Sustainable gardening has many benefits-it's good for the environment, conserves resources, and can even save you money on your utility bills. If you're like millions of other Americans, you would also enjoy the additional benefit of seeing more wildlife, such as birds, butterflies and bees in your yard.

Sustainable gardening isn't hard, but it does require some changes in how you do things. Here are a few examples:

Use compost or worm castings instead of using artificial fertilizers -if you make the compost or worm castings (in a worm bin) yourself by recycling your yard and food waste, even better.

Eliminate the use of pesticides and herbicides by incorporating natural disease and pest control through building healthy soil and attracting "good bugs," like ladybugs, to your yard.

Conserve water in the garden by growing native plants, installing drip/soaker watering systems and capturing rain water with rain barrels or other catchment systems.

Reduce the size of your lawn-it not only cuts down on the need for watering, but also maintenance-you might even be able to switch to an electric or push mower if you haven't already. Conventional gas mowers emit as much pollution in an hour as 40 late-model cars driving for the same hour.

These sustainable gardening practices are all wildlife-friendly; wildlife need four things to thrive-food sources (a mixture of native plants which are nectar sources for butterflies and feeders), water (birdbath, pond, fountain, or natural source), cover (dense shrubs or trees, brush piles, old logs) and places to raise young (birdhouses or trees for birds, host plants for butterflies). Through sustainable gardening practices and just a couple of additional features, like a birdbath, your yard will attract more native songbirds, hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other wildlife. Aside from the joy of seeing wildlife in your yard, many of them also provide tangible benefits, such as pollination of your fruit trees and pest control. In addition, because you are conserving water and reducing the amount of toxins entering our waterways, you're helping salmon, too.

If you are really enthusiastic about sustainable gardening for wildlife, here are some more ideas to consider:

Get involved in educating your community about the benefits of wildlife-friendly and sustainable gardening practices (join Sustainable Ballard's Environment Guild, for example).

Certify your yard as a Backyard Wildlife Habitat through the National Wildlife Federation (www.nwf.org) or as a Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary through Washington State (wdfw.wa.gov/habitat).

Increase your knowledge of native plants by taking the Native Plant Stewardship training through Washington Native Plant Society (www.wnps.org).

Take classes on worm or yard waste composting through Seattle Tilth (www.seattletilth.org ).

Volunteer to help remove invasive plants from Seattle's urban forests (www.cityofseattle.net/parks) or restore a riparian (stream) habitat for salmon (www.pugetsound.org).

Get involved in events for Earth Day, 4/22, Arbor Day on 4/28, and Native Plant Appreciation Week 4/30-5/6.

Jeanie Boawn is the Environment Guild Coordinator for Sustainable Ballard: www.sustainableballard.org.