8. Conserve Biodiversity
Week 8 of 52 Climate Solutions shows you actions to take to help conserve biodiversity and mitigate climate change. We share a bunch of practical projects and fave films to inspire.
We all live within ecosystems, sharing links with other plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms, often in indirect or unseen ways. It is easy to feel like we are ‘top dog’ on the food chain, or that civilisation has evolved to the point that we could pretty much do whatever we want, and still thrive. But we reckon the psychological and physical disconnections between humans and the rest of nature are at the heart of the human-induced climate change problem.
Land clearing, extractive industries, monoculture farming, and many other human-driven activities have, and continue to, exacerbate climate change whilst degrading and destroying biodiversity. Land clearing can also increase the risk of pandemics as diseases spread from animals to humans. And as climate change increases and magnifies, so too are more species harmed or lost. Coral reefs, alpine vegetation and rainforest may be some of the first climate change casualties, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
We do ourselves and other biota a disservice if we keep operating in business-as-usual ways. Perhaps if extractive activities that harm biodiversity were within sight to more people, then there might be a more vocal populace calling for stronger regulation and better management. Attenborough, Goodall and others have advocated for biodiversity and helped contextualise our impacts to it. Now, more than ever, we need people who understand biodiversity and its relationship to society, to be vocal, and draw lines between our lifestyles and the lives of other species, so more people are prompted to act.
This coming Sunday 22nd is International Day for Biological Diversity and Friday 20th (Election eve) is World Bee Day - a day for considering the pollinators who help maintain diverse ecosystems. So, for this weeks’ #52climatesolutions, we ask that you do your bit to conserve biodiversity. Start with voting for candidates who will prioritise the protection of ecosystems - something that rarely features in election campaigns but really should be key to action on climate. At a smaller level, you could support local species by building an insect house or planting a flower garden to support bees and other beneficial insects. You might boycott harmful ingredients (e.g. palm oil), join a local conservation group or speak up about the natural places that are important to you and species you care about. Every little act counts.
Keep reading for activities to conserve and support biodiversity in your backyard. Build a frog pond, make seed bombs, plant a native garden and a food forest! You’ll also find a list of fave films about biodiversity conservation and this week’s printable colouring sheet for your journal, or just for fun. Tag us on social media @spiralgarden so we can see and share what you’ve been up to as you conserve biodiversity this week.
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