Why Should We Count Birds?
As we grow closer to February’s “Great Backyard Bird Count,” it’s easy to wonder about the importance of counting birds. How can something so simple really make a difference for the habitats and livelihood of birds? Can an individual really help out thousands of birds colonies around the country? Short answer: YES!
How can counting birds make a difference?
Scientists, conservationists, and bird enthusiasts can all gain a lot from the data reflected in the Great Backyard Bird Count. Especially given the fact that they are a flighted animal, numbers on bird populations are always changing. There’s little chance that one small group of scientists could accurately keep track of all of the changing bird patterns throughout a year. That’s where the citizen-scientists come in! The more data that comes in, the easier it is for scientists to track patterns and similarities across the board for these bird species. This data helps them answer important questions on a variety of subjects, including the ones below:
- Climate change and how it affects populations
- Habitat locations
- Migration patterns
- Bird diseases
- Bird diversity in rural, suburban, and urban areas
What is the Great Backyard Bird Count?
According to the official website: “Launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, the Great Backyard Bird Count was the first online citizen-science project to collect data on wild birds and to display results in near real-time. Now, more than 160,000 people of all ages and walks of life worldwide join the four-day count each February to create an annual snapshot of the distribution and abundance of birds.”
Great Backyard Bird Count at EPZ
Register for a free and interactive bird-counting session at the zoo with our education department! Learn more here!
Written by: Ali Chiavetta
Source: GBBC website
Living Green in 2019
Make your New Years resolution one that benefits the planet!
Five resolutions for more sustainable living
Click each drop-down below to learn more about ways to make 2019 your greenest year yet!
Every household has an individual carbon footprint. This term typically refers to the amount of greenhouse gases produced by members in the household, through a variety of activities. A carbon audit calculates the amount of resources used, specifically in the areas of home energy, transportation and waste. Conducting a carbon audit for your household helps you and your family stay in the know, and make smart cost-effective choices to lessen your impact. Use this as a starting point for 2019!
Food waste is an enormous issue across the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, roughly 1/3 of the food produced in the world for human consumption gets lost or is wasted. That’s 1.3 billion tons!
How can you help combat that number? Prepare your grocery lists ahead of time. While it may be tempting to stop and shop on your way home, you’re more likely to pick up items you don’t need or won’t use on an impulse trip. Look at your week ahead, and plan your shopping list plan accordingly! This will not only help you cut down on unnecessary food waste, but will help you save money too!
While minimalism became trendy throughout much of 2018, some found it difficult to embark on such a limited lifestyle. Similar to food waste, however, many people purchase on a regular basis that get little to no use, and are either thrown away, or stored for long periods of time. To avoid this practice, approach purchasing your goods in a similar way to purchasing your food: plan ahead of time. This simple step helps cut down on impulse buys that will save you money and space, and won’t end up in a landfill.
When purchasing items like clothing, furniture, housewares, etc., consider purchasing secondhand from individual sellers, consignment shops, or donation stores. When purchasing secondhand, you’re giving new life to a previously used item, rather than using the resources it takes to create a new one. Again, this is typically easier on your wallet, and saves these gently used items from sitting in a landfill.
Single-use items like plastic silverware, plastic bags, coffee cups, straws, paper napkins, and plastic water bottles can all be easily replaced by reusable substitutes. Though their cost may be higher upfront, using reusable items will actually save you money in the long run, and will make a huge difference in the amount of trash produced by your household each year.
In 2019, try plastic-free reusable alternatives like stainless steel, glass, bamboo, cloth, etc.!
When it comes to the environment, ignorance is not bliss. It’s important to stay up on critical environmental issues, especially as that continues to be a “hot topic” in today’s society. You can make a positive difference in your community by staying informed, and being vocal with lawmakers about the issues that are important to you and the earth!
Written by Ali Chiavetta
Choosing LEDs for your Holiday Lights
From our holiday Wild Lights displays, to the lights you decorate your home with, to the strands that circle your tree, the holiday season is filled with LIGHTS! While these are often a festive indicator of the excitement to come, the large amount of lights being used can take a toll on your energy bill, and the environment at large. Fortunately for businesses and consumers, LEDs are readily available, and are growing in popularity.
What's the deal with LEDs?
LED lights use “light-emitting diodes” instead of filament to create their light. LEDs don’t burn out like traditional bulbs, and don’t get hot to the touch- making them a safer choice inside and outside the home! Though they may cost a bit more up front, their value lasts for years, as they are known to be more durable than traditional lights.
Do they really save more energy?
Absolutely! According to the U.S. Department of Energy, LEDs use 75% less energy than traditional bulbs! While other bulbs can use produce up to 90% of their energy as wasted heat, LEDs don’t get hot to the touch! Aside from saving so much energy, LEDs can last 25x as long as standard bulbs! That’s a win-win!
LED lights have come a long way in recent years. What once were piercing blue-toned lights that were not pleasing to the eye, now exist in a variety of styles and colors! While you may pay a bit more for them initially, LED lights help cut down on environmental impact during the holidays because of the energy they save. Your wallet will thank you when your winter energy bill comes!
Source: The Spruce
Written by Ali Chiavetta
Green Your Halloween
As we count down the days to Halloween, many people enjoy the decorations and costumes that come along the way! Holidays don’t have to hurt the planet (or your wallet)… take a look at the following ways to “green” your Halloween this year!
Green Tips:
- Make decorations from recycled materials like toilet paper tubes, tin cans, newspaper, and glass jars!
- Give out locally sourced treats from farmers markets or make your own treats
- DIY your costume using materials you already own, or from purchased items at a secondhand shop
- If giving out candy, be sure it's free of palm oil! Irresponsible harvesting of this harmful ingredient causes deforestation and habitat loss in the rainforest!
- Use a reusable item to collect candy while trick-or-treating! Pillowcases, drawstring bags, and reusable shopping bags are great resources!
- If carving pumpkins, save the seeds to roast as a healthy snack, and compost the "guts"!
- Don't throw those decorations away! Save them to reuse year after year.
- If it's safe to do so, walk from house to house while trick-or-treating instead of driving! This cuts down on harmful vehicle emissions.
additional resources:
Written by Ali Chiavetta
Palm Oil-free Halloween candy
You can do your part to help by only supporting companies that make sustainable, palm-oil free candies this Halloween.
Go the extra mile and help write letters to ask large companies to stop using unsustainably-sourced palm oil!
Our friends at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo made this helpful PDF to use as a template when writing your letter!
You can also download their sustainable palm oil shopping app to help you make easier decisions when you’re in the grocery store!
Learn more about what’s being done around the world through the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil HERE.
Leading the charge against deforestation
Technology from solar-powered recycled cell phones is making a positive difference in the fight against deforestation.
Ever thought an old cell phone could help change the world?
It’s no secret that deforestation is destroying the rainforest. Deforestation, in its simplest definition, is the clearing of a wide area of trees. The deforestation that takes place in the rainforest is far more sinister, however, as it clears wide areas of land used as habitats and resources for native species, plants, and peoples. On average, an estimated 18 million acres of forest are lost each year, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, and 15% of all greenhouse gas emissions are a result of rainforest deforestation, according to WWF.
How can we combat this?
Rainforest Connection Founder Topher White had the same question. A San Francisco-based engineer, White piloted a phone-based technology that’s changing the face of deforestation reversal. His solution was simple: Use recycled cell phones to listen closely to the rainforests for the sounds of destruction.
How is this possible?
Though it sounds simple, the process is actually quite complex. According to the organization’s website, Rainforest Connection (RFCx) creates acoustic monitoring systems for those who wish to end illegal deforestation in real-time. They do this by using solar power as a means of energy, hooking up an extra microphone, and listening closely. Because of the symphony of sounds happening naturally throughout the forest, abnormal sounds are difficult to pick out from the rest. The RFCx technology can distinguish the frequency of a chain saw, for example, and send an alert to authorities in order to determine whether the logging is legal or not. According to White, 50-90% of the logging done in the rainforest is unauthorized. This technology also works to detect the sounds of vehicles in the surrounding area that may be used for poaching activity.
So far, Rainforest Connection has monitored over 26,000 hectares of rainforest, which is approximately the equivalent of 26,000 football fields. To hear what they hear, download the app and listen to rainforests in real time! To support them further, consider making a financial donation to further their efforts of protecting tropical rainforests!
Sources: Rainforest Connection website, National Geographic, Live Science
Written by Ali Chiavetta
Living a Bird-Friendly Life
We see probably an average of 100 birds throughout our day, but how many of us truly take notice to these fantastic feathered friends? Birds play a crucial role in our ecosystem, so protecting them is important! While we may not all be natural born birdwatchers, there are easy steps we can take in everyday life in order to better protect our flying friends!
Check out these three tips on how to live a more bird-friendly life:
keep your cats indoors
This is a big one, and one that many cat owners may not even think about. When cats are let outdoors, they become a non-native and invasive species, threatening birds and other wildlife, disrupting the natural ecosystem, and even potentially spreading disease. It is estimated that cats kill 2.4 million birds every year. Though it may seem harmless to let your cat outside for a bit of fresh air, such a simple choice can have a list of negative consequences. To keep both your cat and wild birds safer, opt for an enclosed outdoor space (often referred to as a “catio”), a harness for your cat, or increased indoor enrichment to keep them physically and mentally stimulated.
For more safe solutions for pet cats, check out the American Bird Conservancy’s page.
Stop birds from hitting windows
Up to 1 billion birds die each year from hitting windows, and other glass reflective surfaces. That number is huge, and severely impactful on bird populations, but fortunately, this is one of the easiest problems to solve! By investing in products that break up the blank space of your window, you can greatly reduce the chances that a confused bird will fly into it!
The American Bird Conservancy has tested a variety of bird-friendly window products so you don’t have to! Check out their full list here.
purchase bird-friendly coffee
If you’re addicted to coffee, you’re not alone. Americans drink 1/3 of the world’s supply of coffee. While your morning cup of joe may be a necessity for you, choosing the right kind of coffee is a necessity for bird populations. Next time you’re in the supermarket shopping for coffee, look for certain kinds marked “shade-grown”. Traditional “sun coffee” might be a bit cheaper to buy, but this inexpensive variety takes a large toll on rainforest biodiversity (not to mention the rural families and small local businesses the industry bulldozes). Shade-grown coffee is not only a much healthier option for the birds, but it also tastes much richer in your mug!
To learn more about the beneficial impacts of shade-grown coffee, please click here.
Info source: American Bird Conservancy
Written by Ali Chiavetta
Five Tips to Plan an Eco-Friendly Trip
The summer is winding down, but plenty of people still look to travel into the fall, especially for larger holidays like Labor Day weekend. While getting away from your day-to-day life can be fun, it’s important to remember how your plans will affect your planet! This is by no means a comprehensive list, but we’ve compiled five tips to plan a trip with less of a negative environmental impact. Check them out, and let us know if you have any tips you swear by when planning getaways!
1. Location, location, location
The most exciting part of planning a trip is deciding where you’re going! When selecting a destination, take into consideration how far of a trip it will be, and what method of transportation you’ll need to get there. Look into the possibility of participating in eco-tourism for a more sustainable way of traveling! Companies like these offer trips to destinations around the world that prioritize sustainability in each of their trips.
2. Getting from point A to point B
Once you decide on your destination, the logical next step is deciding how to get there! Is it possible to take a car or train, or is it necessary to use air travel? While convenient, flying isn’t the most eco-friendly method of transportation. A round-trip flight between New York and California can generate about 20% of the greenhouse gases that your car emits over the course of an entire year. If it’s necessary to fly, try booking nonstop flights, and look for more energy efficient airlines.
3. New digs
The thing that can make or break your trip: your accommodations. Do your research before leaving to identify more sustainable hotels or housing. If possible, look for hotels and houses that are energy efficient, have proper waste management systems, recycle, and use alternate forms of energy (solar, hydroelectric, etc.). Bonus points if the home stay helps benefit the economy of the local community, especially on an eco-tour!
4. Green guests
While on your trip, be a responsible guest! If you live an eco-friendly life at home, take that lifestyle on the road with you! No matter what the destination, be sure to respect the local environment. Leave nothing but footprints! Do your best to recycle, conserve water and energy resources, and look for activities that don’t have a heavy environmental impact.
5. Wish you were here
On your way out, you may be tempted to get souvenirs for your friends and family. Especially when traveling overseas, be sure that no mementos from your trip involve any endangered species (i.e.: animal hides, body parts, tortoise-shell, ivory, coral, etc.) These gifts are not only illegal, but also extremely damaging industries to support monetarily. Sometimes it’s best to just send a postcard!
Sources: WWF, NY Times , Million Mile Secrets
Written by Ali Chiavetta