Making Animal Friendly Choices

from AZA
posted by MIchelle Buckalew

Action: Pack a waste-free lunch
Who benefits? Desert tortoise
Why: Desert tortoises depend on space under the ground to burrow and make their homes. Reducing our use of packaged products provides more space for burrowing animals instead of more landfills for our trash. Use a cloth napkin and reusable containers for your lunch, especially when going out into nature.


Action: Worm composting
Who benefits? California thrasher
Why: Each person throws away approximately 1,200 pounds of organic garbage annually. Eliminating waste from our landfills frees up native habitat for local bird life, such as the California thrasher. A medium-sized worm box can process more than 5 pounds (2.3 kilograms) of food waste into valuable soil amendment each week.

Action: Mulching
Who benefits? Brown pelican
Why: Mulching is the layering of yard trimmings on the surface of the soil under plants. Benefits include improved soil nutrients, weed control, reduced soil erosion, and increased water holding capacity which can limit the run-off of unwanted fertilizers and chemicals into our waterways. This benefits the coastal environment of brown pelicans.

Action: Bin composting
Who benefits? Monkey flower
Why: Use organic material to fertilize the native plants, such as monkey flower, in your garden. Composting yard and food waste is a way to recycle these items nature’s way! Through the process of decomposition organic material, such as yard clippings, leaves, and kitchen scraps, a nutrient-rich matter is processed. This is a great family activity!


Action: Create or use non-toxic pesticides
Who benefits? Monarch butterfly
Why? Pesticides harm more than just the insects you want to get rid of. Monarch caterpillars sometimes get poisoned too. Investigate alternatives to the pesticides.

Action: “Don’t Bag It”
Who benefits? Earthworms and pill bugs
Why: The “Don’t Bag It” lawn care plan can save you time, energy, fertilizer, and pesticides, and can reduce the amount of waste going to the landfills. Leave your clippings on the lawn and allow them to work their way back into soil, improving soil health and reducing pesticide and fertilizer use. Pill bugs and earthworms benefit from the additional food source, and in return they improve the nutrients in the soil.

Action: Leave only footprints
Who benefits? Light-footed clapper rail
Why: The light-footed clapper rail is an endangered bird . Like many other endangered species, it depends on an undisturbed nesting or habitat site. Stay on the trails when you walk in nature and remember to leave only footprints, take only pictures.


Action: Stay at “green” hotels
Who benefits? Wildlife diversity
Why: "Green" hotels are properties where management is eager to implement programs that save water and energy and reduce solid waste. In turn, these efforts conserve habitats and the diversity of wildlife that depends on them. When traveling, choose a hotel that supports “green” efforts.

Action: Eat local produce
Who benefits? Osprey
Why: Locally grown food tends to have less pesticides, insecticides, fungicides, fertilizers, and preservatives that threaten fish and other aquatic wildlife that are a food source for many birds such as the osprey. Eating locally grown produce supports the conservation of both aquatic life, the species that depend on aquatic life for food, and ultimately biodiversity.

Action: Clean green
Who benefits? Garibaldi fish
Why: Chlorine, found in bleach, is a carcinogen to humans and living organisms. While produced, it often leaks into the air, ground, and water, harming aquatic life such as the garibaldi fish. Borax mixed with water is a perfect substitute for bleach. For clogged drains use white vinegar and baking soda, followed by boiling water a few minutes later.

Action: Wash laundry organically
Who benefits? Bottle-nosed dolphin
Why: Avoid laundry detergent and stain removals that contain chlorine, a harmful carcinogen that finds it way into the ocean where bottle-nosed dolphins live. Instead use fruit-based laundry detergent found at health food stores, and club soda to remove stains on clothes.


Action: Clean with cloth
Who benefits? Harpy eagle
Why: Use cloth napkins or towels to clean minimizes our impact on trees, and the habitats that they create for wildlife such as the harpy eagle.

What You Can Do:
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Posted with premission.