Three things I've pledged to do for nature this Earth Day
Val Deziel distributes a flat of wild rye for planting (Photo by NCC)
To celebrate Earth Day I’m sharing three easy activities I’ve pledged to do for nature this year:
Plant with purpose
I recently moved to a (relatively) quiet suburb of Toronto, into a house with a backyard! Which, as I’m sure you can imagine, is hard to come by in a downtown condo. So, even though the yard is basically a giant pile of dirt, it’s my pile of dirt. And, it’s a blank canvas for me to paint with purposeful plants.
By introducing native plants and some strategic design features to your garden, you can provide patches of natural habitat for many species. A well-designed backyard can offer birds and pollinators like bees and butterflies more living space, feeding opportunities and the safety of cover from predators.
Want to plant with purpose too? Start your native garden today with this helpful guide.
Get creative for nature
I’ve always been a proponent of spreading awareness through visuals. As an amateur photographer and professional nature lover, I’ve dreamt of making the same kind of impact that David Attenborough and BBC One have made for our species on a global scale.
While I’ve come to accept that perhaps I won’t be contracted to explore some of the most remote places on Earth (today, anyway), sharing my love of nature at home is something that I know I can make happen. So, I’ve vowed to pick up my camera and create my own visuals of nature, in hopes that they will inspire others to see our planet’s infinite beauty.
You can share your own creative interpretation of nature, too. Here are some photography tips for photographing birds in nature.
Become a citizen scientist
Now that the weather is starting to show some spring-like conditions, it’s the perfect time to get outdoors and help the conservation cause. Volunteering is a great way to enjoy our country’s natural spaces, while helping to steward the very ground you’re walking on.
You can also incorporate the same mentality into your own schedule by participating in local species surveys. Programs like eBird and FrogWatch enlist citizen scientists to help document species of conservation concern.
Looking to combine the best of both worlds? The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Conservation Volunteers program offers a number of plant and animal surveying events throughout each volunteer season.
All that said, these are just three activities that appeal to me in my personal mission to help protect our country’s most sensitive landscapes and the species they sustain. There are many other ways you can get involved.
Have ideas of your own? Share them with us in the comment section, below!
About the Author
Carly Digweed was NCC's digital marketing coordinator.
