Conservation At Home

My neighbor recently asked me if I had any resources for land conservation. She recently moved in next door and has a beautiful plot of land rich with wildlife. Conservation is one of those cool fields with large networks of people, so I feel lucky to usually have a good idea of where to start with questions like this.

Something I've learned through my experience with education and outreach is that if one person has a question, other people are guaranteed to have that same question. So I figured this would be a great topic for a blog post!

Even a small planter of native flowers can provide a refuge for pollinators

Whether you own 40 acres or rent an apartment in a high-rise, conservation can be accessible for you. Something as simple as a window box with native flowers can be a great stopover for migrating pollinators. It's easy to feel powerless against climate change and the negative forces working against the environment, but there are resources out there, and even the smallest action can be a huge help!

I sent my neighbor the website to our county's conservation district. Conservation districts can help with everything from farm planning to forest management to soil testing. They even have grant funding available to help certain types of projects! Conservation laws are primarily under state jurisdictions, and most states have dedicated conservation programs. If you're unsure about what local resources are available to you, The National Association of Conservation Districts is the place to start. They have an interactive map to find your local district, and they have a wealth of information on ways in which conservation districts can help you with your goals.

Prescribed burns are critical to conservation in some areas and can be done on private property

In addition to conservation districts, there are also lots of college and university conservation programs that have local extension offices for public education. For example, the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences has environmental stewardship programs with several extension offices throughout the state of Florida. Here is a list of extension programs by state - see if you've got one near you!

I hope this is helpful to you if you've got conservation on the brain! I love helping people do small things that make a difference, and I think it's important to know that there are resources and support out there. Let us know in the comments if this helped you with your conservation goals!