b'Animal Planet decided to devel-S cho o l A s I t S h o u ld B e op it into a 47-show series called Backyard Habitat, in which yards were made over into natural hab-itatgardens.Mizejewskistarred as the host, traveling all over the country, and so began his career in front of the camera.To promote the various shows, Mizejewskiregularlygaveradio and print interviews and served as a monthly fixture on The Today Show for the better part of a decade. He says, So my job kind of evolved, just doing the Garden for Wildlife stuff to being more of a media per-sonality for the National Wildlife Federation. This has been a tre-mendous boost for the nonprofitMizejewski with a baby white rhino at the White Oak Conservation Center in FL.as all of that is opportunity to get media impressions and raise brandand a salamander. Recently, he has ex-awareness and get the word out aboutpanded his collection of houseplants, the good work that we do, in ways thatwith an entire room devoted to them. we could never afford to do. He describes his morning routine, I Sincehehasntbeenmakingme- go downstairs, I pour a cup of coffee, dia appearances and speaking engage- I go into the plant room and I just ab-mentsduringthepandemic,Mize- sorb the humidity and the warm smell. P R O G R E S S I V E E D U C AT I O N S I N C E 1 9 4 8 jewski has been planning the launchAndthenIputteraroundandpoke CO-EDnNURSERY THROUGH GRADE 8nFARBROOK.ORG of a new YouTube channel. He says,and look and inspect and water and all Rather than sit around and wait forof that.things to get back to normal for meAs for that back yard of his, Mize-We keep you smiling! to get booked on TV shows to deliverjewski plans having his garden attain these messages, Im going to start cre- status as a certified wildlife habitat, a ating my own content. He appreciatesrecognitionprogramthattheNWF the flexibility he has with his position.put into place in 1973. To qualify, it Myjobhasneverbeenboring,heneeds to have four components: natu-Everyeffortismadetosays. Ive always had these opportuni- ralsourcesoffood,water,coverand ensuretheutmostcomfortties to kind of pivot and do somethingplacestoraiseyoung.Hesays,So for each patient. new and exciting and different. broadbrushstroke,Imgoingtobe Enjoy a modern professionalAnd while he cant do much out- adding a lot more native plants, trees, environmentandacaringdoor gardening during the winter, itsshrubs, wildflowers, ferns, things like staff. clear that Mizejewski thrives on caringthat. AndIm really focused on min-for his indoor plants and animals, in- imizing the amount of lawn, noting As a former faculty membercluding his dog, Lucky, some beta fishthat lawns dont really support much in of Fairleigh Dickinson Dentalthe way of wildlife.School, Dr. Wisz now devotes all her time to private practice. Mizejewski underscores the impor-tance of individual efforts. Were in a wildlifeextinctioncrisis.Theresover a million species threatened with ex-Wendy Wisz, DMD tinction here in the U.S. One-third of wildlife are at risk of extinction in the coming decades. And while that can General, Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry seem overwhelming, he adds, We all have the power to do something local-ly, right outside our door, by planting a 250 Millburn Avenue | Millburn wildlife garden. 973-467-0077 David Mizejewski with his dog Lucky, aEllen Donker spent too much time watch-Saturdays and Evenings Available mixed breed rescue, in his back yard thating videos of David Mizejewski bringing On site parking | Convenient location he looks forward to transforming into a cer- wild animals on talk shows. She enjoyed tified wildlife habitat. Photo by Joy Yagid. every minute.18/ matters magazine / winter 2021'