What can you do to help conservation?

Photo Credit: Citizen Science Center

Many people have an interest in conservation but do not know how to get involved. Others might think that they have to turn their lives upside down in order to make a difference. The reality is that anyone can play an important role in conserving wildlife and the environment. Humans have a huge impact on the environment and every small deed can be added up to make a significant change.

"Every individual matters.
 Every individual has a role to play.
 Every individual makes a difference." 

                    -Jane Goodall

Everyday choices

You can make little choices everyday that can help the environment. These are just a few of many ways to make a difference in your everyday life.

At the grocery store

• Use reusable shopping bags
• Buy locally grown food
• Choosing to buy local reduces the pollution and energy use related to transporting food over great distances.
• Choose organic food
• With more and more people buying organic this will lessen the presence of synthetic chemicals on the environment.
• Don't buy bottled water every week, buy one reusable water bottle
• Reusable water bottles help eliminate waste in the environment

Around the House

• Recycle
• Buy energy efficient appliances 

In your backyard

• Plant native plants in your yard
• By planting a native garden you can help support biodiversity and create shelter for native wildlife
• Build a bird house or bat house
• Building bird and bat houses can help provide shelter for many species and give them a place to shelter in the winter and reproduce in the spring
• Reduce unnecessary outdoor lighting
• "Life on Earth has evolved over the millennia in response to predictable day-night cycles. Artificial night lighting interferes with these adaptations and can affect animal navigation, reproduction, and courtship, as well as plant germination and flowering. Conserve energy and protect plants and animals from the disorienting (and often harmful) effects of light pollution." -American Museum of Natural History
• Do not feed wild animals
• Feeding wild animals may seem harmless but when you do this animals begin to associate humans with food. This is a problem for both humans and wildlife.  When on an outdoor adventure keep food in airtight containers.  

You can also calculate your "carbon footprint". This is a measure of your personal greenhouse gas emissions. Then, see if you can challenge yourself to shrink your carbon footprint!

• Use this link to measure your carbon footprint: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/ind-calculator.html

Donate to a cause

Many organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund, National Park Foundation, the Nature Conservancy, and many more rely on donations to continue their important conservation efforts.  Donating to a cause can include anything from joining an organization to being a conscious consumer.

Some donation options include:

• Simply, donate to a conservation organization
• Symbolically adopting an animal (World Wildlife Fund)
• Becoming a member of a conservation organization
• look at this web site to see how your membership donations help conservation: http://animals.about.com/od/wildlifeconservation/tp/wildlifeconserv.htm
• Give a donation as a gift
• Buy an item where a portion of the proceeds goes to a conservation organization

• An example is the Endangered Species chocolate bars.  "10% of profits are donated to help support species, habitat and humanity"

                                                    Photo Credit: Good Housekeeping

Citizen science

For those who want to be more hands-on, citizen science might be a good option. First of all you might be thinking, “What is citizen science?”

“Citizen science is the public involvement in inquiry and discovery of new scientific knowledge. A citizen science project can involve one person or millions of people collaborating towards a common goal. Typically, public involvement is in data collection, analysis, or reporting.”

                        -scistarter.com

Basically, citizen science is the participation of the public in science. Many times scientific research involves collaboration with many people, with the use of the Internet, scientists can now collaborate with volunteers to help with their projects. Projects can rage from reporting where and when you see a species on a hike to reporting seasonal changes in parks on a mobile app.

If this sounds like something that interests you, check out these links for ongoing citizen science projects. Find something that peaks your interest and get involved!

http://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/

http://scistarter.com/index.html

Have more ideas for getting involved in conservation? Share them below in the Comments section!


Resources:
http://scistarter.com
http://www.scientificamerican.com/citizen-science/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/how-to-help
http://www.npca.org/protecting-our-parks/wildlife-habitat/how-you-can-help-wildlife.html
http://www.amnh.org/our-research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/what-you-can-do

http://animals.about.com/od/wildlifeconservation/tp/wildlifeconserv.htm

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/ind-calculator.html