amphibians.
I have to say that I was very excited to see how many herps you have already included in your show! This group of animals is often avoided rather than encouraged.
Thank You Thank You Thank You for including them in the show!
Our group is in the process of creating a set of guidelines for homeowners that promote things like responsible lawn chemical use, safe mowing practices and ways to enhance habitat with specific regard to reptiles and amphibians. We are hoping to develop our own certification much like NWF and have made contacts with their habitat education coordinator who seems interested to work with us.
My question for you is, Would you be willing to use and promote our guidelines when available on future shows? I realize this is kind of a preemptive question since we are still in the developing stages, but our goal was to have a draft ready by January. We would also love to have your input on what you think would work best for the average homeowner since you work so closely with many of these people.
I would also like to invite you to become involved with PARC. PARC
We have regional groups throughout the country who are always working on new ways to promote reptile and amphibian conservation and our organization would love to include you as one of those partners!
All the best,
Kristin Stanford

Hi Kristin! I'm about to reveal one of my deepest, darkest secrets.... Despite the fact that birds and butterflies dominate the world of backyard habitats, I myself am not a birder at all, but a true herper at heart. I love birds (and all critters for that matter) but I'll take the slimy and the scaled over the feathered any day!

So, I've made it my mission to make sure we include lots of these animals on the show - in part because they need the positive PR much more than birds or mammals. It means a lot to hear that the folks at PARC approve!

I'm glad to hear that you are interested in developing a certification partnership with NWF and that you've been in touch with Gretchen. I would love to become more active with PARC too and will be in contact with you about that soon.

David Mizejewski
Naturalist, National Wildlife Federation
Host, Backyard Habitat on Animal Planet