One of the delights, this first day of the new year, was reading about a program that the City of Austin has in place to encourage biodiversity within the urban setting. 

The City of Austin wants to be designated as a community wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation, and to this end they are encouraging homeowners to turn their yards into wildlife habitats by meeting certain specifications (food, water, and shelter sources).  Upon application and qualification, the yard can be certified as a wildlife habitat. 

Austin has long been a "green" city, being green before green was cool.  This program is just a continuation of the kinds of programs that are in place here, encouraging such things as solarl panel use and rainwater harvesting, among others, with rebates.