Talking (Less) Trash

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Talking (Less) Trash
Difficult times changes people’s values. Looking back at history, you find that major events usually refocus the way that we see our world. I hope that one of the results of the Great Recession is that we learn to value experiences and people, instead of things.

The material excesses of the American way of life are overdue for an examination and overhaul. Bea and Scott Johnson and their two sons of Mill Valley, California are setting an example for all of us. Their effort to reduce their household trash to zero was featured in People Magazine recently.

According to the article, the average American produces 1,051 pounds of trash per year. Even with all the talk of creating an eco-friendly world, experts know that our habits are not sustainable and that we must change.

Ms. Johnson suggests specific techniques for eliminating trash on her website, www.thezerowastehome.com. The ideas presented are extremely useful and focus on the four R’s—refuse, reduce, reuse, and recycle.

The concept of refusing was new to me. When the Johnsons purchase something that is wrapped in too much packaging, they unwrap it and leave the trash at the store. The message to the manufacturer is to use less packaging. They also buy things in bulk and take their own reusable containers to stores.

A great deal of planning goes into every aspect of life when the goal is to reduce our carbon footprints. Most of us find it difficult to spend time making the effort, no matter how much we want to behave responsibly toward our environment. We tend to take the easy way out and continue to live our disposable way of life.

The Johnsons recommend buying used items. For the last three Christmases, my adult children have engaged in an activity they call “Craigsmus.” They draw names among the six of them and try to find a useful gift on Craigslist for a limited amount of money. The results have been hilarious, creative, useful, and memorable for the whole family, but also rewarding in many ways.

A key technique is to organize your possessions, so that you know what you have and won’t buy things you already own. We all waste a lot of food because it goes out of date before we can use it, or it gets lost in the back of the pantry.

The Johnsons reduced their actual trash to a large mason jar full in a year’s time. That’s extreme, but we can all make an effort to consume intelligently. Doing something is better than nothing. You can make some small adjustments and, as the Johnsons report, be “happier, healthier, and richer.”

Margaret Mead, American Cultural Anthropologist, said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” She’s right.
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Workaholics Strike Again

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Workaholics Strike Again
Bucky Beaver of the fifties Ipana toothpaste commercial fame used to be my only reference for the largest rodent in the animal kingdom. The cute, little, big-toothed beaver with the gigantic toothbrush who sang “brusha, brusha, brusha” was charming and innocent, unlike the crew that visits my backyard.

When we built our house on the banks of a canal, our vision was to leave the backyard forested and natural. I wanted a few more trees taken out, but my husband stood firm that every viable tree would remain in place. Little did we know that we were not totally in control of the situation.

It was not long before we noticed significant chewing on several of the gum trees in the yard. Hoping that it was a temporary problem, we kept watch. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before there was a tree completely down. The next day it was chewed into neat three-foot lengths and in a couple more days, the pieces started to disappear.

All of this activity happened in the dark of night. It was not long before Hubby declared war on the enemy. By then, the count was beaver 5, people zero. Heavy-duty fencing and tree wound dressing were soon applied to the assaulted trees and the yard began to look like a strange fortress.

Hubby would go and sit on the pier in the dark waiting for signs of each night attack. He reported that the varmints were bold and made noises with their large, flat tails slapping the water. They didn’t seem at all afraid of humans.

With the goal of know your enemy, we did our research. North Carolina State University had excellent information on-line. There are several ways to fight these workaholics of the animal world. They can be trapped, killed, or relocated.

Beavers can be a real problem for farmers and landowners. Their dam making can cause flooding, or even create wetlands, which act as habitat for other animals. Mating for life, they can weigh up to 80 pounds and be two to three feet long. These nocturnal, semi-aquatic rodents engineer amazing constructions for lodging and storing the small trees that they will eat in the winter.

Nature’s lumberjack can move approximately ten times its weight per day or 500 pounds. Powerful chainsaw like teeth, which grow continuously, enable the creature to feast on an estimated 200 trees per year.

Once beavers numbered an estimated 60 million in America, but unregulated trapping reduced the population to 6 to 12 million. Eventually they were almost non-existent east of the Mississippi River, and in the 1930’s a successful effort was made to reintroduce them.

Now, with ever increasing human land development, their presence is more evident. Man’s interference continues to adjust the balance in nature. The phrase “busy as a beaver” is certainly an accurate description of these unique architects of the natural world.
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Winter is for the Birds

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Winter is for the Birds
We’ve been very lucky so far, because the winter weather has been mild. Of course, that can and probably will change at any time. Just like the children’s fairytale about the grasshopper and the ant who stores food for the winter, we should plan for the future.

For those of us who are nature lovers, that means preparing to feed the birds in our yards. Bird watching is one of the best ways to chase away the doldrums that come in January, February and March. For a few dollars’ worth of birdseed and a simple feeder, you can be entertained and educated at the same time.

Making your yard hospitable to the little creatures includes not only providing food, but also shelter from a wide variety of shrubs and trees of different sizes and shapes. Conifers like pine, fir, cedar and cypress which are plentiful in our area and provide both winter shelter and summer nesting sites.

Water for drinking and preening their feathers, an activity which provides good insulation, is needed year-round. You can buy heaters for birdbaths in order to ensure a constant supply.

If you want to get really involved and become a citizen scientist, you might want to take part in the 15th annual Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) on February 17-20, 2012. This worldwide event is led by the CornellLab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, with Canadian partner Bird Studies Canada and sponsorship from Wild Birds Unlimited.

Visit www.birdsource.org/gbbc and learn all about the four day event. There is a special part of the site devoted to kids to encourage them to participate. Basically, observers watch birds for a 15 minute or more period and report the species that they see to www.birdcount.org.

As the information begins to accumulate, a real time picture of where the birds are located is developed. The observations, gathered by thousands of bird enthusiasts, enable the scientists to recognize patterns and to answer in depth questions.

What is the diversity found in any given area? Are specific species declining and in need of conservation? Why do some species appear in large numbers during some years and seem to disappear in others? How do snow and cold temperatures seem to affect bird populations?

The site reports that during the 2011 count 92,000 were submitted from across the United States and Canada. Bird watchers identified 596 species and 11.4 million total birds were observed.

Among the things discovered were increased reports of Evening Grosbeaks, a species that has been declining. A small movement of winter finches farther south in their search for food was detected. Who knows what might be observed this winter?

In our area cardinals, mocking birds, chickadees, brown thrushes, robins, vultures, wrens, starlings, towhees, and American goldfinches should be the most evident.

If you decide to participate in the GBBC, you’ll be rewarded by connecting with birds and nature in a meaningful way.
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Watch the video below to learn more about the Great Backyard Bird Count and how you can take part!