Habitat Mapping

Maps are a great way to identify habitat in your local area. Follow these steps to create a map of a local area.

1. Download a map or draw one of your project area and surroundings. Your map should show your focus area such as your backyard and local houses or perhaps your school or university area. 

2. Use colour coding to identity each of the main features. Be as detailed as possible. The main features to include are;

• Human structures - buildings, roads, fences etc
• Water resources - rivers, creeks, ponds
• Plant communities - trees, shrubs and bushes, vines, grasses sedges and reeds, aquatic plants, monoculture, any ecologically important ecosystems
• Other notable features - this might include a quarry or a large tree with a tree hollow

3. Interpreting your map - this is now a valuable decision tool to help you choose where you can make an impact! While at first it may appear to be a random assortment of colours and shapes, you can now tell what environments dominate. Ask yourself some of these questions:

• What is the main colour I see? What might this mean for wildlife?
• What habitat colours are missing or are underrepresented?
• Where are the multi-coloured areas? There is likely to be a lot of high-value habitats here!
• How well connected are the colourful areas? Can wildlife move safely from one to another?
• Where are the areas where human structures and monocultures are likely to restrict wildlife movement? 

If you would like more detail on how to map your habitat,
see page 20 of the Embrace the Wild book.