Conservation
Nature relies on a rich diversity of organisms to keep it in balance. Conservation plays a key role in ensuring that environmental equilibrium is preserved. Learn about the solutions spearheading our efforts to promote biodiversity, safeguard vital ecosystems, and protect endangered species.
Founder of Lululemon drops $3.2 million to protect Canadian islands
Chip Wilson, founder and former CEO of the popular athletic apparel brand Lululemon, just spent $3.2 million to purchase Saturnina, a small Canadian island, and to help preserve two other islands in the Salish Sea to protect them from becoming real estate property for private homes. The three Read More...
The Bison Bridge - World's longest human-made wildlife crossing
Chad Pregracke is an impassioned conservationist who spends his time on barges, cleaning up refuse from the Mississippi River. While on the river, he watches cars drive across a 55-year-old concrete bridge that is meant to be demolished and replaced—but when he sees the aging bridge, he imagines Read More...
Rare yellow penguin is mystifying biologists
In December 2019, Belgian wildlife photographer Yves Adams had an exceptional stroke of luck while on a remote island in South Georgia. Adams was leading a two-month photography expedition through the South Atlantic and had decided to stop on a South Georgia beach. It was then that he caught Read More...
Indians recently planted 250 million trees—while socially distancing
India is committed to keeping a third of its total land area under forest and tree cover. In recent years the country has mobilized millions of people to plant tree saplings across the country, and plans were in place to do the same in the state of Uttar Pradesh on July 5th. The mass-planting Read More...
Forget dressers, IKEA wants you to build a bee house
The task of building IKEA furniture has been challenging newlyweds and college students for years. In 2020, the company started offering a new challenge to customers: building bee habitats. IKEA’s research and design lab, SPACE10, has partnered with European design studio Bakken & Bæck, Read More...
COVID-19 might just be a blessing in disguise for the pangolin
The pangolin is one of the most fascinating creatures in the world, being the only mammal to also be covered in hard protective scales. Unfortunately, it is these scales that make them a target for poachers, who sell them to be used in Chinese traditional medicine. Their meat is also considered a Read More...
Critically endangered turtles hatch undisturbed on people-free beaches
At the start of each April, people on the northeastern shorelines of Brazil can witness the critically-endangered hawksbill sea turtles emerge from their eggs and make their first steps into the waters of the Atlantic. But as people have been advised to stay indoors to slow the spread of the Read More...
Study suggests quick action could successfully restore oceans by 2050
A global team of researchers recently published an article in the scientific journal Nature detailing the state of our ocean's health, and unlike most projections of the ocean’s future health, this paper cautiously explains that we can successfully restore the ocean by 2050—if we act fast. Read More...
How volunteer vets are saving the world’s fattest parrots from extinction
While the Optimist Daily may not have a favorite bird per se, the kākāpō is definitely one of our favorites. The kākāpō is a colorful parrot with intricate patterns, and it so happens to be the world’s fattest parrot. Endangered parrot Unfortunately for our feathered friends in New Read More...
Germany is turning 62 Cold War military bases into sanctuaries for wildlife
Wildlife in Germany will get a quarter more land to roam over, as the country’s government has decided to turn 62 unused military bases into sanctuaries for rare birds and other animals. Serving once as military bases at the center of the Cold War, the green areas just west of the Iron Curtain Read More...