If you’re here on my site or have participated in any of my events before, my guess is that you love the plants and animals of the world!

Today, we celebrate the amazing flora & fauna of the world as well as raise awareness of the importance that maintaining biodiversity has. Helping a wide variety of plants and animals to thrive doesn’t just make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but it also will help to keep the planet itself healthy! Everything is connected, and when one species is negatively impacted – like a ripple effect – so are many others, which then impacts everything else! I know – that sounds crazy. How could a decrease in one tiny, random frog species in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest impact me, all the way in Pennsylvania, United States (or even farther away)?

Well – let’s examine the food web… Frogs eat insects and other little critters. Larger species like birds, reptiles, and some mammals eat the frog. Even bigger birds, reptiles, mammals, and fish then eat those smaller creatures. As the frog population declines, so will the creatures that need that frog for food. What might happen if mass deforestation continues in the Amazon, destroying vital habitat and homes that the frog and those other species need to survive? The answer – nothing good.

Now how does this impact me, over three thousand miles away from the Amazon Rainforest? For starters, those trees that are being removed are a big help in sequestering carbon from the atmosphere, mitigating climate change. Without them, there will be more carbon hanging about, increasing the global temperatures and causing a rise in sea level as the ice on land melts. With that change, PA will experience more severe weather. This year alone, the storms have been more severe. Each storm accompanied by insane winds has knocked down huge trees here in my neighborhood. Those trees provided habitat and resources for my local wildlife. While those trees will eventually decay and provide nutrients for the trees and plants around them, the trees are falling at an alarming rate and the local decomposers have more work to do!

And that’s just a fraction of the impact….

So today – let’s appreciate and do our best to protect the plant and animal life around us! Protect plants (and therefore protect animals!) by creating valuable habitat. Even if all you have is a tiny porch or just a window, set up a window box with plants! Pollinators and other little insect friends will thank you. If you have more space, try leaving the weeds and planting native meadows. This will attract all sorts of pollinators, birds, and mammals. Plant some native trees and shrubs. These can provide nesting habitat for all manner of critters!

One great thing to think about is, since everything is connected, even if your favorite animal lives nowhere near you (like a giraffe), you can still help to protect the world they live in by getting greener where you are!

While bringing live, wild animals into your home as pets is NOT a good thing, you can always keep them around through art! Shop my prints, photo gifts and more here.

Show the world that you care about and love animals with a Conservation Sticker!