Small, recirculating pond [not from kit]. Water is a vital element of a NWF-certified yard. © Gordon Scaggs, 2000, all rights reserved.

Backyard ponds are one of the fastest growing trends in home landscaping and, in addition to the people pleasures they bring, they provide significant benefit to local wildlife. A small pond set into the ground provides water for drinking and bathing, as well as cover and reproductive areas for insects, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Frogs are among the most popular pond inhabitants. The naturalists at NWF say the best way to attract them is to leave fish out of your pond because they eat most frog eggs and tadpoles. If you want to get a head start on a frog population, contact your local nature center or natural resource agency and find out about tadpole relocation efforts that may already be underway. Ask if you can obtain some tadpoles for your pond. But if you create an inviting aquatic environment the frogs will likely find you on their own.

Naturalists at NWF consulted with pond designers at Beckett Corporation to create an easy-to-install pond kit especially attractive to insects like dragonflies, frogs and toads, birds, and water plants including water lilies, aquatic grasses and arrowhead. The unique graduated basin of this 3-foot by 2-foot, 30-gallon pond allows safe access in and out of the pond for all types of wildlife. For the safety of wildlife, the water level must be kept high enough to touch the pebbled slope of the pond basin. The size of the pond is especially good for small- to medium- size backyards, even town house yards.

The NWF Backyard Wildlife Habitat pond kit, sold exclusively at Home Depot stores, includes a water pump and filter and two fountain nozzles to regulate the flow of water moving through the pond. The pond's retail price is $79, less expensive than buying pond components individually. The pond is part of an on-going commitment Home Depot has made to support NWF conservation and nature education programs. The retailer also offers NWF birdseed, specially formulated by NWF naturalists, nesting boxes and bird baths designed with the guidance of NWF's bird experts.

Founded in 1978, The Home Depot is the world's largest home improvement specialty retailer with 1544 stores in 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico.