The garden is a complex ecosystem with many organisms interacting. The vast majority of these organisms are beneficial and to be protected in the garden. Recognizing the diverse array or beneficial organisms in the garden is the first step in working with them, the first step in letting nature help you be a more successful gardener and gardening a more rewarding hobby. In most cases all that the gardener needs to do to maintain this array of organisms is to provide an environment that would supply a protective habitat for food, water, security and reproduction. Usually this means maintaining some natural spaces in the garden and restricting the use of synthetic chemicals that would upset the ecosystem for any of these organisms.

Create a habitat that would attract birds, butterflies, beneficial insects and other types of wildlife and observe the wildlife that it attracts. Recognize the role of soil in providing habitat.

• Using a sack of concrete and the plans, make a simple water basin for wildlife in the Holistic Garden.
• Start plants that produce tubular shaped flowers from which hummingbirds and butterflies drink nectar and set the plants into appropriate places in the Holistic Garden.
• Using the plans given in lab, build a simple wooden bird feeder.
• Using the plans provided, build a blue bird house for the blue bird trail in the Holistic Garden.
• Observe the areas of shelter for the different organisms that are part of the Holistic Garden ecosystem.