• Sustainability

Saving Biodiversity Boosts Global Output by Tens to Hundreds of Billions Annually

• #30x30
• biodiverstiy
• Campaign for Nature
• nature
• science

A new study by leading economists and scientists released yesterday makes a strong case for conserving at least 30% of the planet by demonstrating that investing in nature as opposed to using it up yields significantly better economic results as well as saving money that would otherwise be spent on the impacts of climate change and biodiversity loss.

Why This Matters:  Since it is TBT I (Monica) will harken back to 1992’s political mantra — “it’s the economy, stupid.”

• People

Interview of the Week: Emilie Brzezinski

• art
• nature
• sculpture

Emilie Brzezinski is an American sculptor with a career that’s spanned five decades and expressive themes that have always related to nature. And while Brzezinski has worked with a variety of media, her primary focus has been monumental wood sculpture–using a chain saw and ax to carve towering forms that breathed new life into felled […]

• Sustainability

One World Thing: Global Leaders Unite to Fight Destruction of Nature That Triggered Pandemic

• #30x30
• #CampaignforNature
• biodiversity
• conservation
• nature
• science
• WWF

Yesterday, three key global leaders united to write an op/ed for the Guardian. Together they issued a powerful call to action (taking a shot at the Trump Administration among others): “while Covid-19 has given us yet another reason to protect and preserve nature, we have actually seen the reverse take place. From the Greater Mekong to […]

• Animals

One Cool Thing: 10 Virtual Species to Adopt

• biodiversity
• nature

One of the positive developments that has come about during the COVID-19 pandemic is that more animals are being adopted than usual, in particular dogs and cats. However, plenty of other animals (and plants) around the world—many of which are threatened or endangered—need help, too. Smithsonian Magazine recently ten species that are up for (virtual) adoption.

• Sustainability

Reimagining Our Greener Cites Post COVID-19

• cities
• green infrastructure
• green jobs
• nature
• urban renewal
• urbanization

by Zoey Shipley How Cities Will Change in the Future after COVID-19 In densely-populated, car-centric cities around the world, COVID-19 is a nightmare. The virus has been able to spread rapidly and quarantined city dwellers are desperate to enjoy the outdoors–creating added danger by congregating. What’s become most evident is that modern cities are part […]

• People

Turning to Nature to Help and Heal

• #COVID19
• children
• coronavirus
• education
• nature
• outdoors

By Katy Fenn, Director, Education Outreach, World Wildlife Fund   Fellow parents: this is a challenging time for most of us.  I’m a mom to a 4-year-old and a nearly 2-year-old now home from daycare, and like so many of you, I am adjusting to a new way of working while figuring out how to […]

• Health

Coronavirus: Forgetting Nature is Not An Option

• #COVID19
• coronavirus
• nature
• Public Lands

Yesterday, House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Vice Chair Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) sent a letter to Interior Secretary David Bernhardt urging him to close Grand Canyon National Park and other national parks and public lands at risk of spreading coronavirus due to continued crowding and high visitation levels. In the midst […]

• Forests

One Cool Thing: World’s First Quiet Park

• biodiversity
• Ecuador
• nature

As Mother Nature Network reported, Ecuador has become the first country in the world to build a “quiet park,” a lush stretch of land straddling the Zabalo River where silence is protected like a natural resource. There are no transport routes here. Nor residential and commercial developments. You can’t even hear the hum of power […]

• Forests

Want to Temporarily Escape The You-Know-What? Here’s How To “Walk In the Woods” Virtually

• forest bathing
• National Geographic
• nature
• Pristine Seas
• St. Simon's Land Trust
• woods

With more states like ours — Maryland and Virginia — joining the “shelter-in-place” club, finding a way to get outdoors but maintain the appropriate social distance is increasingly difficult in urban areas and the stress of it all can be really draining.  There is a wealth of resources to help you get outdoors — albeit virtually — if you cannot easily get to a secluded place to enjoy nature safely. If you want something bold or exotic, try a virtual expedition with a National Geographic Explorer.  Even a one-minute “walk in the woods” in silence like the one above in Federica Park on St. Simons Island, Georgia can provide instant relief from our new relative captivity.

• Land

Staying Safely Connected To Nature During the Coronavirus Pandemic

• COVID-19
• National Parks
• nature
• parks
• social distancing

Florida is (finally) closing its beaches. The National Park Service has waived all park entrance fees but closed some parks and most of the facilities in the parks that remain open (check each park’s web site for more details) — they are taking “extraordinary steps to implement the latest guidance from the White House, Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), and local and state authorities to promote social distancing.” 

Why This Matters:  It is spring break for many people across the country and the warming weather may make outdoor activities tempting, but unless we maintain our distances we won’t flatten the curve of exposure.

• Politics

Pete Buttigieg Releases A Plan to Conserve Nature

• 2020 Election
• 30 by 30
• nature
• Pete Buttigieg

Last Friday, Mayor Pete Buttigieg revealed his presidential plan to protect public lands including a stated goal of protecting 30% of all U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Goals of the proposal include: Ensuring consistent and robust conservation funding for federal land management agencies, states, and tribes–including securing full, permanent funding for the Land and […]

• People

Interview of the Week: Rue Mapp

• nature
• outdoors

Rue Mapp is the Founder and CEO of Outdoor Afro, a national not-for-profit organization and social community reconnecting African Americans with natural spaces through outdoor recreational activities. She oversees a volunteer leadership team of 80 men and women who represent 30 of the United States. Through Outdoor Afro, Mapp shares opportunities to build a broader […]