Saving wildlife?

Question

are there any other ways to help save wildlife without donating money? I don't feel I can give enough to make a difference

Answer 1

Permaculture Answer:

Nobody can really save wildlife. Human-caused interference in ecosystems rarely turns out well. There are just too many variables involved if the habitat is a human managed one. Attempts in the past to 'save' one species has meant massive loss and damage to other species. Humans are also easily corrupted, have political and financial agendas.

Many habitats are 'managed' by non indigineous people/companies/government officials, who interfere in systems they do not understand. Where once the ancient tribes managed these habitats and protected them through tradition and stories. Ancient Tribes enriched the systems, not depleted them. If you believe in evolution, then there is loss of species. However, much loss is directly caused by modern man and his activities/greed. For this we should take responsibility.

How? The answer for me is not the protection and restoration of habitats after man has exploited them and their resident species have become endangered, but to limit man's own land use to the minimum. We can do this by becoming self sufficient as possible and leaving the wilderness/countryside to do what it does best self-manages and heals itself.

http://www.prbo.org/obs_cms/index.php?mo...

http://www.defenders.org/newsroom/press_...

http://www.awionline.org/pubs/Quarterly/...

Answer 2

You could volunteer for a wildlife group near you. If there are any petitions you could sign them to save the wildlife.

Answer 3

Turn your back yard into a small natural habitat for small animals. Check the world wide web for ideas how.  Have sever kinds of feeders out target squirrels, birds, rodents, and small reptiles like turtles.

Answer 4

The State of New York began a new program a few years ago.  All sportsmen's license dealers also sell what is called a Habitat & Access Stamp.  The cost is $5 and all the funds raised by sales is to go to the purchase of wildlife habitat and for access to this habitat.  The probem is that almost no one but the hunters and fishermen seems interested enough to spend even $5 a year.  They would rather sit back and complain.  Most years, I get two.

Find an area that needs some improvement as habitat.  Then get involved with a group that does things like that or just approach one about helping do the improvement.  There may well be State programs in place where you are for things like that, but someone has to get the ball rolling and then keep pushing it over the hills of bureaucracy.  Trout Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited are just two of the many non-profit groups that work to improve specific types of habitat and even to provide some funding.

Answer 5

National Wildlife Federation can give you free on line classes and teach you how to set up a mini wildlife preserve where you live. No area is too small to attract birds, frogs or other wildlife. In addition you can also volunteer to teach children about wildlife at school or libraries. You can make adults aware as well.  Find the NWF on the Internet.

Answer 6

You didn't state where you are, but i'm going to guess the U.S.A.

There is something terribly simple you can do, and it has a ripple effect, like tossing a stone in a calm pond...the effects are far reaching.

Build houses for native bees.  It's very easy, and quiet inexpensive, and you yourself will be making a huge difference for wildlife, and the Earth.

Here are just a few of the reasons why it's outstanding to provide houses for our native Orchard Mason Bees:

The male OMB cannot sting and the female rarely does.

The OMB does not live in a nest like other bees. It lives in wooden blocks, but does not drill holes. It uses holes that are already made.

The OMB pollinates at a rate of 93% to 99% efficiency. The European honey bee is only about 3% efficient.

The OMB starts pollination at 55 degrees Fahrenheit. The European honey bee will not work at this low temperature.

The OMB will work during light rain and wind, whereas the European honey bee will stay in the hive.

It takes only 250 to 750 OMBs to fully pollinate an acre of fruit. It would take about 60,000 to 120,000 European honey bees to do the same job in the same time.

Each female is a queen and will produce as many as 50 eggs during a season before she dies, if there is a habitat available.

Remember the honey bees we normally think of are not native to the U.S....they are imported.  Every time you provide a home for the Orchard Mason Bees, you increase the amount of food for wildlife dramaticly!  

Here are some links to information about building the native bee houses:

http://www.nwf.org/backyard/beehouse.cfm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orchard_mas...

You can take something as simple as a hunk of firewood, drill holes in it, and hang it up.  It's EXTREMELY simple!  Provide the habitat, and the bees will find it!  You don't need to do anything else!

It's late in the year now, but build some simple houses over the fall and winter, plan where to hang them, and put them out in the very early spring.

After you build your first bee houses, you may want to branch out and provide some bird, bat, or butterfly houses.  I'm warning you...once you start building houses for wildlife it gets to be pretty adivctive.  You start identifying more and more benificial birds and insects, and start providing more and more habitats and houses.

The bee's polinate more plants, which helps more plants grow the next year.  This provides more food for hummingbirds, and butterflies.  It also provides more fruit, nuts and berries for all the animals to harvest, store or eat over the fall and winter.

Simple, inexpensive and a win-win situation for both humans, and wildlife.

~Garnet

Homesteading/Farming over 20 years

P.S.  Orchard Mason Bees live in Mexico, accross the entire U.S. and into Canada...they live everywhere, so don't worry that they are not where you are!

Answer 7

What you do is start your own ECO orginization and get other people to send you money. Then you can spend some of that on saving Wildlife. Keep about twenty % for administrative costs and about 10% for recruiting more members.

Answer 8

STOP doing things that harm animals

Answer 9

You could become a volunteer for a wildlife rescue service or look for tips on how to make your home or property more wildlife friendly.  I don't know what area you live in but if you look in your local phone directory or on the internet you should find people whom you can contact for advise.

I hope these sites will help:

In Australia:

http://www.rspca.org.au/animal/wildlife_...

http://www.rspca.org.au/about/volunteers...

In Britain:

http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellit...

http://www.catchat.org/adoption/notcats....



In the USA:

http://www.hsus.org/wildlife/wildlife_an...

Answer 10

sure..you can volunteer for an organization like Audobon or other local environmental groups in your area.  They many times will participate in clean ups, training people to become docents to educate school children, etc.  You can even try your local zoo to see what volunteer programs they have.  Also, you can even educate with your local humane society...letting people know how important it is to spay/neuter their pets and to keep their cats indoors so as to not affect the migratory bird populations.  

http://www.audubon.org/states/index.php

Answer 11

Unless, your going to buy land and re-introduce native habitat and animals the best thing to do is give money for the large organizations to perform the task. Millions of one dollar donations add up.