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Things I've spontaneously said to animals. Do you do this too? Mailing list: https://buttondown.email/rosemarymosco Patreon: www.patreon.com/birdandmoon

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If you're feeling anxious or depressed about the climate and want to do something to help right now, from your bed, for free...

Start helping with citizen science projects

What's a citizen science project? Basically, it's crowdsourced science. In this case, crowdsourced climate science, that you can help with!

You don't need qualifications or any training besides the slideshow at the start of a project. There are a lot of things that humans can do way better than machines can, even with only minimal training, that are vital to science - especially digitizing records and building searchable databases

Like labeling trees in aerial photos so that scientists have better datasets to use for restoration.

Or counting cells in fossilized plants to track the impacts of climate change.

Or digitizing old atmospheric data to help scientists track the warming effects of El Niño.

Or counting penguins to help scientists better protect them.

Those are all on one of the most prominent citizen science platforms, called Zooniverse, but there are a ton of others, too.

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I spent a lot of time doing this when I was really badly injured and housebound, and it was so good for me to be able to HELP and DO SOMETHING, even when I was in too much pain to leave my bed. So if you are chronically ill/disabled/for whatever reason can't participate or volunteer for things in person, I highly highly recommend.

Next time you wish you could do something - anything - to help

Remember that actually, you can. And help with some science.

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Mutualistic pairs for an “Odd Couples” Valentine’s program at my work. (Why do so many of my big work projects revolve around Valentine’s programs?)

Also, by “sea bugs,” I obviously meant “gnathiid isopod larvae.”

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I don't mean it in a creepy way I promise, but I feel a kinship with China, Japan and Korea i wish more people from my region shared, because...we have sister ecosystems!

It's actually amazing, there are so many plant genera that are not closely related to anything else and just have a couple living species: One (or two) from mid latitude Southeast Asia, and one from the Southeastern USA.

For example, the two living lotus species (sacred lotus and American lotus), the two living tulip tree/ Liriodendron species, the Chinese and American sweetgums (Liquidambar spp.) the Chinese and American trumpet vines (Campsis spp.) the Chinese, Japanese and American wisteria (Wisteria spp), the Chinese, Taiwan and American sassafras (Sassafras spp.) I KNOW i'm forgetting many of them because there are so many. Twins!!!!

And there's so many iconic plant groups shared in common between East Asia and SE USA. Like dogwoods, magnolias, rhododendrons, we even have our own bamboo!!!

I think a lot of how strangely familiar each ecosystem would feel to someone visiting from the other one.

And I bet there's a lot of ecological knowledge and insights we could share with each other...

Sister ecosystems...

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Berries.

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There are many benefits to being a marine biologist

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Support your local park rangers

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For those not in the know, this is one of the Amanita mushrooms referred to as a Destroying Angel. Never, ever, ever, ever forage with an app. Especially for mushrooms.

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A reminder that Jazwares CEO - the company behind toy brands like Kellytoy, Squishmallows, Bum Bumz, Hello Kitty, Pokemon (in North America), Nerf, and many others - is a staunch supporter of Israel, with half of their recent intern cohort from Reichman University being called back to fight in the IOF. Not only this, but he and his wife Laura are working with the organization known as Brothers For Life that gives aid to Israeli soldiers, as well as supporting the infamous Canary Mission, which is responsible for doxxing pro-Palestinian students.

Buying new Jazwares products is going towards a CEO who supports genocide, please continue to boycott Jazwares brands and seek out alternative brands or strictly buy from secondhand sources when looking for new gifts for yourself or your loved ones. Do not continue to put money in Jazwares's pockets.

Source

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ID: painting of a black bird with red on much of its wings sitting on a wheat plant, beak open in song, with a sun overhead in the yellow orange sky. The first version includes text reading "#1 song of the summer;" the second version is the same image without that text.

red winged blackbirds are some of my favorites

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Tailor Birds “Sewing” Nests

(via)

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there's a cherry blossom tree in DC that keeps blooming every year even though it shouldn't and the park service keeps thinking it's dead and then it keeps blooming! well they're removing a lot of trees to rehabilitate the area and they've said it's finally time for stumpy to go and they're going to mulch it and use the mulch to enrich all the other trees so it can help everything else keep going. and they're also going to plant spliced little pieces of it all over so that stumpy can live forever and this is genuinely sending me into a spiral

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Chickweed!! One of my favorite foraging snacks. For anyone interested, for those in the northern hemisphere ‘tis the season for chickweed right now, as winter eases into spring!

It’s so yummy and i like the trick i learned for recognizing it: it’s chickweed, so just like a chicken it has a “crest” (one line of hair up the stem) and a “bone” (when you pull on the stem there’s a visible stringy bit inside)

The other day a neighbor uprooted a ton from their garden and left it in the stretch of public land between us. I felt a little bad for them not realizing this “weed” is a tasty, healthy snack — but mostly just excited that their loss was my gain lol. I never pull up that much at once (rule of foraging: take no more than 10%) so it’s rare i have this much at a time

Brb gonna go sauté some, along with some deadnettle and wild garlic, and enjoy it on crackers — my fave way to eat these plants (on an egg is also good; chickweed also tastes great raw).

Don’t forget to share with friends!

Reblog with a plant that grows where you live that you love :)

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ID: An old newspaper clipping featuring a sketch of a toad sat among grass and pebbles and labeled "Beautiful Mr. Toad." More text reads, "The naturalist finds many points in him to admire. Silly superstition has blinded the eyes of many to the splendid dress and conduct of the gardener's friend." Beautiful Mr. Toad. /end ID]"

Vintage newspaper article