The Backyard Habitat Certification Program (BHCP), co-managed by Columbia Land Trust and Portland Audubon, began as a small neighborhood pilot project to protect and enhance land trust properties by motivating adjacent private property owners to remove invasive weeds and naturescape with native plants. Fifteen years and 10,000 properties later, it has gained widespread recognition as an invaluable tool to engage new urban/suburban audiences in stewardship of their own yards and community spaces, while connecting them to broader conservation initiatives. Through this program, participating people and properties are enhancing essential habitat corridors, creating a more permeable landscape for wildlife, directly addressing human/wildlife conflicts that bring injured animals to Portland Audubon’s Wildlife Care Center and developing life-long connections between these tangible actions and broader organizational goals (membership, land/water stewardship, community engagement, climate change resilience, advocacy, etc.). This inspiring and interactive session will encompass our program’s journey, demonstrate why we think this work is critical to the future of conservation and provide session participants a facilitated opportunity to nurture and share ideas for launching, or further developing, their own urban conservation programs.