Week 19 - ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

SPECIAL ALERT!: Before I begin this week's post, I want to share a possibly paranoid thought with you. I am starting to believe someone is poaching my ideas from this blog and using them for professional gain. Yes I realize the point of the blog is to share what I learn so we can all make a difference, but I'm talkin' the world of media here! I'm not naming any names (Odaytay Howsay), but in case I'm not paranoid, just give me a little shout out!

Okay.

The focus of my posts to date has been about ways we can be kinder to the environment so humans can be less negatively affected. But of course humans are not the only living things inhabiting the planet. We have a plethora of wildlife that is also struggling with the results of poor decision making. The difference being, they have to respond and adjust to changes not of their own making. Yes we are at the top of the food chain, but that doesn’t give us free reign. It gives us greater responsibility.

I feel heavy hearted when I think of the possibility that my future grandchildren or great-grandchildren will only hear about or see in books pictures of various species we take for granted. Even the idea of an animal only existing in a controlled man-made environment, although better than non existence, is troubling.

I have already touched on the idea of protecting our water by using less chemical pesticides, fertilizers, and toxic cleaning products; reducing deforestation by purchasing paper products made from paper not trees; purchasing fair trade coffee which preserves the rain forest and protects numerous bird species, etc. If we do all these things consistently, we can help protect our wildlife. But we can be even more proactive!

This is a topic you can get your kids really excited about, since kids love animals. The place to start is by viewing some or all of the Planet Earth series. It is phenomenal! Truly so far beyond any wildlife media we have to date. You will be amazed at the up close and personal footage. You will laugh, you will feel sad and you will be humbled by the reminder we are not here alone. We have a few more weeks left before school starts, so try to find it on the Discovery channel on Sundays at 8:00 pm (you can go to discovery.com for their TV listing of dates and times), rent it, or purchase the set (deepdiscountdvd.com has the complete set for $53.90, amazon.com for $53.99). It will change you!

Once you feel all warm, fuzzy and possibly aghast, check out and/or commit to any of the following:

The World Wildlife Fund at worldwildlife.org

1. You can join their Conservation Action Network which will email you “alerts on breaking issues and let you send free personalized messages to policy makers. You can track which actions you've taken and learn about your victories.” Note they do not use your email address for anything else.
   
2. Adopt an animal. “Choose From 40 Symbolic Animal Adoptions! Each symbolic adoption includes: a formal adoption certificate, a full-color photo and species fact sheet. Adoptions of $50 and up include a plush likeness of your adopted animal for the gift recipient. Gifts made online come with an Online Digipak, which includes: a personalized electronic adoption certificate, screen savers, wallpaper and AIM icons. The recipient must have a valid e-mail address to receive this benefit". Younger kids would love this!
   
3. Make a gift membership. Here you make a donation in someone else’s name. Based on the size of the donation, you can then select an item to be sent to the recipient. This is a terrific idea for that person that “has everything” or for bigger kids’ birthdays when they would rather do something for someone/thing else, than receive presents from their guests.
   
4. Make a memorial donation in a loved ones name.
   
5. Make a donation in the amount of your choosing.

The National Wildlife Federation

Visit their website at nwf.com, where you can learn how they:

1. Protect wildlife.


2. Give hope for the future of wildlife, and


3. Are America’s conservation organization.

Then make a donation of $30.00 and get a little backpack. Again, this would make a great gift for a child and will remind them that wildlife is not just gorillas, elephants and lions some where else, but also deer, raccoon, and wolves in their own back yards.

Your local zoo

You can help support endangered animals and habitat preservation at your local zoo. Visit their website and you will find a variety of options for ways you can make a difference. The most obvious would be supporting the zoo by taking your family for a visit.

Visit epa.gov

This is the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The website contains a ton of information about endangered and threatened animals, and what extinction actually means. It also offers coloring books, picture books and fact pages.


This is an area where making a difference really doesn’t take a lot of effort. By educating ourselves, educating our children, staying committed to purchasing environmentally friendly products and making small monetary donations, we can help preserve the wonderful species that are at risk. Now what could make you feel more warm and fuzzy then that?!