wildlife Archives - Wildlife Habitat Council

Migratory Species are Blind to Borders, But We are Not

Migratory species from sandhill cranes to polar bears travel thousands of miles each year as the seasons change. Without the aid of GPS technology they find their way with an instinct as old as each species itself. This instinct allows them to traverse both natural and man-made landscapes effortlessly without regard for state lines or international borders. Despite migratory species’ remarkable navigational skills, their journeys are not always safe, and their destinations may no longer exist in their natural forms upon their arrival.

When it comes to protecting migratory species, thinking within the boundaries of your own backyard is not enough. If the bald eagle enjoys safe refuge in Alaska during the summer months but finds their habitat devastated by human activities when it migrates to California for the winter, their life is still in grave danger.

International law has begun the expansive process of protecting migratory species. Globally, states that have ratified the Convention of the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) recognize that they are the protectors of migratory species that live within or pass through their national boundaries. Therefore, member states seek “to conserve the habitat of migratory species that would significantly benefit from international cooperation.” These conservation efforts are required to include trans-national coordinated conservation and management plans. North American countries are not a part of the CMS agreement, but they do work to conserve migratory birds through enforcement of the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. This treaty declares that killing, selling, and possessing migratory birds is a felony punishable by federal fines and imprisonment.

In addition to acting in accordance with conservation laws, corporate conservation teams can play an active role in protecting migratory species in other ways. For example, by using the free IPaC planning tool, it is possible to learn what species’ habitats are on your property and if those species are migratory. If any species are migratory, you can find out where they migrate to and contact corporations working in that region. The point of this contact should be to initiate a joint effort to protect and conserve your common migratory species. This communication could prove valuable to both corporate teams and wildlife, as the conservation effort could allow you collaborate with other corporations, while also ensuring the presence of both the summer and winter habitats needed by migratory species.

We cannot protect wildlife by thinking like a human. Instead, we must be willing to look at the world through the eyes of the migratory species we wish to protect, looking beyond their borders, and spotting new opportunities for connection.

Going Native in Your Urban Garden

Many corporate facilities are located in urban and industrial areas, where wildlife habitat tends to occur in small, isolated patches. In areas such as these, projects like native gardens are all the more important for the conservation of pollinators, birds, and other native animals.

Urban gardening with native species is suitable to a variety of settings, from urban corporate landscapes to home gardens. Like urban tree planting initiatives, native gardening projects provide multiple benefits for urban neighborhoods. They can help to revitalize urban neighborhoods by improving visual aesthetics and providing a place for people to reconnect with nature and with their neighbors. Urban gardens also contribute to cooler urban temperatures, produce oxygen, filter rainfall, and improve infiltration. In addition, urban gardens that include native plants can provide habitat for pollinators, songbirds, and other urban wildlife.

Not sure where to begin? Whether you’re starting from scratch with a new garden or revamping an existing garden at your facility, it will be easiest to first decide what your goals are for the garden. Do you want lots of colorful, delicate butterflies, or maybe zippy little hummingbirds? Try planting some colorful nectar-bearing flowering forbs, vines, and shrubs. Or maybe you’d rather attract birds that will fill your garden with their songs? You’ll want to plant shrubs that produce lots of berries and forbs that produce seeds, as well as trees for nesting if you have the room. Or perhaps you’d prefer to manage stormwater runoff with your garden—you could plant native vegetation that can tolerate occasional flooding to create a rain garden.

We’ve got a number of articles and other resources in our Knowledge Center to help you learn about native gardening – check out some of these to get you started:

We suggest starting off with this article to learn more about why it’s important to use native plants in your garden.
Here’s a list of 10 native vines you can include in your garden to attract butterflies.
If you’re interested in helping monarch butterflies, one of the best (and easiest) things you can do is plant milkweed in your garden. Read this article or watch this webinar to learn more about why monarchs are in decline and how you can help them.
Learn more about how planting a rain garden can help you manage stormwater runoff and benefit water quality, while also providing habitat for wildlife.
Gardens don’t have to just benefit wildlife – learn how to plant a garden with fruits both humans and wildlife can enjoy.
Want to show off your national pride with your garden? Find out how to create a patriotic pollinator garden that shows your love for both your country and for pollinators.

If you’d like specific recommendations on how to design your urban garden for wildlife, don’t hesitate to contact us at WHC@wildlifehc.org.

The Carbon-Sequestering Power of Soils

This is the fourth in a series of blog posts about soil.

Earlier this year, scientists announced that carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere had reached a record high of 400 parts per million (ppm), more than 120 ppm higher than pre-industrial carbon levels. It seems fitting, then, that I end this blog series with a post about the carbon-sequestering power of soils.

Carbon sequestration is the process by which carbon dioxide is moved from the atmosphere into a non-gaseous form, such as plant matter. Plants do this well, using sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into sugars and other compounds that ultimately turn into plant tissues. When more carbon is absorbed then released, the system is considered a carbon sink; the opposite, when a system releases more carbon than absorbs, is considered a carbon source.

When plants die, they decay and become part of the soil. Over time, this process allows soils to store large amounts of carbon and serve as carbon sinks, especially in soils where the decay of organic matter back into carbon dioxide is slow, such as colder regions and areas with low soil disturbance.

Prairie soils can be particularly good carbon sinks. Prairie grasses and wildflowers develop deep, extensive root systems; some prairie plants grow roots up to 15 feet deep! As these root systems decay, organic matter in the soil builds up relatively quickly. In fact, prairies can store more carbon underground than forests can store in trees aboveground.

Corporate conservation programs can help contribute to soil carbon sequestration in a number of ways. As mentioned above, planting native vegetation that is good at sequestering carbon, including trees and deep-rooted grasses and wildflowers, is a great way to do this. Teams can also manage existing habitats in ways that reduce soil disturbance and erosion, improve soil structure, and increase soil organic matter.

So the next time you hear about atmospheric carbon levels, consider how the soil under our feet is so closely linked to the air above our heads!

Soils in All the Colors of the Rainbow

A rainbow of soil is under our feet; red as a barn and black as a peat. It’s yellow as lemon and white as the snow; bluish gray. So many colors below. Hidden in darkness as thick as the night; the only rainbow that can form without light. Dig you a pit, or bore you a hole, you’ll find enough colors to well rest your soil.
– A Rainbow of Soil Words by F.D. Hole, 1985

In my introductory post about the Year of Soils, I explained how soils are made up of numerous components, both organic and inorganic. But no two soils are created equal!

Soils vary widely around the world. They can be organized, or classified, based on the variations in these organic and inorganic components. There are a number of different classification systems, including the USDA’s Soil Taxonomy system and the FAO’s World Reference Base for Soil Resources. These systems organize soils based on considerations like their overall texture (the proportions of clay, silt, and sand, which form from the slow breakdown of bedrock), their mineral composition, and the thickness and composition of their layers.

Oh yes…layers! Soil isn’t the same all the way down–it is much more complex! Over time, it goes through complicated processes like leaching, the addition and breakdown of organic matter (humus), and the breakdown of bedrock. The result is these layers:

Regional variations in temperature, rainfall, etc., as well as the composition of the underlying bedrock, result in dramatic differences in these layers. Including their colors! Here in Maryland, for example, much of our soil is a bright orange-red near the surface, due to a type of clay that holds large amounts of iron. This iron oxidizes (rusts) in the presence of oxygen, resulting in this vivid color.

And just as the living soil ecosystem can influence the plant ecosystem growing above, these non-living characteristics have an impact as well. Different plants prefer different soil conditions, including depth, moisture/drainage, pH, and texture, which is one of the reasons why all of the different soil types around the world support such variable plant communities.

Soil testing can be a great way to learn about your soil’s classification and associated characteristics. You can use this information to figure out what kinds of plants will grow best on your land, and if any amendments are needed to improve growing conditions.

Have you ever had your soil tested? What did you learn about your soil?

Get Outdoors this Spring with Citizen Science!

Now that it’s finally spring and things are warming up and beginning to grow, it’s a great time to get your employees and your local community engaged in outdoor activities as part of your corporate conservation program. One great way to do this is by participating in a citizen science project.

Citizen science is scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by non-scientific professionals. Citizen science projects are designed to be user-friendly for amateurs, and typically involve training to ensure everyone participating is comfortable with the techniques needed for surveys.

Here’s just a few examples of fantastic citizen science projects in North America that your team could participate in this spring and summer. There are many other great projects out there, of course, some of which (like Audubon’s Christmas Bird Count) are even conducted during the winter.

For those of you with corporate conservation programs located outside of North America, here’s a couple of great citizen science programs that are conducted worldwide:

Do you participate in any citizen science projects? Tell us about it in the comments below!

The Soil is Alive!

This is the second in a series of blog posts about soil.

We often think of soil as nothing more than “the dirt beneath your feet,” but soil is much more complex than that. There’s a whole other world of living creatures beneath our feet!

Soils provide habitat for a rich, dynamic ecosystem for organisms ranging from microscopic bacteria and protozoa, to fungi and plant roots, to insects, worms, mites, and other invertebrates, and even subterranean vertebrates like moles.

Most soil organisms live in the top few inches of soil, where oxygen and nutrients are most readily available, though a few microorganisms (like anaerobic bacteria) occur at lower depths.

Soil is more than just a home for these organisms, however. Many of these organisms can benefit the plant community growing above it by improving the availability of nutrients and organic compounds. Symbiotic bacteria known as Rhizobia, for example, can “fix” nitrogen from the air and convert it to a form that plants can use, in exchange for essential minerals and sugars supplied by roots of leguminous plants. Soil organisms that decompose organic matter also break down complex organic molecules into nutrients that plants can use.

Soil organisms affect plant growth in other ways. Tunneling creatures like moles and worms move the soil around, which aerates it, improves drainages, and creates easier routes for root growth. Some microorganisms can stimulate plant growth by releasing special hormones.

Sometimes soil organisms can negatively impact the plant ecosystem above. For example, subterranean herbivores like voles and white grubs can impact plant growth by feeding on roots, and soil pathogens like wilt-causing fungi can harm or kill plants. Fortunately these species are kept in check by other creatures higher on the food chain.

So the next time you plant your garden, you can thank all those soil organisms for helping your plants grow!

Celebrate World Wetlands Day on February 2

February 2 of each year is World Wetlands Day, which marks the date that the Convention on Wetlands (also known informally as the Ramsar Convention) was signed in 1971. World Wetlands Day provides private and public entities alike with the opportunity to raise awareness about the importance and value of wetlands.

Wetlands provide vital habitat to a number of species, including (but certainly not limited to) waterfowl, wading birds, frogs and salamanders, aquatic invertebrates, turtles, and fish. They also provide a number of essential ecosystem services like purifying our water, absorbing flood waters, and protecting coastal and riparian areas against erosion. Unfortunately, 64% of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1900.

Voluntary efforts to manage wetlands and wetland-dependent species on corporate lands are invaluable for wetland conservation efforts, as well as in promoting wetland conservation within local communities. From vernal pool and wetland construction, to frog call surveys, to structural enhancements, WHC-certified programs around the world incorporate a wide range of conservation and education tools to further wetland conservation.

World Wetlands Day provides an opportunity to highlight the wetlands conservation work your program is already doing and raise awareness about the value of wetlands in your local community. There are numerous ways to celebrate World Wetlands Day at your site, even if your facility doesn’t have wetlands. The local community could be invited to help install native wetland plantings or artificial habitat structures for wetland species, or to participate in monitoring wetland birds or water quality. Even if you don’t have a wetland on site, you could use curricula like Project WET to educate young learners about wetland-related topics.

Designing the Ideal Project at Ricoh Group’s West Caldwell Site

When Yoko Perez started working for the Environmental Team at Ricoh Americas Corporation’s West Caldwell Office in June 2013, she started working to align their Wildlife at Work program with the priorities of Ricoh Group’s biodiversity policy, as well as to better engage employees in the program. She and her team recognized that working with WHC offers the Ricoh Americas branch a unique approach from Ricoh Group’s other branches to aligning with the company’s biodiversity policy.

The West Caldwell Office’s program includes five pollinator gardens, which were installed last November with the help of the site’s landscapers to pick the garden locations and 20 volunteers to plant the garden. The Environmental Team chose plant species such as lupine, bee balm, Joe-pye-weed, and black-eyed Susan that would be shade tolerant and provide nectar to pollinators. A small rain garden planted with pollinator-friendly species was also planted in an area near the building that tends to collect water.

In addition, invasive species such as multiflora rose, Japanese knotweed, phragmites, autumn olive, and Bradford pear have been observed on the property, so the Environmental Team is looking into controlling these species with the help of employees and local partner organizations.

Yoko and her team work hard to monitor and document their projects, including information on where each species was planted in the gardens and which of those plants survived. Monitoring is a critical part of every project because it provides information about what worked and what didn’t work.

Employees at the West Caldwell Office use the company’s intranet site, RWorld. Yoko attributes the success of her team’s program and the thoroughness of project documentation to their access to this interactive site, which allows employees across the country to post news and information, post comments and feedback, and share photographs. This makes it easy for the Environmental Team to share their monitoring data, wildlife photographs, and other documentation for the program.

Ruby-throated hummingbird observed in one of the pollinator gardens at the West Caldwell Office. Photo courtesy of Ricoh Group.

Yoko says she also uses RWorld to spur employee interest in and support for the Wildlife at Work program. For example, she told me how she posts articles for her garden blog on RWorld, and also posts information and videos for events such as National Pollinator Week and Ricoh’s Global Eco Action Month this past June.

If you’re looking for ideas to better engage your employees or document your program, please WHC.

This Year’s Christmas Tree, Next Year’s Habitat

With the winter holiday season upon us and Christmas only a few days away, many living rooms and office lobbies are now decorated (or soon will be) with live evergreen Christmas trees. But once the holidays are over, what should we do with all of those trees?

I suggest using them to create habitat!

A post-holiday Christmas tree collection drive through a local school or community center is a great way to reach out to your local community and spread awareness about your habitat enhancement program, while also providing valuable brush for your projects.

As part of my Three Rs blog series a couple of years ago, I briefly mentioned using old Christmas trees in brush piles. Start by removing the branches from a few trees and using the trunks to create a base that lifts up the brush and provides space for wildlife to move around under cover. Intact Christmas trees or their brush can then be loosely piled on top. The needles can be left on the branches, as they will provide more cover and will be used by many birds for nest building in the spring. Creating these kinds of brush piles along the edge of your woodland or grassland will provide cover for small mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians to escape from predators, find shelter from the elements, and build nests and dens.

If you have a pond or lake, Christmas trees can also be used to create underwater cover for fish and aquatic invertebrates. You can tie together branches from the trees into a brush pile to be partially or fully sunk. Alternatively, you could sink single intact Christmas trees. Wood floats, so you’ll probably need to weigh the trees and brush piles down with a cinderblock.

It may seem obvious, but it’s still a very important to note: be sure to remove all decorations, including lights, artificial snow, ornaments, and tinsel, from the Christmas trees prior to using them in projects. These items will create litter that could harm wildlife and contaminate the water and soil nearby.

Make Monitoring Easy!

Monitoring is an important part of every habitat enhancement project. When you monitor a project after you’ve put it into place, you can track its progress and see what worked and what didn’t, and then use that information when making future management decisions for the project.

Making note of the wildlife you see using your project, whether it be a large-scale planting like a prairie restoration or a small-scale structure like a nest box, gives you information about whether the project is successfully providing quality habitat, and to which species.

I know that it can sometimes be challenging to incorporate wildlife monitoring into your program, so I would like to share a few ways to make it easier for your team – and hopefully a bit more fun.

Supply employees and visitors with critter cards. These can be as simple as index cards that employees can carry around and use to quickly write down which animals they see as they go about their normal work day. Providing a drop-off box for critter cards in a visible, high-traffic location will make it easy for employees to submit their observations.
Provide volunteers with laminated ID sheets of common species that use the project or habitat. Make sure to include photographs and simple identification tips that will make it easy for volunteers to identify a species.
Install a trail cam near the project to document species that use the project. This is especially handy for documenting nocturnal animals, as well as shy species that may hide or flee upon human approach.
In the same vein, you can install a nest cam to remotely view birds using nest boxes, osprey platforms, and other artificial nesting structures. If the bird species using the nest is sensitive to disturbance, a nest cam can help you closely monitor the nest without disturbance. (Check out my previous article on nest cams for more information.)
Keep a wildlife log near a main door so employees can write down the animals they see when they head into work in the morning or after their breaks.

Coyote on trail cam. Photo courtesy of Vulcan Materials Company.

Have another tip for making wildlife monitoring easy and fun at your facility that we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comment box below!

Tag Archive for: wildlife

Migratory Species are Blind to Borders, But We are Not

Read more WHC blogs.

Going Native in Your Urban Garden

Read more WHC blogs.

The Carbon-Sequestering Power of Soils

Read more WHC blogs.

Soils in All the Colors of the Rainbow

Read more WHC blogs.

Get Outdoors this Spring with Citizen Science!

Read more WHC blogs.

The Soil is Alive!

Read more WHC blogs.

Celebrate World Wetlands Day on February 2

Read more WHC blogs.

Designing the Ideal Project at Ricoh Group’s West Caldwell Site

Read more WHC blogs.

This Year’s Christmas Tree, Next Year’s Habitat

Read more WHC blogs.

Make Monitoring Easy!

Read more WHC blogs.

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Tag Archive for: wildlife

About

Work With WHC

Learn More

Member

UN Global Compact Business for Nature

Official ally

World Benchmarking Alliance

UN Global Compact
Business for Nature