2023 Environmental Days
National Bison Day
November 4, 2023, the first Saturday in November, is National Bison Day in the United States. This annual event is an opportunity for people everywhere in North America to reflect on the impact bison have as a part of our environmental and cultural heritage. Bison have been essential to the Indigenous people as they were central to their survival.
Elk Island National Park has a prominent history in bison conservation. In 1907, the Canadian government bought one of the remaining pure-bred plains bison here from Montana. In 1909, the herd was sent to Elk Island National Park. In 1965, a small herd of wood bison was relocated to EINP. Now, Parks Canada manages herds of plains bison and wood bison in separate areas of the park. #NationalBisonDay
World Cleanup Day
World Cleanup Day 2023 is Saturday, September 16th. This years theme is The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion. The annual civic action against waste began in 2018, organized in 180 countries and involving 50 million people. Join FEIS is honouring a day where volunteers and partners come together worldwide to rid our planet of trash and keep nature pristine. Harness the power of everyday people to achieve incredible things.
The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion is the inspiring motto of the largest civic action against waste, World Cleanup Day. Since 2018, cleanups were organized in 180 countries involving 50 million people!
On that day volunteers and partners worldwide will come together again to rid our planet of trash – cleaning up litter and mismanaged waste from our beaches, rivers, forests, and streets. World Cleanup Day harnesses the power of everyday people to achieve incredible things by joining together.
Photo by Norm Cameron
World Frog Day
March 20th, 2023
March 20th is World Frog Day, an environmental day observed to help save our amphibian friends and provide them with a safer environment. This day has been celebrated since 2009 to create awareness of the nearly 6,000 known frog species and their habitat.
The FEIS participates annually in the Elk Island National Park Amphibian Monitoring Project, which was launched in the spring of 2016. During this project, approximately 65 sites are each monitored 3 times every spring. Since amphibian populations fluctuate widely yearly, depending on habitat and weather, long-term monitoring is necessary for trend detection.
The program engages volunteers as citizen scientists in amphibian monitoring to estimate the rate of breeding site occupancy changes over time in Elk Island National Park. It monitors two native amphibian species - the Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) and the Boreal Chorus Frog (Pseudacris maculata). The actual dates for the survey are weather dependent but typically occur around the beginning of May.
#WorldFrogDay #EnvironmentalDay #Amphibians #FEIS #Volunteers #CitizenScience #ElkIslandNationalPark #WoodFrog #BorealChorusFrog #NativeAmphibians
Photo by Caleb Corcoran
World Wildlife Day
March 3rd, 2023
World Wildlife Day (WWD) is March 3rd, and the theme this year is "Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation." Join FEIS in observing this United Nations international day to celebrate all wild animals and plants worldwide. Recognize the diversity and beauty of wild species and appreciate their contributions to our lives and the planet's health. We all benefit daily from wild flora and fauna, and WWD is an opportunity to raise awareness of conservation efforts everywhere. Thanks to Caleb Corcoran for the photograph.
#WWD2023 #PartnershipsforConservation #UN #Conservation #FriendsOfElkIslandSociety #Diversity #Health #WildSpecies #Animals #Plants #Beauty #InternationalDay #FEIS
Great Backyard Bird Count
February 17-20, 2023
The Great Backyard Bird Count (https://www.birdcount.org) happens February 17-20, 2023. FEIS (Friends of Elk Island Society) encourages you to participate in this online citizen science project. The global event, launched in 1998 by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, encourages people to spend 15 minutes collecting data on wild birds and displaying results in near real-time on eBird. Birds Canada joined the project in 2009. Over four days, bird and nature lovers everywhere help create a clearer picture of how species are declining, increasing or holding steady. So have fun and participate in the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science project.
#GBBC #BirdCount #FEIS #BirdsCount #Birds #NatureLovers #Biodiversity #CitizenScience