Habitat Builders is a 501c3 non-profit chapter of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. We were founded in January 2019 to protect, conserve and restore wildlife and habitat in the Marvin/Waxhaw area.

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Mission

Habitat Builders mission is to education and engage our entire community about the importance and benefits of restoring and protecting our wildlife and natural habitat.

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History

In October of 2018, a small group of Marvin, NC citizens sent out a call for volunteers to join a newly formed NCWF Chapter in the area. On January 15, 2019 the group held their first meeting with Tara Moore, the Conservation Organizer for NCWF, and became the 15th NCWF Chapter in NC. The main goal was to certify the community as a Certified Wildlife Habitat Community by December 31, 2019. This goal was quite a challenge and required a lot of work to accomplish. But with Marvin Village Council support, the diligence of the MARSH Planning Team and the continued property certifications in the Marvin area, MARSH was able to apply for Marvin to become a Certified Wildlife Habitat Community by November 2019.

 

The Chapter also needed a name and MARSH was born. MARSH was originally an acronym for Marvin Association for the Restoration and Sustainability of wildlife Habitat. But soon we realized that the word "Association" wasn't quite broad enough and we changed the A to "Area". 

 

As part of the certification criteria MARSH began offering educational programs to the public. The first event was a Garden Tour of two private gardens and one public garden on September 21, 2019. Next MARSH offered the first educational program focused on “Snakes in NC”. Grover Barfield was the speaker and not only shared a wealth of knowledge about native snakes, but also brought several live snakes. This event, held at the Marvin Efird Park Barn was a huge success with an estimated 80 attendees. Since then, through 2024, the Chapter has hosted 39 educational events and 65 volunteer opportunities.

 

In late 2024, due to a new naming structure in NCWF, we took the opportunity to update our Chapter name to reflect what we think is most important. MARSH became Habitat Builders (the logo is the same - because it's awesome!) and the mission is the same, but we want to be a little more obvious in our work.

 

Why We Do What We Do

The constant development in our area is great for bringing in new neighbors, but it’s not great for our wildlife. So, like our name states, Habitat Builders focuses on building habitat. Building, restoring and conserving habitat is the most important work we can do to support our local wildlife. It can be as easy as providing food, water, and shelter in your own yard for birds, pollinators, reptiles, amphibians, small mammals and all the little creatures you don't even see. You'll find more information about building specific habitats here.

 

Habitat Builders Goals

• Create more wildlife habitat throughout Union County, NC You'll find more information about building specific habitats here.

• Increase the number of NWF and NCWF certified properties in our area. More info here. 

• Provide engaging educational content for the community

• Offer a variety of volunteer opportunities that make our natural community healthier.

 

We continue to do the work that keeps the Village of Marvin a certified Community Wildlife Habitat and we continue to expand our educational event offerings and volunteer opportunities. We are committed to engaging our community about conservation, the environment, and showing you how you can make a difference.

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