Earth Day Thoughts, Hopes...And A Challenge!

To me, Earth Day is about Holistic Conservation. What I mean by Holistic Conservation is the idea that Conservation encompasses every animal, plant, and person who needs the land, natural resources and eco-systems on this planet. So, pretty much everyone and every living thing on the Earth. I’ve spent the last 3 ½ years and over 850 hours volunteering at the Woodland Park Zoo here in Seattle because they have a firm commitment to the Earth and the animals, plants and people who live on it.

Last month I attended a conference hosted by ZACC. (Zoos and Aquariums Committing to Conservation) The mayor for the City of Seattle (Mike McGinn) was there as was the President and CEO (Dr. Jeff Bonner) of AZA (Accredited Zoos and Aquariums). Over 300 people from various fields of expertise flew in from all over the globe to discuss how to protect endangered animals and eco-systems while providing sustainable ways for communities of people to live in harmony with the animals and natural resources around them.

From our local WA State Fish and Wildlife Department to the Painted Dog Conservation Group in Zimbabwe, there are people in every country who care about this planet. I like to believe that in our heart of hearts all of us do. I had the chance to share a table with one of our local Fish and Wildlife officers who works with Karelian Bear Dogs to help resolve human-wildlife conflict with the native bears here in WA State. These SPECIALLY SELECTED AND HIGHLY TRAINED Karelian Bear Dogs are part of a non-lethal approach (meaning they don’t kill the bear) that show bears that human places are not ‘good’ bear places and that the forests are a safer and more rewarding place to be. The Karelian Bear Dogs also provide opportunities to educate people in WA about being ‘bear safe’. (i.e. No dog food or bird feeders left out in the back yard people!) These 4 officers are going ‘against the grain’ so to speak to use this non-lethal approach, but are persevering because they believe that bears deserve a place in WA State and that people CAN co-exist near bear habitat if they take the time to learn about and implement ‘bear safe’ practices. If you’re curious about how you can be ‘bear safe’ you can visit the websites for the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project www.bearinfo.org. If you’re curious about the Karelian Bear Dogs work with WA bears you can email zookeeper Wendy Gardner at wendy.gardner@zoo.org, or Nicholas Jorg Officer/Handler: nick.jorg@dfw.wa.gov.

I was moved beyond words by the week I spent soaking up knowledge and rubbing shoulders with more PhD’s in medicine (both human and animal), ecology, biology, physicists, and chemists than I’ve ever seen in one room before. Their commitment to this planet was stunning and filled me with hope. This Earth Day I thought I’d share my hope with all of our Riverdog clients and my co-workers. I’d also like to challenge all of you to learn something new this year about an animal, plant or region of the world that interests you. If you want a place to start I’ve listed below a few of the groups that attended this conference and the animal or region of the world they are working in.

• The Snow Leopard Trust – Snow Leopards in Mongolia, Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan – www.snowleopard.org
• Painted Dog Conservation – African Wild Dogs in Zimbabwe – www.painteddog.org
• Health and Harmony – Saving Forests and Saving People’s Lives – Indonesia – www.healthinharmony.org
• WA Dept. Fish/Wildlife - Service Dog Program – Karelian Bear Dogs/Native WA Bears – Nicholas Jorg, Officer/Handler: email – nick.jorg@dfw.wa.gov
• WA Dept. Fish/Wildlife – Wolf Conservation/Management Plan – Harriet Allen, Endangered Species Section Manager: email – Harriet.allen@dfw.wa.gov

There are many, many more. If you would like a complete listing of the groups that spoke at this conference please look at the ZACC website for the 2011 Program: www.zaccconference.com

And if this idea of “Holistic Conservation” feels a little too ‘pie in the sky’ to you then I’d challenge you to start with an animal we all have in our homes and can relate to, our dogs. Figure out what your breed was meant to do, specifically. Was your pup meant to track, hunt, herd or guard? Was it a co-operative effort with people or did they sleep with their flock? What can you do in today’s world with your dog to tap into that drive and keep your pup mentally stimulated and physically healthy? If you need ideas about your puppy’s mental stimulation or physical health give us a call or set up an evaluation with one of our trainers and we’d be happy to point you in the right direction.

For me, this Earth Day is about hope for Holistic Conservation. I ‘hope’ that a little bit of mine has rubbed off on you!