See what it takes to make a backyard attractive to wildlife at a tour of Anacortes gardens from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 28.

The free event is the third annual Wildlife Habitat Garden Tour sponsored by Fidalgo Backyard Wildlife Habitat. The group organized nearly three years ago with the vision of fostering Fidalgo and Guemes islands as a community living in harmony with nature, said group member George Mehler.

“With guidance and support from the National Wildlife Federation, we set a goal of having 500 wildlife yards certified by August of this year,” said Mehler, event coordinator along with member Kristi Hein. “To date over 460 yards have been certified — a wonderful accomplishment.”

The tour will consist of eight to 10 gardens whose owners have certified them under the National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat program and/or the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary. In May alone, 36 local yards were certified as sanctuaries.

Along with the residential backyards, 13 businesses, five church grounds, four parks and four schools have been certified as wildlife habitats. The most recent business was Anacortes Health & Nutrition at 1020 Seventh St.

The garden tour offers an array of backyard habitats on Cap Sante and D Avenue by the Anacortes Community Forest Lands and areas in between that meet the certification criteria of food, water, shelter and nesting sites.

Garden tour maps and fliers will be available at the group’s table at the Anacortes Farmers Market from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. the day of the tour. Participants can visit the gardens that interest them at their own pace.

“Gather ideas and inspiration and discover how easy and rewarding it is to transform your own backyard into a vibrant wildlife habitat,” Mehler said. “Enjoy our garden tour on June 28 and join us in helping wildlife to flourish around us.”

Application forms for wildlife certification are available at a display in the downstairs 800 section of the Anacortes Public Library or by going to http://wdfw.wa.gov/wlm/backyard/ or http://www.nwf.org/backyard/.