I also think they are a bit different. When I think of 'useful garden critters', I think of beneficial insects (like ladybugs and others). A beneficial insect badge sounds like a good idea, too!

Deb, are you talking more about supporting local ecosystems by building habitat for native wildlife, including insects? To me, that does seem a little different from the beneficial insect concept, since it doesn't discriminate--all native wildlife is part of the local ecosystem.

Horntoad said:A big problem with creating micro badges is finding images that will convey the message and still be visible at the 32 X 32 size required.

This is the main roadblock in creating any new badge. It would be fun to have a "Critters allowed" sign but there is no way that would fit in the 32x32 sizes, at least not without doing a lot of pixel-by-pixel drawing work.

Catmint, yes. While I don't want to totally eradicate my cultivated plants, I am now consciously adding in native plants (for food and nectar), brush piles here and there, shrubs/vines/trees for nesting, and water features such as dish rocks and bubblers. The notion is to establish a close-to-native habitat to encourage native mammals, reptiles, insects, and birds to use my yard. So, yes, it is a whole habitat approach.

That said, I do agree that a ladybug would be a great symbol for beneficial insects, and a lizard badge would be fun - the more the merrier in my mind. Keep those acorns rolling!

That's a good point about the size of the badge...

I found these as examples of icons for ecosystem and stewardship of nature, in case anything looks suitable for a small size:

https://kmwinchell.wordpress.c...

http://www.gettyimages.com/det...

http://www.shutterstock.com/si...

http://ian.umces.edu/imagelibr...

I would snag a coyote badge if there was one. :D We do not have bears and hardly see raccoons. If we have raccoons, they have done no plant damage since we stopped growing sweet corn.

I tried finding images of different raptors for badges, because to me, that is my gauge of the wildlife on our property. If we have raptors, than we have food for them in the form of rabbits and rodents. The critters are here because we have food for them.

One site I've been looking at for images is https://openclipart.org/. They are free for the taking, no need to link back, you can change them to suit your needs. I just found an image I hope is suitable and I will email it to Dave.

I'm hesitant to change the "Lover of Wildlife" badge because it's already been purchased by a number of people in its current form. Since people spent acorns to buy it "as is" I'm not sure if it'll be universally approved to be changed underneath them. I did get one email of an owl as a proposed new change but I'm just not sure...

Jay sent me a "Critters Allowed" sign and I'm contemplating that.

Okay, courtesy of @Horntoad, here's the "Critters Allowed" badge:

http://garden.org/special/badg...

I have the bear for "lover of wildlife" and would gladly trade it in for an owl

Great work Jay! I like it Dave. Of course, I'm just one of how many? And it wasn't even my idea.

dave said:Okay, courtesy of @Horntoad, here's the "Critters Allowed" badge:

http://garden.org/special/badg...

How cute!!!

Rather than replacing either the bear or raccoon as 'Lover of Wildlife', perhaps an owl and/or coyote could just be badges that mean whatever a person wants. I really wouldn't mind a deer, because I like to provide habitat for them, while others might choose the deer as an annoyance - similar to the loves/hates hot summers or loves/hates cold winters. We discussed previously kind of categorizing the badges - animals, plants, regions, etc. I'm in favor of getting rid of all the 'loves and keeps' and simply using the animal's name. A butterfly to one person might mean they think they are pretty, to another it may mean they make a concerted effort to plant a butterfly friendly garden. And, I definitely don't 'love' cats, but I do have the badge because I need cats to help control my rodent population.

Another good winter project perhaps? Clean up and categorize the badges...

Dave, I really like my bear and would not like it changed, we have black bears visit our yard every fall.

Margaret, I don't think anyone wants to take your bear away from you...least of all me. I am terrified of them.

dave said:Okay, courtesy of @Horntoad, here's the "Critters Allowed" badge:

http://garden.org/special/badg...

Thanks Dave and Jay! As soon as I saw the "Critters Allowed" badge on Jay's post above, I had to get it for myself.

Every time I see a coyote or a fox on tv and/or a photo, I think they look like a doggie. I've seen foxes here at my yard.

Just got a Critters Allowed badge--thanks, Horntoad and Dave!

I got mine about an hour ago. Thank you, Horntoad. Thank you, Dave. This is a great badge!

Agree--it's a very nice badge!

I was wondering if we could follow up a little on Deb's idea of something about creating habitat/building and restoring local native ecosystems? Maybe something simple like a leaf in a hand? Or a leaf and a drop of water? Well, just a thought!

The leaf in a hand sounds perfect.

Catmint20906 said:Agree--it's a very nice badge!

I was wondering if we could follow up a little on Deb's idea of something about creating habitat/building and restoring local native ecosystems? Maybe something simple like a leaf in a hand? Or a leaf and a drop of water? Well, just a thought!

I spent time trying to make those work, and at 32x32, none of them looked right. If anyone else wants to try their hand at it, I'd be grateful (but I'm picky about what I choose so just because you submit something to me, doesn't mean I'll use it.)