Celebrate Earth Day with Lucas Miller, the “Singing Zoologist!”
Category Archives: Nature
Fun Friday!
Happy Birthday, David Suzuki!
Today is Dr. Suzuki’s 90th birthday. Born in Vancouver (British Columbia), he is a renowned Canadian scientist, environmentalist, university professor, and broadcaster known for his work in promoting sustainability and raising awareness about climate change.
A geneticist with a PhD in zoology, he became widely recognized for his long-running television series, The Nature of Things, in which he explained complex scientific topics. He is also the co-founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, which focuses on environmental conservation and climate solutions.
Voted one of the Top Ten Canadians, he has published more than fifty books. He is celebrating his birthday with the release of Lessons from a Lifetime: Ninety Years of Inspiration and Activism.
My favorite quotes from David Suzuki:
My parents survived the Great Depression and brought me up to live within my means, save some for tomorrow, share, and don’t be greedy, work hard for the necessities in life, knowing that money does not make you better or more important than anyone else. So, extravagance has been bred out of my DNA.
I can’t imagine anything more important than air, water, soil, energy, and biodiversity. These are the things that keep us alive.
Ultimately, we need to recognize that while humans continue to build urban landscapes, we share these spaces with other species.
Nature surrounds us, from parks and backyards to streets and alleyways. Next time you go out for a walk, tread gently and remember that we are both inhabitants and stewards of nature in our neighbourhoods.
Our personal consumer choices have ecological, social, and spiritual consequences. It is time to re-examine some of our deeply held notions that underlie our lifestyles.
Change is never easy, and it often creates discord, but when people come together for the good of humanity and the Earth, we can accomplish great things.
We are in a giant car heading towards a brick wall, and everyone’s arguing over where they’re going to sit.
We must reinvent a future free of blinders so that we can choose from real options.
Scientists have been warning about global warming for decades. It’s too late to stop it now, but we can lessen its severity and impacts.
The human brain now holds the key to our future. We have to recall the image of the planet from outer space: a single entity in which air, water, and continents are interconnected. That is our home.
Interview on The Social
Welcoming Spring
Known as the UK’s best-selling living poet, Donna Ashworth first rose to prominence during the 2020 lockdown, when her poem “History Will Remember When the World Stopped” went viral and helped raise funds for the NHS. In the years since, her work has continued to resonate, offering reflections on resilience, connection, and hope.
Here’s one of my favorites…perfect for the season:
Fun Friday!
On a Lighter Note…
This month has been challenging, with colder-than-usual temperatures and ever-changing global dynamics. Against that backdrop, it was a delight to hear about a wee celebrity who is creating a stir in Montreal, Quebec.
Last week, Sabrina Jacob was taking out her garbage when she spotted a rare bird perched nearby—a European robin. A hearty little bird, it is native to Europe and can be found as far north as the Scandinavian countries.
After Sabrina shared pictures and videos online, word spread quickly. Bird enthusiasts from across Canada and the United States flocked to Montreal, hoping to catch glimpses of this visitor so far from home.
How did the bird end up in Canada?
According to bird behaviourist Joel Coutu, one possibility is that the bird fled harsh European cold fronts and somehow crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Another theory suggests it may have arrived during fall migration and has, until now, gone unnoticed, living among us for weeks or months.
Here’s one of Sabrina Jacob’s pictures:
Welcoming the Winter Solstice
Known as the UK’s best-selling living poet, Donna Ashworth first rose to prominence during the 2020 lockdown, when her poem “History Will Remember When the World Stopped” went viral and helped raise funds for the NHS. In the years since, her work has continued to resonate, offering reflections on resilience, connection, and hope.
Here’s one of my favorites…perfect for the season:
Honoring Dr. Jane Goodall
Dr. Jane Goodall, the renowned primatologist and conservationist, passed away yesterday at the age of 91.
From a young age, she was fascinated by animals, dreaming of living in Africa and studying wildlife. In 1960, without formal scientific training, she traveled to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania to observe wild chimpanzees under the mentorship of anthropologist Louis Leakey. Her discoveries revealed astonishing behaviors: chimpanzees use tools, show emotions, and live in complex social groups.
She later earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge, becoming one of the few people at the time to do so without an undergraduate degree. Over the decades, Dr. Goodall shifted her focus from observation to global advocacy, raising awareness about habitat destruction, animal welfare, and environmental sustainability. She founded the Jane Goodall Institute and created Roots & Shoots, a program that empowers young people to address environmental and humanitarian issues.
She has traveled the world, inspiring audiences with her message of hope, responsibility, and respect for all living beings.
My favorite quotations from Dr. Jane Goodall:
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
The greatest danger to our future is apathy.
Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.
You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you.
Hope is what enables us to keep going in the face of adversity. It is what keeps us motivated.
The least I can do is help people see the interconnectedness of all life.
Chimps, more like us than any other creature, have helped us to understand what it means to be human.
You cannot share your life with a dog or a cat and not know perfectly well that animals have personalities and minds and feelings.
My mission is to create a world where we can live in harmony with nature.
We still have a window of time. Nature is amazingly resilient. If we give her a chance, she will recover.
Happy Autumn!
Fun Friday!
Joanne Guidoccio 