Wildlife In The City

Urban wildlife need not be a contradiction in terms as program hosts' Judie Hansen and Mike Houck point out in this engaging guide to making your backyard into a natural habitat. Hansen and Houck take viewers on a habitat tour: pointing out good low-maintenance trees, flowers, and shrubbery which will help attract wildlife; offering advice on creating a small pond; looking at ideas for making butterfly and hummingbird gardens; and suggesting native plants to cultivate which are important to wildlife. "It's not rocket science," says Judie--which is true; a little common sense goes a long way--yet one wishes that more actual hands-on demonstration were included in the program (the section on creating the pond, for instance, is both sparse and visually confusing). Much of what's missing on the video, however, is included in the attractive and excellent 50-page guide included with the video. A good starter tape on the subject. Recommended. (Available from: Wild Hare Media, P.O. Box 3854, Portland, OR 97208.)