The Battle to Preserve Global Biodiversity Starts Here

We'll, its been a long time since I have posted!  We've just finished our busy season so we have some time to breath, reflect, and share some ideas. I'm on a hard-earned vacation at the moment, and just today I read an article in Science Daily who's title could have been taken right out of some of Good Oak's marketing material: "Ongoing Global Biodiversity Loss Unstoppable With Protected Areas Alone".

This article goes into some pretty grim statistics and projections, that seem quite overwhelming.  But I urge readers to not look at this dire forecast and be disheartened.  Instead, consider it a battle cry!  There may not be a lot you can do about Africa, the Amazon or coral reefs, but this biodiversity crisis is a global issue, and it is happening right here in the Midwest.  In the words of Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has".

So lets start by restoring all of our woodlands, grasslands and wetlands to a more natural state that can harbor the biodiversity of our regions.  At the moment, most of our "natural" areas (on both private and public land) hold only a fraction of the native species that belong there.  We can't rely on state parks and natural areas to be the only places where we conserve our local biodiversity.

And really, there's a lot we can do in our back yards, front yards, school yards, city parks, roadsides and field edges.  Our fine natural areas will need the support of a larger network of corridors and patches of native wildlife in order to preserve our unique and fascinating local biota for future generations.  Every little bit you can do will make a difference!