FOR MOST OF US, THE PROBLEMS OF CLIMATE CHANGE  AND ITS IMPACT FEEL OVERWHELMING.

OFTEN IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S NOT MUCH ONE PERSON OR ONE  FAMILY CAN DO TO HELP WILDLIFE, ESPECIALLY IF YOU  LIVE IN A CITY.

BUT LAURAL LADWIG, A  GRADUATE STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO,  HAS SOME IDEAS TO HELP WILDLIFE AND ALSO CONNECT  WITH NATURE.

>>THE ALBUQUERQUE ABQ  BACKYARD REFUGE PROGRAM IS A MAJOR PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN  TONS OF ORGANIZATIONS HERE IN THE CITY.

THE FRIENDS OF VALLE DE ORO GOT IT STARTED AND BROUGHT  ALL THESE PEOPLE TOGETHER TO CREATE HABITATS FOR WILDLIFE  HERE IN THE URBAN AREA.

>>VALLE DE ORO NATIONAL  WILDLIFE REFUGE IS AN URBAN REFUGE ON A FORMER DAIRY  FARM IN ALBUQUERQUE'S SOUTH VALLEY, AND THE GOAL OF THE  BACKYARD REFUGE PROGRAM IS TO CREATE ISLANDS OF  WILDLIFE HABITAT TO SUPPORT  AND CONNECT URBAN WILDLIFE TO VALLE DE ORO AND OTHER  PUBLIC LANDS IN THE AREA.

LAURAL SAYS CREATING A  BACKYARD REFUGE IS A WAY OF SHARING OUR SPACE AND  INTENTIONALLY CREATING PLACES FOR WILDLIFE, AND IT  DOESN'T HAVE TO BE HARD.

>>IF YOU DON'T HAVE A LOT  OF TIME AND MONEY TO INVEST, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS DO A  FEW THINGS, LIKE LEAVING LEAF LITTER.

DON'T RAKE UP ALL OF YOUR LEAVES, LEAVE SOME SPOTS  WHERE BUTTERFLIES CAN LAY THEIR EGGS UNDERNEATH AND  OTHER BUGS CAN HIDE, AND THOSE BUGS CAN BE FOUND BY  SPOTTED TOWHEES POKING AROUND, AND THRASHERS, AND  ALL SORTS OF GREAT BIRDS.

IN ALBUQUERQUE'S MIDTOWN  NEIGHBORHOOD, LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT JILL BROWN HAS  ALREADY TURNED HER BACKYARD INTO A REFUGE, AND IT'S A  PLACE SHE AND HER FAMILY SPEND A LOT OF TIME.

>>THE YARD IS A COMBINATION OF OUTDOOR LIVING PLUS THE  WILDLIFE IN JUST A NICE ESTHETIC DESIGN.

SO WE HAVE HUMMINGBIRDS, BEES, BUTTERFLIES USING A  LOT OF THESE PLANTS IN HERE.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A  LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BACKYARD  REFUGE PROGRAM.

IN FACT, YOU DON'T EVEN NEED  A BACKYARD.

THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU  CAN DO AT YOUR APARTMENT THAT MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR  WILDLIFE AND FOR YOU.

I'M NOT A LANDSCAPE  ARCHITECT AND I DON'T HAVE A TON OF TIME OR MONEY, BUT  HAVING A WILDLIFE HABITAT IN MY BACKYARD IS IMPORTANT TO  ME.

SO I ASKED THE PROGRAM'S  JUDITH PHILLIPS TO COME ON OVER AND GIVE ME SOME IDEAS.

SO, HOW WOULD YOU FILL IN SOME OF THE, LIKE, HOLES FOR  WILDLIFE HERE?

WELL, THAT WALL IS A  GREAT WALL FOR MAYBE THE NATIVE CLEMATIS, THE WESTERN  VERSION OF THE FLOWER.

JUST MORE LAYERS.

SO YOU COULD PUT SOME GROUND COVER, SOMETHING MAYBE LIKE  THE NATIVE FOUR O'CLOCK IN FRONT OF THE CHICKENS, OR  ONE OF THE EVENING PRIMROSES.

THEY ATTRACT HAWK MOTHS, AND THAT WOULD DRIVE THE  CHICKENS CRAZY.

AT MY OWN HOUSE, I'VE  SPENT PLENTY OF TIME RIPPING  UP LANDSCAPING FABRIC THAT DOESN'T ALLOW WATER TO SEEP  INTO THE GROUND AND REACH TREE ROOTS, AND HAULING OFF  GRAVEL.

I THINK IT WAS A REALLY  UNFORTUNATE THING THAT PEOPLE INTERPRETED XERISCAPE  AS MEANING PULL OUT THE PLANTS AND SPREAD ROCK  EVERYWHERE, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT WHAT IT WAS ABOUT AT  ALL.

AND I REALLY THINK THAT THE  ONLY REASON THAT HAPPENED IS BECAUSE THAT'S SORT OF A  NO-BRAINER.

PLANTS ARE SO MUCH MORE  INTERESTING, AND THEY SUPPORT SO MUCH MORE LIFE  THAT THEY'RE ALL-AROUND MORE HEALTHFUL FOR PEOPLE AS WELL  AS FOR WILDLIFE.

JUDITH SAID PEOPLE SHOULD  COME UP WITH A PLAN BEFORE HEADING TO THE NURSERY.

THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU HAVE SPACE FOR IF YOU'RE LOOKING  FOR LOW TO THE GROUND PLANTS, OR SOMETHING THAT  WILL GROW BIGGER, AND UNDERSTAND WHEN PLANTS BLOOM  SO YOUR NEW PLANTS SUPPORT WILDLIFE FROM SPRING ALL THE  WAY THROUGH SUMMER AND FALL.

AND YES, SOMETIMES NEIGHBORS  QUESTION CHANGES.

EVEN IN ALBUQUERQUE, SOME  PEOPLE WANT MANICURED LAWNS, AND THEY'RE USED TO SEEING  NONNATIVE PLANTS.

IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE  PROGRAM, YOU CAN GET A YARD SIGN THAT HELPS PEOPLE  UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE DOING, AND JUDITH HAS OTHER  IDEAS, TOO.

I ALSO THINK THAT GOOD  IDEAS SPREAD DOWN THE BLOCK.

SO WHEN PEOPLE -- I REALLY  ALWAYS TRY, WHEN I'M DESIGNING A LANDSCAPE, TO  PUT SOMETHING, SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE REALLY SHOWY  OUT FRONT SO THE NEIGHBORS WILL WALK BY AND SAY, WHAT  IS THAT?

AND THEN PRETTY SOON,  THERE'S ONE A FEW HOUSES DOWN.

AND SOME OF THE PLANTS ARE QUITE IRRESISTIBLE.

I KNOW THEY'VE FOLLOWED ME HOME FROM NURSERIES.

FOR LAURAL, THE BACKYARD REFUGE PROGRAM IS A WAY TO  CHANGE THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE THAT NATURE IS OUT OF PLACE  IN OUR CITIES AND SUBURBS.

BY PROVIDING MICRO-HABITATS,  WE CAN CREATE A MOSAIC ACROSS OUR CITY  FOR WILDLIFE.

THAT'S ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT  AS THE CLIMATE CHANGES.

SOME PLANTS WILL SURVIVE  BETTER THAN OTHERS AS THE REGION WARMS, AND WILDLIFE  WILL FACE GREATER AND GREATER CHALLENGES.

ACTIVELY TAKING CARE OF SOMETHING, ESPECIALLY IN  YOUR YARD, MAKES THEM ALMOST A PART OF YOUR FAMILY.

REALLY PAYING ATTENTION TO HOW THEY LIVE THEIR LIVES,  AND THINKING ABOUT HOW YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT  EASIER IN THIS VERY CHALLENGING TIME, THAT ACT  OF CARING IS VERY FULFILLING AND IMPORTANT FOR THE  WILDLIFE.

FOR 'OUR LAND' AND NEW  MEXICO InFOCUS, I'M LAURA PASKUS.