Category: Make a Difference: Community & Calls to Action

  • I’m Keepin’ It Wild with Betty White

    I’m Keepin’ It Wild with Betty White

     

    jack in the pulpit
    Arisaema triphyllum aka Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Bog onion, Brown dragon, Indian turnip, Wake robin or Wild turnip

    Wilderness is a necessity… They will see what I meant in time.

    There must be places for human beings to satisfy their souls.

    Food and drink is not all. There is the spiritual.

    In some it is only a germ, of course, but the germ will grow.

    -John Muir

     

    I just told Washington DC that  I’LL KEEP IT WILD ­ WITH BETTY!

    My Pledge:

    I pledge to “Keep it Wild” for future generations.

    Beginning right now — in the face of Congressional leaders who may be ambivalent about protecting wilderness — I will become an even stronger voice and advocate for our last great wild places with Betty White and other members of The Wilderness Society.

    I will use my influence with my friends and family to keep them aware of the damage being done to our public lands and wild places. And I will use the power of my actions with The Wilderness Society to encourage elected officials in Washington DC to introduce, sponsor or support conservation efforts that come up before Congress — to establish new parks, monuments, wilderness and heritage areas, support water supply and conservation projects and protect key rivers, and improve the management of America’s public lands.

    My individual actions, when multiplied by over 500,000 active Wilderness Society supporters, will make a difference. Together, by honoring this pledge, we can make sure that future generations can grow up in a society that protects and treasures its wilderness, wildlife and waterways.

    Sincerely,

    Robin Elton
    simplegreenorganichappy.com

    ————————————————————————————————————-

    I freaking hate the idea that we have to band together to advocate for preserving wild spaces.

    I am baffled by the idea that there are people who don’t instinctively feel that wilderness is important. That we can continue to encroach upon nature, to pollute and ruin and ravage our natural resources, without consequences for future generations.

    It makes me sick that maybe some people just don’t care. How? How do you live your life? What do you love? It’s not a rhetorical question. I just don’t understand.

    I do understand that these people exist, and that they wish I and people like me would just shut up.

    Too bad.

    ————————————————————————————————————

    Help protect our wilderness for our children, and our children’s children. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. You can’t make wilderness.

    I’ve never seen a redwood tree. I’ve never been in the mountains. I’ve never searched for hidden treasures in a tide pool, ridden in the Grand Canyon, or camped in the Everglades. But I want to someday.

    And even if I never make it to any of those places? It does something good for my soul just to know they exist. That if I wanted, there is a place for me to get away and stand in awe of creation and the universe.

    The pledge? The pledge is nice. I like being on the same team as Betty. I like adding my voice to the chorus, and I hope there is strength in numbers. But mostly, the pledge reminds me of my commitment, and my passion; and strengthens my resolve to keep on traveling down the road and back again.

     

    Feel the same? Sign the pledge to Keep It Wild with Betty.

     

    Betty White image via Wikimedia Commons.
  • Get Outside! 14 Citizen Scientist Projects for Kid Backyard Naturalists

    Get Outside! 14 Citizen Scientist Projects for Kid Backyard Naturalists

    bee on flower

    If we want children to flourish, to become truly empowered,
    then let us allow them to love the earth before we ask them to save it.

    -David Sobel

    Back in June of 2008 I read Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, and I pledged that my kids and I would become backyard naturalists: learning what we could about the life that graces this plot of land we call ours. Their names, their habits, their needs.

    In a blog post discussing the book, I pointed out:

    Louv worries about the abilities of future generations to see problems in the environment as they occur; if no children are skimming ponds for tadpoles, how will they know when those numbers begin dropping? If they are not learning to identify and name insects and wildflowers, will they notice when they are gone? If they are not outside at night to hear the spring peepers, who will sound the alarm when the night air is silent?

    “[What is the] extinction of a condor
    to a child who has never seen a wren?”
    -Robert Michael Pyle

    (Yeah, I totally just quoted MYSELF quoting someone else there. Did the ego involved cause your head to explode?)

    If you’d also like your children to become familiar with the life all around them, to help scientists track population data so that we are better able to help sustain that wildlife for generations to come, AND to get active and outside, here are some “citizen scientist” projects to consider:

    Birds

    • Celebrate Urban Birds
      sparrow on fenceChoose an area approximately the size of half a basketball court & watch for 10 minutes. Report which birds you see to the database, along with info describing your birdwatch area. That’s it! Receive a Celebrate Urban Birds kit– poster, info on urban greening, bird ID guide, sticker and sunflower seed packet– upon sign-up.
    • Project PigeonWatch
      Much like Celebrate Urban Birds, but focusing on pigeon numbers, color morphs, and courting behaviors. Pigeon kit is download only.
    • NestWatch
      Collect and submit information about nest site location, habitat, species, and number of eggs, young, and fledglings.
    • Operation RubyThroat
      Hang out your hummingbird feeder and submit data about migration dates and nesting.
    • Christmas Bird Count
      Join tens of thousands of volunteers nationwide as they count birds from mid-December through early January.

    Bugs

    • The Lost Ladybug Project
      Submit photographs of ladybugs along with info about the discovery site.
    • The Great Sunflower Project
      Sign up to receive Lemon Queen sunflower seeds. Plant these easy-to-grow seeds and once your sunflowers have bloomed, watch to see how many bees come to visit in a 15-minute period.
    • Butterflies and Moths of North America
      Share “clear, high quality close-up photographs” of butterflies, moths, caterpillars, eggs, or pupas.
    • Firefly Watch
      Observe your backyard or any other site and report the prevalence of fireflies. Great way to spend a summer evening!

    Everything else!

    • brown toadWildlife Watch
      Let the National Wildlife Federation know about the wildlife & plants where you live. Optional: share your nature stories and your photos in their Flickr group.
    • Project BudBurst
      “Adopt” one or more local plants and report different stages of its life cycle (budding, blooming, fruiting etc) to help collect data about changing environments and climate change. There is a scaled-down version for little ones called BudBurst Buddies; those who participate receive a certificate signed by Project BudBurst scientists.
    • Project Squirrel
      Log your squirrel sightings to help scientists better understand the ecology of neighborhoods.
    • JellyWatch
      Tell marine biologists about any jellyfish, red tide, a squid, or other unusual marine life you spy in the ocean.
    • Project Roadkill
      Boys of a certain age will gravitate towards this one. Including the deceased members of our wildlife family paints a more accurate picture of population numbers.

     

    It’s fun! It’s easy! It’s free!

    Most projects require no more than an internet connection, a few minutes of your time and the willingness to learn about your local wildlife. All those listed can be carried out no matter where you live (well, you need to be near an ocean to report jellyfish.). Keep in mind that ZERO is a number that needs counting too!

    Empower your kids to make a real contribution by helping researchers determine those areas and species most in need of support. (During the summer months, this can easily be extended into a science project or a math graphing exercise. Fights off the inevitable “I’m bored”s, as well.)

     

    Turn those backyard naturalists into junior citizen scientists!


    ————————————————————————

    All the citizen science projects I’ve listed here are nationwide. If you know of any projects local to your area, please share them in the comments.

    ————————————————————————

     

  • Post with a Purpose. Save the Children Quake Relief

    Post with a Purpose. Save the Children Quake Relief

    Japan: earthquake aftermath

    You can’t live a perfect day without doing something

    for someone who will never be able to repay you.

    -John Wooden

     

    Please Donate For Japan Earthquake

    An estimated 100,000 children have been affected by the disasters in Japan.

    2500 evacuation shelters are currently in place. Many have no electricity or running water.

    In the worst-hit areas, hundreds of families are also without electricity, heat or running water. Fuel is in short supply, and there are fears that basic items are not getting to some communities.

    There are also shortages of food, water, cooking fuel and clothing.

    The weather is unseasonably cold. Snow has fallen.

    An estimated 4000 schools have been destroyed or have suffered significant damage.
    Donation For Japan Earthquake 11th March2011

     

    What this means for Japan’s children:

    • fear and a need for psychosocial support.
    • stress living in unfamiliar surroundings.
    • uncertainty due to the witnessed emotions of the adults around them.
    • illness due to exposure and compromised immune systems.
    please click this image to donate

     

     

    One day this winter our power went out for about 36 hours. No electricity, no running water, no means to cook anything. Trapped by icy roads, so no way to get to a warm place, eat a hot meal. I couldn’t stop watching the thermometer drop in our house. The kids were cold, bored, hungry. And I was afraid of how bad it would get overnight.

    But I knew that it would be over very soon. That our lives would return to normal, with the flick of a switch.

    Please.

    If you are a mother who has ever sought to ease the pain or the fear of your child, donate.

    If you are a human being who was ever once a child, and remember what it is like to be small, and helpless, and afraid, donate.

    If you are an internet mom, please help us to spread the word today.

    Save the Children’s initial program plans:

    • Expanding child protection activities that staff in the badly damaged city of Sendai have already initiated, with the disaster-tested Child-Friendly Spaces program as the key response
    • Providing non-food relief items to families
    • Supplying children with “back-to-school” kits of materials
    • Initiating a school-based psychosocial support program for children, their parents and other childcare providers to build resilience and coping
    • Supporting local and national groups working to help children and families recover over the longer term, with special emphasis on supporting groups addressing educational and child- care needs
    • Advocacy to help ensure that the needs of Japan’s children are included in emergency preparedness planning at the prefecture and national levels.

    No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.
    Aesop

    *** Information regarding Save the Children’s projected program plans quoted directly from their website.

    All images from Flickr. Click on any photo to be taken to its respective page.