This spring has been one full of challenges and unexpected beauty. From the power of bird watching and a healing environment to the 50th Earth Day and Arbor day – we’ve selected a few articles to educate, elevate and celebrate the good stuff. Happy spring!
When it’s Okay (or Not) to Feed Birds
Audubon | May 24, 2018 | Melissa Groo
Many of us have been enjoying our bird feeders during this time of seclusion. Check out Audubon’s recent article discussing when and when not to feed the birds. Read more!
Audubon
Want to attract more birds to your home base? Find native plants for your region that will boost your popularity with our feathered friends. Read more!
Air Quality in the US is Improving
Washington Post | April 9, 2020 | Andrew Freedman and Lauren Tierney
The upside to the Corona Virus lock downs is that air quality in the US is improving. This offers a rare — and unintended — large-scale experiment for scientists to see how human emissions contribute to hazardous air quality and analyze the effectiveness of particular policy ideas. Read more!
This 50th Earth Day, Humans are Locked Inside and Nature is Temporarily Ascendant
Yahoo News – The Week | April 22, 2020 | Peter Weber
There are blue skies over New Delhi for the first time in years and Jalandhar residents saw the snow-capped Himalayas for the first times in decades. Pollution levels were down double digits in cities all over the world. Animals roamed freely through parks and cities — pumas in Santiago, Chile; coyotes in downtown Chicago and San Francisco; goats overrunning a town in Wales. Read more!
There is a Word for the Trauma Caused by Distance from Nature
Quartz | February 24, 2020 | Ephrat Livni
Disconnection from nature can be bad for our mental health. But there was no name for this particular malaise until Australian sustainability professor Glenn Albrecht coined the term psychoterratic, creating the beginning of a vocabulary to discuss the relationship between mental health and environment. Read more!
In Quarantine, the Budding of a Pastime: Growing Vegetable Scraps on Windowsills
Eater | April 16, 2020 | Jenny G. Zhang
For reasons both practical and emotional, people are regrowing scallions and more in jars of water.
