Celebrate Endangered Species Day!
The wolverine is one of many animals on the list of endangered or threatened species
Do something furry!
Every year, on the third Friday of May and throughout the weekend, people across the country celebrate Endangered Species Day, visiting parks, wildlife refuges and botanical gardens, and taking on projects like community clean-ups and classroom presentations.
The purpose of the day, established last year by the United States Senate, is “to recognize conservation efforts underway across the nation aimed at helping America’s imperiled species.” You can read more about it here.
Endangered Species Day is a good time to pay a visit to the wild – especially to a national or state park. These are protected places for all animals, including us humans. You can help protect them when you visit them, too.
The National Park Service has a list of success stories about animals, from grizzly bears to Florida panthers, who are coming back from the brink, thanks, in large part, to the parks. It’s a good read.
And the Endangered Species Coalition has a list of 10 things any of us can do to protect endangered animals in our own neighborhoods – from how to make your home and backyard more friendly to birds and other wildlife to tips on products to buy or not buy in order to be animal-friendly.
Endangered Species Day is a good weekend to get young people connected with the world of nature. And together you can keep discovering more all year. One company has a fun suite of software to help people of all ages learn more about protecting the animals, along with tips that any of us can follow.
What you can do: If you go out to the wild this weekend – to a local park or a national park, let us know what you saw – either in a comment below or on Facebook.