Thank you for a great 2026 Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour!
by Tammy Brown
We had another wonderful tour this year! We sold a total of 58 tickets, which made for a manageable stream of visitors throughout the day. We had had so many wonderful people working behind the scenes for months to bring it all together. Everyone’s contributions and outstanding efforts are very much appreciated.
Special thanks to Native Nurseries and Wild Birds Unlimited. Once again, they have graciously acted as our ticket outlets as well as promoted the event, and we couldn’t pull this off without them!
Our deep appreciation goes to our four outstanding yard hosts this year, who shared their homes and knowledge with friends and strangers. I have received many compliments on what wonderful and gracious hosts they all were, as well as how impressive their yards are. They truly went above and beyond!
Nia and Shane Wellendorf have been transforming their yard for seven years, removing invasives and planting natives. They have gone from mowing 2 acres to less than half an acre thanks to a large wildflower meadow and other areas allowed to go natural. This, along with water features, feeders, a bat house, and nesting boxes, make theirs a wildlife haven that was a pleasure to enjoy.
Elizabeth Hawkins has spent the last twelve years transforming her modest sized yard into a beautiful wildlife paradise. Lots of gardens with plantings for birds and pollinators, feeding stations, and a pond. All functional and very aesthetically pleasing. Her bird feeding stations had constant activity during the day, including appearances by her wintering hummingbird.
Jen and Steve Gensits’ yard offers a wonderful retreat for wildlife in the front and back yards. A pool was replaced with a pond and smaller deck, and natives planted to replace grass and non-natives in the front and the back, along with numerous feeders and baths, making for a very active yard. Several Painted Buntings made an appearance during the tour, and I was lucky enough to enjoy seeing the female while I was there.
Amelia Fusaro & Bill Everitt’s wildlife sanctuary is truly a haven for wildlife. With feeding stations, native plants, brush piles, nesting boxes, a bat box, snags, bird baths, a bee box and a wattle, there is no shortage of wildlife activity. There is even a catio. An entertaining slide show played showing all the different insects, birds and “critters” they have enjoyed in their yard over the years.
All four yards were so enjoyable and offered much inspiration as well.
My heartfelt thanks go to all our wonderful yard volunteers, too! They certainly helped the visitors have a friendly and informative visit, and we couldn’t do it without you. Our yard volunteers this year were Donna Legare and Jody Walthall (triple shift!), Ann Morrow, Chase Brestle, Hannah Kirby, Danielle Stanek, Miranda Boden, Giselle Durann, Joseph Hodges, Hays Cummins, Donna McCullum, Gary Griffin, Jim Huffstodt, Lynn Reynolds, Dee Wilder, Carol Zimmerman, Pat Teaf, Diane Quigg, and Judy and Harvey Goldman.
2026 Yard Tour Photo Gallery
