The Gardener's Coach

11/29/2021

Seeing this magnificent animal being treated with such disregard by developers is a great shame for this state. The tortoises are a key stone species, meaning that by merely being in the habitat, as many as 350 other species of animals, including reptiles and insects, benefit of their presence.

Environmental advocates fear the gopher tortoise could lose some protections after a state agency decided to temporarily give developers more flexibility on where gopher tortoises can be relocated. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said more development in Florida has led to a gr...

05/24/2021

"Our results provide compelling evidence that nitrogen loading from the Florida Keys and greater Everglades ecosystem caused by humans, rather than warming temperatures, is the primary driver of coral reef degradation at Looe Key Sanctuary Preservation Area during our long-term study,"

02/28/2021

"If it all sounds a bit improbable, starting with the concept of plants crying for help, scientists also scoffed at that idea when it was first proposed a few decades ago. But it has been shown time and time again that when under attack, plants can emit chemical distress signals, causing their peers to mount some sort of defense."

While there's a famous horror-movie spoof about killer tomatoes, no one seems to have made one about caterpillars—the insect pests that eat the juicy red fruits of summer.

02/09/2021

Plant-based diets crucial to saving global wildlife, says report

"the UN environment programme (Unep), focused on three solutions. First is a shift to plant-based diets because cattle, sheep and other livestock have the biggest impact on the environment.

More than 80% of global farmland is used to raise animals, which provide only 18% of calories eaten. Reversing the rising trend of meat consumption removes the pressure to clear new land and further damage wildlife. It also frees up existing land for the second solution, restoring native ecosystems to increase biodiversity."

Vicious circle of cheap but damaging food is biggest destroyer of nature, says UN-backed report

01/31/2021

Has anyone ever seen such beauty!? Tiny creatures just trying to survive and reproduce, in our world, it is a life and death challenge.

With some 300 hummingbird species existing throughout the Americas, these quick and tiny birds exhibit great diversity. Discover 17 of the most beautiful.

01/18/2021

Amazing sight!

Striking image of a recently burned tree, exposing its vascular tissue, the xylem and phloem.

A tree’s vascular system carries water and minerals from the roots up to the leaves, and photosynthesized food back down to the rest of the tree.

Interesting fact: Trees have no muscles (or nervous system) so all of this movement is powered by turgor pressure, which is controlled by stomata in the leaves that open and close as needed.

(via Reddit

01/13/2021

The damage being done to the environment is undeniable. The footprint being left by expanding civilization into wild habitats can prove deadly for the creatures that inhabit it.

Dozens of frogs, fish, orchids and other species — many unseen for decades — may no longer exist due to humanity’s destructive effects on the planet.

01/01/2021

Amazing! Hear the message so beautifully delivered.

"It is a hope that implores us at an uncompromising core to keep rising up for an Earth more than worth fighting for." http://climaterealityproject.org

12/16/2020

"Sacrificing this unique and vital region to sulfide-ore copper mining would destroy not only an irreplaceable recreational and economic treasure, but what is also one of our best natural assets in the fight against climate change."

Banning destructive mining from the headwaters of the BWCA would deliver multiple benefits.

12/14/2020

So beautiful!

The green tree fern fiddlehead is symbolic of the potential for bushfire recovery.

12/14/2020

"Black Americans are exposed to 56 percent more pollution than they generate, Latinx populations are exposed to 63 percent more, and white Americans are exposed to 17 percent less."

And if you care about racial justice, you have to care about the environment.