Conservation
Learning New Things About Birds
Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk that happens to look over a dry creek bed. Purposely, the room was set up this way so I could gaze out the window while writing or working on a project for school. During my degree for environmental education, I learned that being able to gaze at green…
Cacti of the Mojave Desert
In late September I had the chance to go to the Mojave and Colorado Deserts by way of Joshua Tree National Park in California. Long a fan of and fascinated by desert habitat, I jumped at the chance to take a Hummer tour of this unique ecosystem. My 6th grade science fair project was on…
The Inspiring Story of Bald Eagles
While we were driving our son back to school on Sunday, we crossed the great Mississippi River. Due to the mild weather, parts of the river are still open and not frozen. There, in the trees, lining one of the pieces of land in the slough, were a pair of Bald Eagles, resplendently sitting with…
Poetry Friday: Oceans of Trash
A Bottle Cap Plastic Bags Straws A Cup with Iced Coffee Air Fillers for Packing Boxes Forks, Knives, Spoons, Plates Take out containers Saran Wrap All Plastic. Discarded, Floating, Moving with the tide out to Sea and back again to distant shores A river of trash forming a plastic river in the wider ocean Moving,…
Our Earth: What Will It Take?
Our planet is dying. We are killing it. I am not trying to be alarmist or hysterical, I am stating what I, and others, believe to be a fact. What will it take for you to make changes in your life so that your children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren can live on a beautiful and healthy…
Reaching out – Out Reach: The Last Two Weeks.
It is the height of the monarch migration season. By all reports, it has been a great year to be involved in the conservation of this species. Summer numbers are up and my own experience supports that observation. As school restarts, it is a busy time for me as a non-formal educator. In the last…
Not sure about this bandwagon effect: Raising Monarchs has turned into a One Upmanship, not a Conservation Effort.
“I raised 300.” (unnamed, 2018) “I belong to a Facebook group in Wisconsin that has raised and released over 16,000 Monarchs this season.” (unnamed, 2018) “I hope to reach 1,000 next year.” (unnamed, 2018) What is going on? These are statements of citizens in the U.S. and Canada who have raised monarch butterflies this summer…
Raising Monarchs Part III: Early August
While sitting in the dentist office yesterday I saw a that our local paper featured a man in my town who was raising monarch butterflies. I have to admit that seeing the article stung a little bit. I’ve been doing the same for fourteen years but have never been featured in the paper! I guess…
If You Fill It, The Frogs Will Come
We have a new housing development going in adjacent to our property. There are 45 homes being built on what was a very large corn field up until 2 years ago when the process of putting in the roads began. We are located on the outskirts of our town which has always imparted a country…