Wednesday, March 1, 2017
Get Involved for Our Future
Hello All, This is my very first attempt ever at a posting a blog. I was not sure what to discuss. But earlier today I decided after my son and I went out to check my maple syrup buckets that I wanted to talk about the lack of people who are familiar with everything nature has to offer. What brought me to this decision is, this was the first time he had ever collected sap, even though there was not very much to collect today. It would be my fault that he never learned how to do it. We talked about what happens to make sap the sap run through the trees. We talked about the different types of trees throughout the property and discussed what they provide for all living creatures. Things like Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) providing shade over waterways and keeping the water temperature cooler and how they also can provide thermal protection for mammals as well. We discussed the variety if Oak (Quercus sp.) trees on the property and the value they provide to wildlife as a food source as well as nesting habitat for birds. One bird that we talked about was the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulean) who population status is listed as vulnerable according to the “All About Birds – the Cornell lab of Ornithology (Cerulean Warbler)” website. They attribute biggest reason for the decline is the degradation of habitat in its breeding range and in its winter range1.
You see I have always thought of myself as an outdoorsman. For many years I have taken my children hunting, fishing, camping and canoeing/kayaking to name a few of our shared outdoor activities. These are activities that I had always taken for granted and expected them to always be available to enjoy. But until I returned to college and have taken courses related to natural resources, I learned that there are a lot more things to do out in nature, such as harvesting maple sap for making syrup or even visiting bird banding station. I also learned that sharing my new found knowledge with my son is very rewarding! I am lucky that recent silvicultural practices did not exploit the timber on the property where I have the trees tapped. I believe that if we do not practice environmentally safe habits these simple pleasures may expire.
I believe that there are children and adults out in the world who have never enjoyed what this wonderful planet has to offer. Maybe it is due to the individual never having the opportunity to experience nature. Maybe it is due to everybody being too busy in their lives to take time and enjoy. Who is to blame? I don’t know the answer to that. So I challenge anyone that actually reads this blog to find at least one individual and teach them about a natural resource or two or three. Keep the activity whether it is looking for salamanders, admiring the newly formed buds on a tree or even going fishing fun and interesting then take the time and explain why it and any natural resources in the ecosystem are important to the planet. In my opinion every person who uses an opportunity to truly enjoy nature is a person who will be less likely to abuse it.
What is there to do? I don’t know where to begin, maybe a wetland, the variety of vegetation and wildlife can be very abundant and interesting not to mention that a wetland is an important ecosystem crucial to our survival. They can clean polluted waters, help prevent flooding and provide habitat. Other good opportunities can be hiking through a forest, canoeing down a river or stream or any other of the endless outdoor activities. It can even be as simple as how flies are often thought of as pests but are excellent pollinators and the importance to farmers. There are millions of opportunities for people who have the knowledge to teach or show someone what nature has to offer everyone.
I want and hope to believe that every generation from now until the end of time will have the opportunity to enjoy nature as I do. So if each one of us teach a skill to someone else, it may result in a growing amount of people who want to protect and preserve our planets natural resources.
Citations:
1] BirdLife International. 2012. Dendroica cerulea. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T22721740A39855975.
By: Rob Krauss
February 27, 2017
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Thank you Rob for your contribution to our classes blog page. I liked your topic very much. It is important to get kids involved young. Many people today do not know the value of nature or all it can give us and has given us. As a kid I liked to get involved with nature as much as I could, but that could be how I was raised. A lot of kids don’t get the opportunity to get into nature like I did. There were many times when my friends first camping experiences were with me and my family. I value nature and I want to share that value with as many people I can.
ReplyDeleteHi Rob, I really liked your blog post. You are absolutely right. Getting people into nature is very important, especially our children, the next generation. They are the next generation of hunters, land owners, stewards of wildlife conservation. I remember when I was a kid and my father taking me to the woods all the time. He's the reason why I became so passionate about wildlife. It's important we as outdoorsman, continue to pass down our outdoor traditions. Thanks for the post Rob!
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a very important issue Rob. It is so extremely important to get the youth involved in the outdoors. The outdoors can teach you many things such as respect, courtesy, and how to be responsible. If we do not get the youth involved our sport it may begin to die. There can be so many memories that are created in the great outdoors, we just need to show that to the next generation.
ReplyDeleteHello Rob, your post was very well said. I agree with everything. For us outdoorsmen, it is one of the most important things to get the youth involved. I feel nowadays that technology keeps getting bigger and better every year that kids wont explore the outdoors as much. That's why its our job to encourage people to go outdoors just like my dad did to me. He always took me fishing, hunting, or just a walk in the woods and I loved every minute of it. I can thank him for getting me interested into wildlife. I will gladly do the same for my kids.
ReplyDeleteRob, this is a very important topic. Youth is the future of wildlife conservation. It is so important to get the youth involved in the outdoors, not just the hunting/fishing part of the outdoors but the hiking, observing aspect. Just taking a walk in the woods you learn so much about how everything works together. You learn about the wildlife and their niches, you get a better understanding as to why everything is the way it is. With the younger generation learning this at a young age, the future of wildlife is in good hands.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post Rob i agree fully on everything you said. It is time for the parents of younger kids to have them put down the cellphone, shut off the xbox and go explore outside. You can find so many things outside to do and explore. We need our youth to get involved in the outdoors becasue more and more people are starting to overlook the outdoors and not care about it. Our only hope is to get the youth involved now to not to let the youth of the future down.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you Rob. We need to get our youth out into the outdoors and enjoy nature. Today kids are all about technology and they don't spend the time outside like they should. It is sad to see because nothing is better than being out in the woods.
ReplyDeleteRob, I agree with your post that people should become more aware of the possibilities of maple syrup tapping. Maple syrup tapping is a past time that is starting to vanish. It is critical to continue on this valuable skill and tradition.
ReplyDeleteRob you made a very excellent point with this post. It wasn't until I started pursuing a career in wildlife that I did not realize how much of these activities I took for granted. I also agree that it is important to get others involved and teach them about the outdoors and conservation, because after us the next generation is who makes the decisions. I know I enjoy taking my cousins out with me and explaining how everything works together in the environment and how amazing nature is. Most of the time, they didn't even know what I have pointed out to them was even happening.
ReplyDeleteRob, I agree with you that more people should be more involved in the out doors. Especially the youth, because most of them just sit at home, either watching T.V. or playing video games. Spending the time out in the woods can be the most important thing in your life. It teaches one how to survive, or even how to react if one comes lost in the woods. The younger generations, have become lazy, and they never want to do anything that involves being outdoors.
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