Let’s spring to action for wildlife
We humans can be very destructive in this world. If we’re not killing too many fish and animals for our use, we’re abusing plants, wildlife habitat, clean air or clean water. As people become more urbanized and separated from nature, it is easy for them to forget about the importance and role the natural environment plays in our lives and our future.
It is useful to have a time that is set aside for society to give particular recognition and consideration to things or events of high social or ecological value. Such is the case for National Wildlife Week.
National Wildlife Week was declared by an Act of Parliament in 1947 to honour the late Jack Miner, one of the founders of Canada's conservation movement. With this in mind, every April we are encouraged to celebrate the importance of wildlife and the protection of wildlife habitat. During this time, Canadians are invited to start projects in their communities that will help wildlife, while also keeping the future of wildlife in mind when making decisions that could impact nature.
When you stop and think about it, all communities on the globe include wildlife. It is just a matter of what species occur, their health, and that of their habitat, and the overall level of biodiversity and resilience. We as humans are challenged to learn how to live in harmony with wildlife. By making your community a better place for wildlife, you improve your own quality of life. Because what is good for wildlife, is good for people too. Just like us, wildlife need enough food, water, shelter and space to survive and thrive. Did you ever think of it that way?
How wild is your community? Fewer and fewer people experience wildlife in its natural setting because some wildlife species simply can’t, any longer, live in their cities and towns. As human communities expand, wildlife has a much harder time finding food, water, shelter and space - the essential ingredients of habitat. Before long, wild species can no longer meet their survival needs. Besides a few adaptable critters such as raccoons, rats, deer and coyotes, many species vanish along with the wild spaces they once occupied. However, there is a way for humans and wildlife to coexist in communities across the country.
Even if you live in a city, there is a diversity of wildlife around you. For example, there may be birds, bats, butterflies, and bees, along with salamanders, snakes, and snails. With your help, additional wildlife can find a place in your community. All it takes is a little enthusiasm and some good old-fashioned teamwork. Imagine the joy of having nature in your midst, besides the sight of deer feeding on your landscape plants in your yard.
Community habitat projects for wildlife
Following are examples suggested by the Canadian Wildlife Federation of what you can do in your community to help wildlife:
Nurture a Lifelong Friendship. Raise native trees from seeds in your community nursery or home to plant in the community with permission.
Restore a Ribbon of Life. Protect and revitalize the moisture-loving strip of vegetation along a watercourse to control erosion and boost an entire shoreline ecosystem.
Give Wildlife an Edge. Boost biodiversity by planting fencerows, hedges, and windbreaks, where one habitat merges with another and provides wildlife cover.
Grow a Greenway. Plant a herbaceous highway to connect habitats for untamed travellers.
Mount a Mission to Rescue Native Plants. Save trees, shrubs, and wildflowers in areas slated for land development.
Plant for Pollinators. Cater a feast for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. Participate and promote No Mow May where folks don’t mow their lawns during May for the benefit of pollinators.
Enhance Roadside Habitat. Transform road shoulders into wildlife sanctuaries.
Create a Wildflower Garden. Plant a living masterpiece for both wild and human admirers.
Restore an Aquatic Plant Community. Reintroduce native aquatic plants by sowing seeds or transplanting vegetation from a donor site.
Salvage a Salt-marsh. Rehabilitate one of the Earth's most life-rich ecosystems.
Work Wonders for Wetlands. Save soggy spaces, such as marshes and vernal pools, for a wide range of species. These areas have priceless value to wildlife.
Protect Rivers and Feeder Streams. Promote shorelinefriendly cattle and crops, grow a living fencerow, and plant upland grasses to conserve some of Canada's richest aquatic habitat.
Adopt an Urban Waterfront. Reclaim an urban shoreline by cleaning up garbage, preventing pollution, planting a vegetation buffer, and taking other measures.
Forest Facts: Unfortunately for people, the tick season has begun in earnest. Early reports are there are more ticks than usual and it is expected that a higher percentage than ever will be carrying nasty pathogens like Lyme Disease. To make matters worse, currently, at this time of year, ticks tend to be in the tiny nymph stage and sometimes so small they are difficult to see, but they are still looking to bite into us for a blood meal.
So, now is the time to get into the daily routine before bedtime to carefully check over your body, and that of family members, for ticks if you have been outdoors in grass, bushes or forest.