Schoolyard Habitat Design Handbook

This handbook is a tool to guide Schoolyard Habitat project teams through the process of designing natural habitat spaces on their school grounds.

Site Assessment Questionnaire

Use this site assessment questionnaire to evaluate your site conditions and assess your project goals.

Site Preperation & Planting

Tips for site preparation and planting, with considerations to soil texture, compaction, drainage, fertility, and weed and gopher presence.

• Basic soil testing guide to understand your soil type (which can also help guide your plant selection)

• Guide to Site Preparation & Planting by School Garden Network

• Tips on Site Preparation and Planting from the California Native Plant Society

Gopher Baskets

Root Guard is a good brand for pre-fab gopher baskets that can be found at most local hardware stores. These can also be purchased in bulk from Agriculture Solutions. 

Your school can also construct your own gopher baskets from galvanized gopher wire (making sure holes are no more than 1/2" wide), which can also be picked up from most local hardware stores. Here is a tutorial on how to make a 1-gallon gopher basket. You will need to purchase a 2ft x (required length) wire roll, and cut it into several 12" x 22" pieces to make gallon-sized baskets. To ensure this size fits your needs, try making a few baskets before cutting all of the wire.