I recently talked with a neighbor in Midtown Palo Alto who’s really into animals. I asked if their backyard landscaping was completed. She showed me how the family had “gone wild” to reintroduce native tree frogs and toads to the environment with their new pond and supporting vegetation.

This family is not alone. The National Wildlife Federation has certified over 80,000 Backyard Wildlife Habitats nationwide. There are 77 certified in San Mateo County and 237 in Santa Clara County!

It seems we can create a landscape that incorporates locally appropriate planting for wildlife and human habitation. Locally-developed Sustainable Landscape Standards give wildlife habitat one point out of 49. The fascination factor is much higher. It is not as difficult as you’d expect to help support wildlife in your backyard. My neighbor incorporated a water feature in the garden for birds and other animals, including local fish. The downside may be that the local egrets eat the fish.

Another gardening for wildlife suggestion is to provide food, shelter, cover, and water for wildlife such as mammals, birds, hummingbirds, salamanders, beneficial insects, bees, and butterflies. You can pick and choose what you want to attract. No one will convince me to support my yard’s ant population.

A third, obvious choice is to eliminate pesticides whenever possible by using integrated pest management practices to preserve native insects, birds, and other small creatures.

At the end of my backyard tour, half joking, I asked my neighbor, “What’s next, bats?” Apparently, the bat houses are already ordered and should arrive by end of summer.

My parents’ first home was an Eichler in Sunnyvale and while they complained of the draftiness, I have fond memories of the sun streaming through the large windows.  These large single-pane windows, however, were not exactly energy-efficient, but then again nobody really worried about heating bills back then. 

In the era of $3.50/gallon gas, energy efficiency suddenly becomes a big issue, especially for the 2700 Palo Altans who live in an Eichler. Palo Alto Weekly recently had a great article on improving energy efficiency in Eichler homes.

I think this article may be even more valuable for Eichler homeowners outside of Palo Alto, since PG&E rates are greater than those of Palo Alto’s municipal utility. There are Eichlers up and down the Peninsula from San Francisco to Santa Jose, including 20 in tony Atherton.

Is there an Eichler tract in your city? (Say “yes” if you’re in San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Foster City, Menlo Park, Los Altos, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Cupertino, Saratoga, or San Jose. Wow!). By the way, Mike Ahern has mapped out many Eichler tracts in Santa Clara County. It inspired me to tour some of the Eichler neighborhoods I didn’t know about.

Palo Alto is definitely Eichler central, with 2,700 of the 11,000 built. We even have two neighborhoods (Green Meadow and Green Gables) in the National Register of Historic Places specifically because Joe Eichler built his modern suburban tracts here.

Do you have any interest in history or architecture? Check out PA Eichler tracts in other neighborhoods: Adobe Meadow/Meadow Park , Charleston Meadows, Community Center, Fairmeadow, Midtown, Palo Verde, South of Midtown, and Triple El.