Action 2: Plan

Using your new knowledge of the plants and animals in your neighbourhood, it’s now time to design a simple project that will make a big difference! 

Before selecting an Embrace the Wild project, you must understand any gaps between what an animal needs to survive, and what the local area is actually providing.

Some of the things to consider are how urbanised the landscape is, how connected the natural habitats are, the water availability, plant and animal diversity of the area, what invasive species are present and what community benefits will be.  

View the image gallery below for some inspiration for a project you may want to complete or for more ideas see the Embrace the Wild book.

Activities - Plan

1. Project Planning Quiz

Use your habitat mapping and wildlife detective results to assist you with this quiz. The results of the quiz will identify any essential habitat/s that may be missing for local animals. This will help you decide on which Embrace the Wild projects may improve life for wildlife in your area.

Please note: this is a summary of the full quiz which you can find on page 28-34 of the full Embrace the Wild resource.

Step 1: Do Project Planning Quiz Part 1 by answering all 9 questions. When finished click on show answers to find out your score. Record this total out of 45. Click on the back arrows, this will take you back through every question which will provide you with some project suggestions.

Step 2: Do Project Planning Quiz Part 2 by answering the 5 questions. When finished click on show answers to find out your score. Record your total out of 25 and divide it by 5 to find out your score for animal diversity. 

 

Step 3:  Add your results from Part 1 and Part 2 to get your total out of 50! See what your score reveals below:

• Score 0-20: Your area is obviously lacking in habitat! It might be wise to start with projects that can attract insects (and eventually their predators) such as a pollinator garden and build towards adding other elements like a bee hotel and lizard lounge as it becomes more established.
• Score 25-35: This is a pretty average score but there is definitely room for improvement. Review the questions and focus on where your weakest areas are to select projects that will provide a better environment for the animals and people around you.
• Score 40-50: Wow! This is a great score! But of course, more habitat is always better than less. Apart from improving you focus area with some microhabitat projects such as a frog hotel for instance, you might like to work with your neighbours to improve connectivity across the broader landscape or use your skills to communicate the importance of habitat and ecosystem services - check out our Design and Communication challenges or perhaps create a biodiversity mural!

2. Brainstorming

Use this online mind map to plan your project. Click on the plus sign to begin your brainstorming.