Happy Water Quality Month!

It’s August and that means that it’s National Water Quality Month! While we all know that clean drinking water is important and that clean bodies of water will help provide clean water for drinking – many are unaware how the plants along stream banks, in areas called riparian zones, or aquatic and wetland plants impact …

Celebrating the Longest Neck on the Longest Day: Happy World Giraffe Day!

The Summer Solstice also marks a special day to me – World Giraffe Day! This day was created by the Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) to raise awareness about and celebrate this vulnerable and endangered species. Did you know that Giraffes are considered a Keystone Species? This means that giraffes are an animal that impact the …

Happy International Day of Biodiversity!

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 …

A Look Back at an Amazing 2019

This year has been one of incredible growth here at The Art of Ecology! Throughout the 2019 year, I was able to stay true to my mission of building visual connections between people and the natural world through the blend of arts and sciences. I had the pleasure of holding some new workshops as part …

American Goldfinch vs. Climate Change

For my most recent course with National Geographic, I was learned all about Teaching Climate Change and Scientific Modeling – which was absolutely fascinating! Despite having a degree in Wildlife Conservation and therefore taking so many classes that talked about the implications of human-caused climate change, there was still plenty to learn! The goal of …

Clean Water For All – Frogs and Humans Alike!

August is nationally recognized as “Water Quality Month”, but really, we should be caring about water for more than just one month per year! Not only is clean water important for humans to stay hydrated, but it’s also important to all animals and plants. The word Amphibian literally means “to Live a Double Life”. Frogs, …

Challenge Yourself to a #PlasticFreeJuly (or whenever – really!)

We all have heard of (hopefully!) the #SkipTheStraw campaign and about several bans on plastic grocery bags, but there is more to reducing plastic waste than just straws, bags, and bottles! So, why should we reduce plastic use? After all, plastic is SUPER convenient! Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage patch? This floating …

Pollination – Amazing Plant & Animal Relationships

Last month, I had a wonderful opportunity to learn more about pollinators, like the honeybee, at the nationally recognized botanical garden – Longwood Gardens! This professional development opportunity allowed me to not only learn about these amazing plant & animal relationships, but to witness first hand active pollination in the outdoor gardens and photograph some …

Creating a Safe Haven for Feathered Friends

So far, we’ve discussed creating a backyard habitat, attracting butterflies and other pollinators, and creating a haven for snakes and beneficial predators, but we haven’t talked about how to get birds to your garden! Aside from the obvious of sticking up a feeder, there are some other great ways to attract your feathered friends! By …

TreeHugger – Yup, That’s Me and Here’s why!

There are so many reasons to love trees beyond “they look nice”. Even hugging trees has it’s benefits (click here for more information on getting immersed in forests). Here are my top reasons for getting excited about trees: Provide Oxygen – You know, the stuff we breath! We inhale oxygen (O2), and exhale Carbon Dioxide …