It's been my experience that most people can't accurately identify 10 plants, birds, animals, etc. in their area. Doesn't increased awareness of local wildlife translate into a general awareness of environmental issues?
2007-08-07 03:23:20 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Environment ➔ Other - Environment
I can identify about 35 tree species, many birds, and all most all of wild mammals in my area. It makes life much more fascinating when you see the individual trees instead of just the forest.
Did you know that beech tress and aspens can "clone themselves"? When you see a grove of aspens in some parts of the country, you are really seeing a single organism that reproduces by sending out shoots from it's roots. In fact, a single aspen tree in Utah weighs 13 million pounds and covers 106 acres of land! It might be the heaviest organism on the planet!
Other fun facts:
If a beech tree branch comes in contact with the ground, the branch can send roots into the earth, creating a nature-made chair for you to perch on.
In colonial times, the white pines of New England grew so tall and were so perfectly straight that they were reserved for the kings navy for ship masts. It was illegal for anyone else to cut one down. This was one of the indignities that set off the Revolutionary War.
After the Hurricane of 1938, millions of pine trees were left laying on the forest floors. Rather than lose valuable building wood, thousands of volunteers dragged the fallen trees into rivers and streams so they wouldn't rot, since wood only decays when exposed to air. The fallen trees dammed many rivers, and created lakes that still exist today.
Unlike other trees, the bark of the Quaking Aspen is alive, and carries out photosynthesis.
. . .
Research any tree on the internet (or at the library), and I guarantee you'll enjoy the world around much more than you used to. And, yes, you'll become much more interested in saving our environment and in ecology in general.
2007-08-07 19:51:37 · answer #1 · answered by Susan W 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I am very familiar with the native species in my area. I can go well over 10 in each of the categories you named. But I do a lot of nature photography, so that is probably why. I don't know if that makes me more aware of the environmental issues or not, but it makes me more aware of the environment around me.
2007-08-07 03:30:09 · answer #2 · answered by tan0301 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
once you know, you can protect.
pride in ownership is true in the housing markets... and in the wild as well. an intimate working knowledge of your local ecosystem will foster a respect and a sense of wanting to protect it in all but a callous few.
seeing the relationships and the beauty found in all nature will grow a new appreciation for just how fragile the balances are, and a desire to do our part to help.
agree that most people don't know the natives because they don't SEE them. street trees are selected for hardiness. nonnative pests are brought in by automobile and boat. local ecosystems are overrun with invaders that alter the food chain.
good advice is to find a small stream, and follow it on foot. see as it flows, what kinds of animals and plants use it for habitat, and how do they interact? check back in three months, six months. what's changed?
this type of observation, will lead to appreciation, then to conservation. immersion as an educational technique... priceless.
2007-08-07 13:11:31 · answer #3 · answered by patzky99 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Brush rabbit, squirrel, gopher, all my enemies, do garden damage. Roaming cows and horses, all wild. Myaporum, carrizo, thistle, yucca, smoke tree, jojoba all manner of cacti..always aware of environmental issues especially drought and depletion of the aquifers. So?
2007-08-07 04:13:32 · answer #4 · answered by lpaganus 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think you are exaggerating. Most people CAN identify more than 10. And as for "general awareness", how many of the anti-trapping enviro-wacko intelligentsia could show someone a mink track? How many have ever SEEN a mink? Yet they want to dictate trapping policy. The ignorant bunch is not "most people"...it's the environmentalists.
2007-08-07 03:42:50 · answer #5 · answered by I.H.N. 3 · 2⤊ 3⤋
Yes. I spend alot of time outdoors and in the woods hiking,hunting and fishing.
I am also aware of threats to my local flora and fauna.
2007-08-07 03:36:01 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can name at least 20
2007-08-07 03:30:22 · answer #7 · answered by Mopar Muscle Gal 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some people can't even find their state on the map. Isn't this scary when they decide to vote?!?
2007-08-07 03:34:58 · answer #8 · answered by Dr Jello 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes, i have a garden of stuff and many animals
2007-08-07 03:30:12 · answer #9 · answered by hersheysoccer94 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋