An Ode to That One Planet We Can Live On

Earth Day had always been my favorite “holiday” as a child. I am not even kidding.

I have vivid memories of my elementary school class going outside and planting a tree. We could buy t-shirts with endangered whales, swirling clouds, and towering trees on them.

Our planet Earth provides us with so much that no blog post could ever cover it all.

So instead of writing over and over again of how important this Earth Day is, I am just going to show you its beauty and just some of what it has provided, for me personally, in pictures from my everyday life.

Hey Planet Earth, you provide me with:

A place to play softball.

National Mall, Washington DC

A forest to ride through.

Cal-Sag Trail, Palos Park, IL

A place to take it all in.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

The opportunity to enhance it.

Casey Tree planting, Washington DC

Fond family memories. 

Lake Wandawega, Elkhorn, WI

Somewhere to splash my toes in. 

Lake Michigan, Chicago, IL

The reminder of nature in a concrete jungle.

Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL

How amazing the tide is. 

Sand flats, Duxbury, MA

Sunsets that are top notch. 

New Buffalo, MI

And sunrises that are equally fantastic.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC

Fall colors make my heart melt. 

Indiana University, Bloomington, IN

And breathtaking ocean views.

Big Sur, CA

The power of water.

Niagara Falls, NY

Planet Earth, you remind us of just how tiny we are.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN

 

How are you celebrating Earth Day?

Wild Weather for the Wild Things Conference

Yesterday, it was over 60 degrees. In February. In Chicago.

A record high of 67 degrees was set on 2-17-17, destroying the previous record of 60 degrees set in 1880.

I did not get to spend much time outside in the unseasonably warm weather, though.

That was because I spent the entire day inside learning with other environmentalists/conservationists/naturalists at the Wild Things Conference.

 

From the Wild Things Conference program

 

For the first time ever, the conference sold out of tickets a month before the event. The waitlist was over 300 people long. It goes to show how many people are starting to take action, and it was heartwarming to see.

 

Packed room for the opening plenary session

 

I attended one session on the importance of stories in conservation featuring Gavin Van Horn of the Center for Humans and Nature. My favorite term he used was reSTORYation.

“Science needs story.

Story needs science.”

-Gavin Van Horn

The next session, “Past, Present, and Future: Understanding Climate Change in the Chicago Region,” could easily be summed up with the below slide.

 

Molly Woloszyn’s (climate specialist at the Illinois State Water Survey and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant at UIUC) popular presentation

 

The packed room had space for standing room only. So I stood and listened about how by midcentury, Chicago could be 4.4-4.7 degrees warmer and have a climate more like the southern city of Salem, IL.

In the future, Chicago should be prepared for the following:

• An increase in overnight low temperatures (that is bad for agriculture and humans)
• An increase in annual precipitation of 3.2″-4″
• More consecutive dry days (meaning longer periods between rain)
• An increase in the intensity of precipitation (think big, quick storms)
• A decrease in ice cover in the Great Lakes

Sounds pleasant…

 

Composting available at the conference! 

There were so many other sessions where I got to listen to passionate people present. Just a sample:

• archeological sites within the Forest Preserve District of Cook County
• storm water management case studies
• the evolution of prescribed burns
• environmental advocacy best practices

It was a really awesome day to be surrounded by so many people who care about wildlife and the environment.

I absolutely recommend keeping your eyes open for information on the 2019 Wild Things Conference.

I have a feeling it is going to be even bigger.