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Insects are the dominant form of animal life on earth. There are more species, more diversity, and more biomass. They are essential for life on the planet engaging in activities like pollination and decomposition. But the population health of 99% of species is poorly understood. Of the 1% of species that have had IUCN assessments, … Continue reading
There is more attention being paid to Indigenous land management, but it isn’t universal and it isn’t always effective. There are lots of examples around the world on both ends of success. Many of the models that are successful have a common trait, local level management and control. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the approach. Haenssgen … Continue reading
You may have had your heartstrings pulled by the image of a starving polar bear in the Arctic. You may have even donated to an organization to get a cute stuffed animal that is your favourite. These are examples of flagship species. Flagship species are ones that can Garner attention and support. Most often they … Continue reading
I’ve investigated universal basic income a bit. This is the idea that everyone gets a basic income regardless of where they work or how much they work. There are probably as many critics as there are supporters. I enjoyed this episode of Poverty Unpacked which discusses the concept and two different use cases. And this … Continue reading
Financial incentives are often cited as a means to get farmers to participate in conservation efforts. Pay them to not use toxic pesticides and they might make the shift. The problem is that a lot of solutions to improve conservation in agricultural areas require the cooperation of multiple different people to be effective. These were … Continue reading
Ah, the charismatic megafauna, a curse and a solution. I don’t remember when I first learned this term. I can guarantee it was in an ecology course. Charismatic megafauna are animals, almost always mammals that conservationists think people will care about like bears or caribou. Instead of focusing conservation on improving the entire ecosystem, we … Continue reading
The recent paper “Indigenous-led conservation: Pathways to recovery for the nearly extirpated Klinse-Za mountain caribou” is worth your own read if you have any interest in how we can decolonize conservation and follow the lead of peoples who have lived with the land rather than as abusers of the land for many generations. From an … Continue reading
Several years ago I created a series of posters for my classroom at the time that showed the different biomes around the world. A biome is a generalized description for an area that is based on climatic factors such as precipitation, temperatures, and geography. A desert is one type of biome. The plants and animals … Continue reading
I just read a very interesting article about native vs non-native plants put out by Yale Environment 360. In it, the author discusses how climate change is affecting the range of different plants and may be forcing us to reconsider what is worthy of conservation. I thought to write my own post about this I … Continue reading
When I was a kid and my brother moved out, I took over his room immediately. Why would we think that animals are any different? I am not against recovering threatened and endangered species obviously. But, it sometimes amazes me that we are surprised that other animals, and plants to, have adapted to their absence. … Continue reading
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