Scribblings Conservation Blog

Kids and Conservation: Planning For the Future

3/28/2023

In communities across the Hudson Valley, kids are taking the initiative and being creative. Students at one garden enjoy experimenting with different ways to use herbs, including making shampoo. A group of girl scouts planted an herb garden for their community to use.

Conservation is more than planting flowers, trees, and shrubs for pollinators. It encompasses many concepts, ideas, projects, and must-do tasks that deserve our undivided attention. From understanding the how and why behind the delicate balance Mother Nature set into motion millennia ago to overcoming the human-made problems disrupting that balance, we have our work cut out for us.

Strides are being made to limit carbon emissions, stop the destruction of natural resources, and restore habitats and ecosystems, but there’s one slight problem. This task is destined to continue for many years to come. So where are the future leaders who will eventually take over the challenges facing humanity?

The children of today will be the leaders of tomorrow, so now is the time to start educating them on what’s going on. Kids need to be included in the projects we’re working on so they will catch the conservation bug and be excited about being outside and a part of the natural world.

Combine Tech with Curiosity
Technology is fantastic and a great asset to everyone, but unfortunately by capturing the hearts and imaginations of the younger generation, it is preventing them from seeing and experiencing the great outdoors. Spending so much time in front of screens, they don’t feel connected to their environment and have no desire to protect something they don’t understand. Yet, if we combine technology with a child’s innate curiosity, we have the perfect set-up to introduce them to nature.
With a little guidance from a parent or teacher, the kid can be introduced to a lot of cool things through activities that encourage them to think, question, and see beyond the plants and trees to the intricate world that exists in their own backyard.

: For instance:

What Am I? – A version of the game, I Spy, where a child describes a butterfly, tree, or a rock without saying its name so someone else can guess what it is. http://thewildnetwork.com/wild-time-idea/observation-game/
Make a Bee Hotel – Using plant stems, bamboo, reeds, or canes with a pithy or hollow center, children can create a place for solitary bees to nest. Cut six to eight stems in uniform lengths, tie together with twine, and hang securely from tree branches, giving the bees a place to make a home. https://www.instructables.com/Pollinator-Habitat-Project/
Build like a Bird – Attempt to construct a bird’s nest using only twigs, moss, and other materials a bird would have available. It’s a lot harder than you’d think! This isn’t very high-tech, but it demonstrates the extraordinary talents and skills birds possess.
Scavenger Hunt – Armed only with a paper bag and a list, the child has to explore his/her surroundings, locate specific items and place them in the bag. This can be as high or low tech as you want by using a simple paper list or an iPad with more complex items that must be identified online, i.e., an oak leaf instead of just a leaf.
SEEK Safari – Using the SEEK app on their phone, the child searches for unusual plants, insects, or critters and identifies them through this app. https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app
Citizen Science – There are citizen science projects designed for elementary through high school-aged students ranging from counting lightning bugs in your backyard to tagging and monitoring Monarch butterflies during their annual migration. https://scistarter.org/finder

Less Tech and More Hands-On
With her signature bright yellow tent, Karalyn Lamb attends community events around New York’s Hudson Valley. Through their Pollinator Pop-Up project, she and her colleagues introduce kids and adults to the wonderful world of pollinators.

It isn’t difficult to get people interested in and excited about the environment. When they find out how uncomplicated it is to help pollinators, they’re ready to do their part. According to Karalyn, easy-to-grow pollinator plants for kids and beginners are zinnias and sunflowers, “and kids especially like things that are edible like strawberries and herbs.”

In communities across the Hudson Valley, kids are taking the initiative and being creative. Students at one garden enjoy experimenting with different ways to use herbs, including making shampoo. A group of girl scouts planted an herb garden for their community to use.

Working in a garden is a fantastic way to groom the conservation leaders of tomorrow. There is so much you can talk about while planting flowers or trees – pollinators/habitats and the importance of both in our lives, how trees provide food and shelter for birds and insects and clean and cool the air. The list of topics is endless.

These simple activities educate, encourage, and empower children to go outside, observe nature, and appreciate the beauty surrounding them. If they learn from an early age how they can make a difference, from there the sky’s the limit!

Building a Foundation
Attitudes, opinions, habits, and ideas are undergoing a transformation right now. A change that is not easy for some older folks but is necessary to stop destroying and start restoring the environment. Involving the younger generations in discussions about deforestation, declining pollinator populations, climate change, and instilling the habits of green living while they’re still young will encourage them to be more mindful of the impact their actions have on Mother Earth.

That doesn’t mean scaring them with the world coming–to-an-end horror stories, but instead emphasizing the importance of reusing and recycling, not littering, being more energy conscious, buying sustainably-sourced food and other goods, not using pesticides, and respecting all the life inhabiting our planet.

Encourage the love of the great outdoors by taking walks, hikes, biking, camping, and letting your kids climb trees, grow a garden, play in the dirt, and explore. It will make them better stewards of the environment and the future leaders our world needs.

Sassy Scribblers on Conservations

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EARTH HOUR 2023

3/21/2023

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Every year, at 8:30 pm on the last Saturday of March, millions of people worldwide show their support for our planet by coming together to take one iconic action—turning off their lights for one hour.

EARTH HOUR was created by the World Wide Fund (W.W.F.) and is held annually, encouraging individuals, communities, and businesses to turn off non-essential electric lights, for one hour, from 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm as a symbol of commitment to our planet.

This symbolic act raises awareness of the continuing destruction of our natural resources and the threat we face from climate change. In addition, it demonstrates a commitment to making healthier choices that benefit all living creatures and the environment.

EARTH HOUR is a symbol of unity and hope. It is proof that collective action can be a catalyst for change. Since its inception in 2007, EARTH HOUR has become the world's largest grassroots movement for the environment. And their voices have been heard!

Ordinary people taking action in countries such as Russia, Argentina, and French Polynesia have initiated legislation to protect their seas, waterways, and marine life from pollution. Uganda created the first-ever EARTH HOUR forest, and the Galapagos Islands became the first province in Ecuador to ban plastic bags and other disposable packaging. In 2016, 50,000 citizens urged the Spanish government to phase out fossil fuels and transition to renewables.

Who knew turning off lights for one hour could serve as a stepping stone to such monumental actions?

The Ultimate Challenge
Humanity's ultimate challenge is to achieve the global temperature limit adopted by the Paris Agreement nearly ten years ago.
In December 2015, 196 Parties in December 2015 set a goal to hold "the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels" and pursue efforts "to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels." World leaders set a deadline of 2030 to cap the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees C.

The next seven years are crucial in determining whether we stay within these limits. Greenhouse gas emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline 43% by 2030. Additionally, we need to step up our efforts to reverse environmental destruction.

Mother Nature has always been our ally in maintaining the environment. Unfortunately, we are losing the plants and trees she needs to cool and clean the air. Woodlands and rainforests are being cleared for development faster than they can be replaced. Diversity cannot be maintained with all the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems being destroyed by pollution, poisonous chemicals, and development.

Individuals, communities, businesses, and governments must all urgently step up their efforts to protect and restore our one home. It sounds dire, but it's doable if everyone chips in by decreasing our carbon footprints and putting forth more effort to repair our natural world.

On Saturday, March 25, 2023, supporters in over 190 countries and territories aim to send a global message reminding folks what we all have in common and what we stand to lose. It's a call to action to put aside differences and work together to protect and preserve our planet. It's up to all of us to do our part to stop destroying and start restoring our beautiful world.
Where will you be on Saturday between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm?

Be part of the Biggest Hour for Earth - https://youtu.be/niZ54wV6QdE

Now more than ever, we need our increasingly divided world to unite to take urgent action for our one home. We need everyone and anyone to feel inspired and empowered to play a part, no matter how small. Most importantly, we must continue to shine a beacon of hope for a brighter future, harnessing and celebrating the power of the people. https://www.earthhour.org/

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Taking a Broader View

3/14/2023

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For the past several weeks, we’ve been focused on the importance of incorporating native plants into our landscapes, getting rid of invasives, and getting our gardens ready for spring.

However, Pollinator Conservation and Environmental Restoration involve more than just planting trees, flowers, and shrubs. In order to regain the balance Mother Nature intended, we also need to counter pollution, global warming, overuse of pesticides, and destruction of ecosystems. These other topics are vitally important and will be covered in the weeks and months to come.

To begin with, we need to face the facts. Over the past few centuries, humans have not been very good stewards of our planet.

It hasn’t always been that way, though. Our early ancestors learned very quickly that the environment provided everything they needed to survive. Mother Nature gladly shared her resources with all living creatures, whether they had two, four, or six legs, had wings, or crawled upon the ground. As long as a balance was maintained where the mobile creatures helped pollinate, spread seeds, and protect the plants and trees, the foliage would provide the food, water, and shelter humans, insects, and animals needed.

We can’t forget the aquatic world. It was an intricate part of the balance and provided food and oxygen for the land dwellers. No one paid much attention to the harmonious dance between the plants, coral reefs, and marine creatures, but it was there and hinged on terrestrials living cooperatively with the sea.

Up until the industrial age, Mother Nature and humanity got along pretty well together. Unfortunately, after the Industrial Revolution, things started going downhill. Humankind’s greed, selfishness, and ego disrupted the balance by destroying ecosystems and polluting the water, land, and air, poisoning the environment and ourselves, leaving the current generation with a mess to clean up.

The problem is that so many things need fixing – plastics choking our oceans, air, water, and land pollution, global warming, the pollinator crisis, destruction of habitats and ecosystems, and overuse of pesticides, to name just a few.

It’s overwhelming to think of all the issues that need addressing. The good news is that one person needn’t worry about tackling them all. Instead, each of us needs to take a broader view, evaluate our motivation, and decide how our actions can benefit the greater good. What are you most passionate about?

Are you interested in adding native plants and trees to your existing landscape to aid in the conservation of pollinators, wildlife, habitats, or ecosystems?
Would you rather work on a larger scale project replacing introduced invasive plants with native flora to restore the prairies, wetlands, or other ecosystems to their natural state?
Are you more concerned about cleaning up the plastic waste and other chemicals and debris polluting our water, air, and land?
Maybe you prefer to teach, lecture, and educate others about environmental issues, global warming, carbon footprints, overuse of pesticides, etc.

Anything you do will make a difference. Take a broader perspective and visualize our work as a circle. What one person does is linked to something else and continually goes around so that all the small things add up to a significant impact.

If you haven’t found your niche yet, don’t worry. Many of us are in the same boat and don’t have a passion project. That’s why our conservation blog covers all these topics and more to educate, encourage, and empower you to find your role in cleaning our world and helping Mother Earth regain the balance she needs to keep our planet thriving.

You don’t have to have a green thumb or spend much time and effort. All you have to do is take the first step – pick up that litter, refrain from using pesticides, leave the leaves, or plant a few flowers in the yard or in a planter.

Look at that! You made a difference!

Sassy Scribblers on Conservation

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Grow Bugs - Hummingbirds Can't Survive on Nectar Alone

3/7/2023

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Question: Are well-meaning people doing the hummingbirds more harm than good by putting out feeders filled with sugar water?

It's a nice thing to do, and the hummingbirds appreciate the easily accessible source of energizing refreshment, but they need more. Instead of fussing with sterilizing the bottle, keeping the feeder out of direct sunlight, and changing the water every couple of days, why not just provide them with native plants that would supply a continuous steady source of nectar? You can still hang up a feeder, of course, but as a supplement to nature's grand scheme of things.

Another necessity the foliage furnishes is protein. Plants attract bugs; sixty percent of the hummingbird's diet consists of bugs. Watching the tiny birds as they dart back and forth, hover, and delicately sip nectar from a flower, you'd never know they were also on the lookout for small insects, beetles, ants, aphids, gnats, and mosquitoes.

Unfortunately, meatball shrubs and tightly pruned hedges adorning residential and commercial properties leave the hunters with no nectar, no bugs, and not even any places to nest. Hummingbirds need trees, flowers, and bushes to supply the essential elements they need to thrive.

Ann Barklow, environmentalist, horticulturist, and Bee City USA liaison for the city of Greenwood, SC developed an interest in hummingbirds after moving to the south from California. She observed the overabundance of feeders along with the missing vegetation and worried the hummingbirds were not getting the nutrition they needed.

"Are we getting hummingbirds addicted to the sugar water? If given a choice, would they prefer it over searching out natural sources of nectar?" she asks.

To investigate, she grew some of the hummingbirds' favorite plants at her home. Almost immediately, they took advantage of the flowering blossoms along with the feast of insects lured in by the plants. That was a good sign. She also observed the small birds didn't fight as they tended to do around a feeder, another positive indicator. Yet one bird continually stopped and hovered in front of Ann as if asking, "Hey, where's the feeder?"

When Ann didn't succumb to its demands, the bird finally got the message and went in search of some nectar. It wasn't happy having to work for its sweet treat, but hopefully, the bonus of delicious bugs nestled in amongst the flowers made up for it.

Ann's discoveries through her backyard experiment inspired her to turn her study of hummingbirds into an educational experience for the entire community. So, with a display board and some interesting bits of information, Ann's Grow Bugs campaign began.

How Do You Grow Bugs?
Ann's message was simple - grow plants that attract pollinators, pests, and other bugs because predators such as birds, bats, wasps, spiders, dragonflies, and ladybugs need the protein. "They can't survive on nectar alone. GROW BUGS!!"

What kind of plants are we talking about? Answer: flora that has always coexisted with the local fauna. Of course, this varies from region to region.

Still, you can speak with master gardeners, horticulturists, local college extension services, and any other person, groups, or organizations that are familiar with your local ecosystems and habitats. Information is also available online from the Xerces Society or your local Native Plant Society.

You can never go wrong with a few flowers from the daisy family, along with sunflowers, zinnias, and perennials like Echinacea and rudbeckia. You will have late summer and early fall blooms if you plant solidago and aster in your garden towards the end of summer. Top off your garden by tucking in some herbs. Anything in the mint family, such as thyme, sage, and basil, will bring in tons of pollinators.

Salvias (sages) are a favorite of both hummingbirds and the bugs they love to eat, such as spiders. The eight-legged hunter builds its web to trap unwary guests, and the hummingbird scores on both counts – a veritable feast of assorted bugs along with a giant, plump, juicy orb spider to top it off. Plus, the hummingbird uses the spider's web in constructing its nests.

Birds are big bug-eaters, especially caterpillars. They need lots of food to feed their babies. A chickadee needs something like 6,000 caterpillars to raise a family of four chicks. Ann says, "It'd take forever to feed their young with aphids, flies, and other small insects. They need the big plump caterpillars that have a lot of nutrients, enzymes, and other good stuff for the babies to eat."

To attract the butterflies and moths to provide the caterpillars, plant some milkweed for Monarchs or fennel for Swallowtails or other plants that'll support the voracious caterpillars. Oak trees and dogwood trees, and various shrubs are great for this. We've been conditioned to think of caterpillars and other crawling creatures eating the leaves on our plants and trees as "pests." In reality, the caterpillars are needed and sought by many birds as an essential food for their young nestlings.

Tent caterpillars overrun many yards in the spring/early summer. Instead of spraying or burning them out, use a long stick and open a big hole in the "tent" so the winged families can access the bird food.

Let Nature Take Its Course
"When you garden for nature, you can't have any preferences," Ann says. "You may like bumblebees more than spiders, but if you find a bumblebee stuck inside a web, you have to step back and let it happen."

Another thing she points out is that sometimes you have to let pests get out of control to satisfy the appetites of the predators. The birds, bats, dragonflies, ladybugs, wasps, and the rest are much better at pest control than any chemical or spray. Nature's balance always seems to save the day. When those aphids get into the milkweed, walk away and let nature take care of itself. Give it some time, and you'll notice the ladybugs (adult and larvae), hummingbirds, dragonflies, and other beneficial insects zero in on the milkweed and have a field day feasting on the aphids. Granted, it is not instantaneous, and you'll lose some of the milkweed, but the aphids are taken care of.

When you first considered planting a pollinator garden, the thought of providing food and shelter for the pollinators may not have included sacrificing some of the little creatures. It's not so disturbing when it's mosquitoes, gnats, spiders, or even ants being eaten, but it takes them all – beneficials and pests, predator and prey to maintain Mother Nature's balance.

So go ahead and plant a garden and enjoy knowing you have provided food and shelter for more than just the pollinators you see buzzing and flittering around the flowers. You have helped preserve a natural order that has existed for many millennia. Thanks to you, it will continue.

Sassy Scribblers on Conservation

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Greta Burroughs

I am passionate about cleaning up our environment and restoring the habitats/ecosystems necessary for pollinators and wildlife to flourish.

Yet, Pollinator Conservation and Environmental Restoration involve more than just planting trees, flowers, and shrubs. In order to regain the balance Mother Nature intended, we need to also counter pollution, global warming, overuse of pesticides, and destruction of ecosystems.

By publishing articles, essays, and resources on this blog, I hope to Educate, Encourage, and Empower others to find a niche where they can make a difference in this world.

Kids and Conservation: Planning For the Future

EARTH HOUR 2023

Taking a Broader View

Grow Bugs - Hummingbirds Can't Survive on Nectar Alone

Greta Burroughs

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