Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy

Always remember to play after every storm.

- Matty

I watched an excellent NOVA program last night called The Lord of Ants.  It’s about the life of E.O.Wilson, one of my personal heroes and sources of inspiration. It’s called The Lord of Ants because of the research on ants that Wilson focused on but Wilson did more than just study ants, he made the linkage from ants to biosystems and teaches us about how life connects to life on our planet and the habitats that we have to protect. 

It’s recognized that we are currently going through a mass extinction and in this program he describes the impact (no, it’s not the end of the world, but the species and diversity of the world will change). With science, rather than emotion, E.O. Wilson makes a call for action in the hopes of saving diversity.

In addition to being really informative and inspiring, there are a couple of things that I especially liked about this program. First, it’s told by him in the present day so it’s current and real. The second is that the program weaves together not only stories that he tells about past research but also present day research that links the past with the present.  He then takes that to the next dimension: turning data into action, turning information into a discussion around the need to protect and preserve habitats. This is something that we strive to do through Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy so I especially grooved on that.

Another part of the program that I really loved was where he points out how you and I can get involved here at the local level. Environmental monitoring programs and activities like a BioBlitz that we do here locally are shown to connect into this big picture tying education and monitoring to conservation. He also talks about the Encyclopedia of Life, which I did a blog post on a week or so ago, and his vision for that.

E.O. Wilson is certainly one of the greatest naturalists of our modern days. I encourage you to check out this NOVA program next time it’s on or watch it online through the link above (it’s just an hour and is not dry at all) and pick up a book or two of his – they are both fascinating and often poetic.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is coming up this weekend (February 12-15). It’s a great way to be part of a great citizen science effort that has been going on since 1997 and… you can do it from the comfort of your home!

The Great Backyard Bird Count is easy to participate in and over the four days, you can spend as much or as little time as you like. Some people spend 15 minutes, others spend a few hours – whatever time you want to spend counts and adds to the great data that is collected. This is also a great activity to share with kids!

Watch a video about the Great Backyard Bird Count here. This video explains more about how to participate in the count and talks about how small bits of data on birds from our backyards can really help us understand the bigger picture of bird populations.

This is a really fun event to be a part of so we encourage everyone to participate!  If you do participate, we’d also love to have your data to use it in our Loudoun County Bird Atlas!  After you do your GBBC, just email your tally results over to our Bird Atlas Coordinator, Spring Ligi, at sligi@loudounwildlife.org and she’ll get your data entered into our Atlas database. 

Even more information about the Great Backyard Bird Count as well as the data form can be found on the website: http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/

Linda Burchfiel sent over a note asking if we could spread the word about this event on February 27, 1:00 to 5:00pm: Conservation Advocacy Workshop – Panels on Energy Efficiency and How to Talk about Climate Change, plus advocacy training.

The first panel will focus on cutting greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency in businesses and homes. The second will open with a Yale/GMU poll on Americans’ views on climate change, followed by discussion with the national environmental reporter from The Washington Post and managing editor of Connection Newspapers on how advocates can work with the media on conservation issues.

Free and open to all. Hosted by NoVaCAN, a Coalition of nine NorthernVirginia environmental non-profits at the Fair Oaks branch of Merrifield Garden Center Upstairs Meeting Room, 12101 Lee Highway, Fairfax VA 22030. RVSP and details at http://www.chesapeakeclimate.org/NoVaCAN