Your backyard can be vital to a native animals' day-to-day survival. Large or small, it can provide a welcome refuge in the city or the suburbs. You will need to provide the basics: cover, water, and food.

Cover means more than just shelter. Cover means providing places where an animal can escape from enemies, find refuge from the weather, and feel secure while it rests. It also means a safe place for raising young. Intermixed grasses, shrubs and trees will provide good cover, and nesting boxes will provide a welcome home for parrots and possums. A rockery will invite lizards to sunbake.

Water is critical if you want to attract wildlife to your yard. Many animals need water to drink and some even need it to breed. Water attracts insects supplying food for insect eaters and a pond will invite tadpoles and frogs to your garden.

Food comes in a variety of natural forms. Some animals eat the sweet nectar of native flowers, some eat leaves and seed, some eat insects, and others eat different things through the seasons. Keep your garden chemical-free to give wildlife the best chance.

It is vital to also be a responsible pet owner. Your pet can harm wildlife - keep it inside at night and on a leash or under control where there is wildlife.

With some careful planning and upkeep, you may find your backyard home to bandicoots, possums, gliders, frogs, bats and a multitude of birds, spiders, dragonflies, insects and lizards.

Let's leave some space for wildlife. 

Read more about what you can do in your garden here.