Creating a Wildlife-Friendly Winter Garden

Anyone with experience keeping a garden, or a passion for the local UK wildlife, will be well versed in the sparse nature of the environment each time winter rolls around. Around half of the bird population has migrated for the winter, mainly to southern France and coastal Africa. The colourful collection of ground mammals we're subject to over the summer are similarly absent. Some are hibernating to survive the cold, and many more are simply inactive and sheltered. These creatures rely on the insects, leaves and berries our gardens contain, which sustain and home them. Yet in winter most trees are dormant, absent of leaves and fruit. There's little shelter and little nutrition for the local wildlife, and little reason to visit your property.

With a little informed structuring, considerate planting and sensible investment it's easy to transform your garden into an organic winter wonderland, creating a desirable home for any creatures seeking a warm home and filling meal.

Hedging is a long time standby for helping lure wildlife onto your property, and with good reason. It's been a feature of farmland borders for centuries, and now 80 per cent of our woodland birds have been known to nest in it, along with an entire host of mammals, particularly squirrels, hedgehogs and badgers. Most gardeners invest in an evergreen hedge, since it will provide screening and shelter throughout the entire year. Having one in your garden drastically increases the quality of your garden as an animal habitat, particularly if you find one with a wide base.

As I mentioned above, one of the reasons so many animals are migrating and hibernating is the severe scarcity of natural food supplies. The usual advice here is to hang out a feeder in your garden with suet and oily sunflower seeds for the birds, along with sliced apple and lettuce in a bowl in the garden though avoid this unless you have some other form of protection against pests. An ash border will deter slugs and snails, for instance.

A select number of trees and plants yield winter fruit, and these make for an unmatched addition to the garden for anyone looking to provide winter wildlife with a reason to stay. To start out consider planting a holly tree. Their berries appear in early winter, and even though they're mildly toxic to humans the fruit is edible and appreciated by many animals. Birds will happily eat the berries from the branches and will come from far afield to locate them. Similarly, planting a crabapple tree is a great way to sustain ground animals. They produce fruit in autumn, usually unpalatable to humans until it's processed, sweetened or cooked. These apples will begin to fall around the winter time, leaving plenty of accessible food for any nearby animals.

Nature and Wildlife Big Attractions in Vancouver Island's Parksville Qualicum Beach Region

Healthy activities, interesting detours and bright memories are part and parcel of the Parksville and Qualicum Beach, Vancouver Island experience. The region is home to a delightful array of unique attractions. Laugh uproariously with friends and family on tricky mini-golf courses. Refine your green thumb and get inspired at a renowned garden estate. Snap photos of roof-top goats before browsing a unique cluster of country shops.

Take a tour of Little Qualicum Cheeseworks and sample their award-winning creations. Stare in wonder at hundreds of rainbow-hued parrots, beautiful freeflying butterflies and over 800 exotic live orchids. Visit an ER unit dedicated to wounded wild animals. Sroke an alpaca. Filling the days here is not only an education, it's also entertaining and pure pleasure for the whole family.

Cultivating Green Gardens

Just as England is renowned as a green and pleasant land, a similarly temperate Vancouver Island climate and year-round growing season has made Oceanside a gardener's paradise.

Ray Milner, and his wife Veronica (a distant relation of Winston Churchill and the late Lady Diana Spencer) built their Qualicum estate circa 1930 and dedicated the surrounding 70 acres to a mix of wild gardens, rolling oceanview meadows and old-growth forest. Malaspina University College now runs it as a teaching garden. Milner Gardens & Woodland is a splendid outing during its March-to-October season; stroll the fragrant grounds for an hour or three, enjoy afternoon tea and scones in the charming, Ceylon-style tea house, or attend a seasonal special event. Qualicum Beach and Parksville are perennial winners in Canada's Communities in Bloom beautification program, which awards medals for floral displays, heritage conservation, tidiness and community involvement. Just take a drive through downtown Qualicum Beach and enjoy the flower boxes, street-side gardens and hanging baskets. Take home a bouquet; flowers both cut and potted are available at farmer's markets, garden shops and roadside stands.

Family Fun begins with Mini-Golf Action

Nothing says fun in Oceanside like a round of mini-golf. Paradise Adventure Mini-Golf and Riptide Lagoon Adventure Golf (both in Parksville) and Riverside Resort in Qualicum Beach all have themed courses. For a watery change of pace, try Paradise Adventure's bumper boat ride. Or simply get active as a solo adventurer, romantic couple or family.

The Birds, the Butterflies the Bugs and the Orchids

A remarkable menagerie of airborne creatures inhabits Coombs, west of Qualicum Beach. The World Parrot Refuge is the largest free-flight parrot refuge on the planet and is home to some 500 previously owned or abandoned parrots. Some 40 species of rainbow-hued birds of paradise take flight in huge indoor and outdoor aviaries. An educational facility, this remarkable haven for happy squawkers is run by the For the Love of Parrots Refuge Society.

Nearby in Coombs are the equally colourful inhabitants of Butterfly World & Gardens. Housing a veritable United Nations of species, the kid-friendly facility allows one to wander amidst hundreds of free-flying butterflies (including one fragile creature that's as large as an adult's hand), tropical birds and hummingbirds. Discover the new BC Orchid Garden where over 800 exotic orchids flourish amidst waterfalls, ponds and gardens. The creepy-crawly underworld of the Big Bug Jungle features tropical bugs, among them an exotic Bird Eating Tarantula, the world's largest spider.

Country Living & Wildlife

Errington is farming country. While exploring make a day of it at Tiger Lily Farm. In a delightfully rustic setting, youngsters can mingle with lambs and chickens, milk a goat and, if the season is right for newborns, bottle-feed a calf. On the outskirts of Qualicum Beach is Blue Stone Alpacas, where kids can enjoy petting and feeding these friendly animals.

A somewhat wilder version of the furred-and-feathered set are temporary guests at the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre, also near Errington. The centre tends to injured, orphaned and sick wildlife, and the residents may include birds, wild cats, owls, hawks, deer, even black bears. Tour the museum or take a nature walk a

The Salmon Journey

With the future of west-coast fish stocks a hot topic at the moment, the Big Qualicum Hatchery offers fascinating educational insights into how science is stepping in to preserve and protect the wild salmon. Millions of juvenile salmon are raised at the hatchery year-round and released into the wild. Obeying their ancient instincts, thousands of adult salmon return every fall to spawn the next generation, struggling upriver in one of nature's most remarkable displays of courage and resilience. There's nothing fishy about this experience, not with an underwater viewing area, shoreline hiking trails and picnic grounds.

Walk, ride, swim or build a sandcastle

Sporty families will want to drop into the Parksville Community Park. The myriad options here include tennis, skateboarding, kite flying, reading a good book, post-barbeque napathons or whatever else active (or happily relaxed) minds can imagine for parkland or beach.

Playtime for the Inner Child...

Oceanside attracts kids of all ages who enjoy everything from mini-golf to monster fish. When the young ones are back in school, adults have free reign to exercise their own inner child. Mount a mini-golf tour and play all four of our whimsical 18-hole layouts. Consider a pleasantly jolting spin in a bumper boat.

Deforestation and Natural Habitats - Five Things You Can Do to Help Stop It

God gave us the luxury to live peacefully together with the presence of animals roaming around undisturbed in groups without fear of being molested. All these needs that we enjoy are gifts forever nurtured by all living things and should be protected by everybody who uses them.

What causes deforestation and habitat destruction?

The number one culprits of forest destruction is illegal logging. Because of the need to supply materials for building, infrastructures, papers and other industrial requirements for development, cutting of trees continues. Mining follows with the digging of soil to get mines down under leaving a hollow space that results in soil erosion together with cutting of trees to be used for tunneling. This is followed by oil and gas exploration, like mining, that causes a tremendous disturbance to the soil profile. Cattle ranching and agriculture also contributes deforestation and destroying wildlife natural habitat.

Some other minor contributors to forest destruction are land development, land titles, infrastructures, corruption, and lack of actions to law enforcers. Forest personnel don't perform their duties to apprehend illegal loggers.

How you can help stop deforestation and natural habitat?

This is a concerted efforts for everybody to work a common goal in order to reach a point where the result would be satisfactory and the world enjoys a clean and green environment.

5 ways you can do to help stop deforestation and natural habitat

1. Advocacy

As an ordinary citizen, you can help spreads about the effect of forest destruction by way of showing concern to a clean and green surroundings. Be active in information dissemination by joining environmental groups, concerned citizens, and other activist groups whose concerns centered on forest management.

2. Tree planting

I still remember during my college days, during the time of Pres. Marcos of the Philippines, that every candidates for graduation in all courses were required to plant at least 10 trees, before being issued a tree planting certificate. No body were allowed to graduate without a tree planting certificate. Sad to note, that this was stopped after Marcos was dethroned from office through the People Power Revolution.

This can be duplicated in all countries and modified to include not only graduating students, but also all public and private companies, employees, and private citizens to plant trees every year as specified by their local and national officials.

A law should be passed to make tree planting compulsory to all citizens.

3. Good farming practices

Proper farming methods should be applied with respect to the introduction of innovative crop and animal production. Government intervention plays a vital role to formulate rules and laws to encourage farmers to use hybrid crop varieties, hydroponics farming, greenhouse, container and urban gardening.

This includes organic farming, the use of compost and composting of household and farm waste products.

4. Forest rejuvenation and plantation

The use of forest products can't be controlled due to the demand for timber, paper and other industrial needs for development. But, this can be solved by the introduction of fast growing and high yielding trees to be planted by paper industries.

The remaining forest covers should not be disturbed anymore, but rather developed and protected against illegal loggers. A stricter law should be passed in every country to save the remaining forest from further degradation.

5. Strengthen Endangered Species Act

Legislative intervention should be strengthen to implement the Endangered Species Act and require all agencies concerns to strictly enforce the full force of the law. All point of entries should be manned by law enforcers who are honest and can't be bribed by animal poachers.

There are other ways you can do to help stop deforestation and natural habitat destruction. Your small act of concern in this endeavor would be a great contribution to save our mother earth from further deterioration and disaster.

Wildlife Safari Tours - Revisiting Nature's Affluence

Plenty of tourists come to India looking for a chance at the rugged, rustic life on show. Wildlife Safari Tours of India make sure the appetite for a challenge is whetted with nothing left to spare. With a wide variety of parks that house the rarest species of birds and animal, anyone who is game for a tumultuous journey on the wild side is sure to be enthralled.

Every state in India has a reserve, national park or sanctuary to boast of. However, the large, more prominent parks offer tourists more chances of sightings combined with improved facilities. The most famous among the reserves are in the states of Rajasthan and Kerala.

The state of Rajasthan enjoys the rare convenience of varied terrain, which includes sandy desert, grasslands and even forests. This has allowed wildlife to thrive in this region. With persistent efforts from the state, Rajasthan now prides itself on giving endangered animals like the Bengal tiger, caracal and the desert fox sanctuary. Gift yourself a Wildlife Safari Tour of India and you can marvel in the splendour of majestic wildlife at their natural best. Parks like the Ranthambore National Park, Gajner Wildlife Sanctuary and Kumbalgarh Sanctuary enshrine some of the most coveted wildlife and species of birds there are to see. Besides the matchless experience in the game parks, you are also assured extravagant accommodation at some of the most renowned resorts in the world.

Kerala is home to nature's most precious bounty. Amply fertile with dense forests and impenetrable undergrowth, this is most protected territory as far as wildlife is concerned. Several parks exist within this state, and they are known for the pachyderms, deer, bears, leopards and birds that can be found quite effortlessly. Apart from the jungle creatures, sure to catch your discerning eye are picturesque scenes of nature and flora. Elegant flowers in different hues and shape bring cheer to intimidating jungle grounds. Among the most famous wildlife parks and sanctuaries are the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Thekkady Wildlife Sanctuary and Wynad Wildlife Sanctuary. While on the tour of wildlife sanctuaries, you can also enjoy boat rides across banks and take in picturesque Kerala.

There are varied experiences that can quite literally sweep you off your feet. Elephant rides through the thick of the jungle, ploughing through the forests in open jeeps, and even enjoying the occasional camel ride - these are just some of the delights. It is best to look to undertake these holidays during winter, and avoid the monsoon. The summers in Rajasthan are unrelenting, and the monsoons in Kerala are impossible to navigate through.

Study Wildlife Management Online To Improve Your Career

Careers in wildlife management offer the opportunity to work with different types of animals in numerous possible ways. Jobs in this particular industry focus mainly on the care of wild animals in captivity and more importantly of those found in their natural habitat. However, the positions will depend on the person's level of experience and education.

Some of the widely held positions in the field of wildlife management are park rangers, biological technicians, and wildlife environment managers.

Many tasks are required of park rangers, from assisting guided tours and supervising public visits to park facilities to cleaning and maintaining the park environment and waterways. Park rangers are mainly responsible for monitoring wildlife. But are also often times called upon to assist in search and rescue operations. A person in this position should also be knowledgeable in conducting research related to the protection and documentation of wildlife and their natural habitat.

The biological technician is primarily responsible for helping scientists in their study of wildlife. Their work involves the analysis of different life forms and assists in solving problems related to any of these.

As a wildlife environment manager, he or she is responsible for studying and surveying animal populations. People in this position often work with animals that live in their native habitat. The manager's primary role is to ensure that these animals can co-exist peacefully with humans.

To get ahead in this field and secure sought-after positions, continued education is essential to keep abreast of the latest trends in the industry. Fortunately, you need not look farther than the internet to find reliable programs wildlife management courses that provide a solid curriculum.

The wildlife courses online are ideal for those currently working in the industry or for those wanting to pursue a career in wildlife management. The lessons provide practical and theoretical knowledge that can help you get ahead in the business. The range of lessons includes population dynamics, wildlife law and administration, management techniques, and habitats. The classes can also be taken in conjunction with complimentary study areas such as wildlife conservation, conservation and environmental management, nature park management, marine studies, and zoo keeping.

Upon enrolling, the wildlife ecology courses can be accessed online conveniently from anywhere, at your home, the neighborhood coffee shop, or even at work, just make sure to do it during your break. An expert tutor is also available to students to assist with questions or concerns regarding the course lessons.

Why the Conservation of Energy and Natural Resources Is So Important

Enjoyment of life and natural energy are intertwined as to the continuance of existence and enjoyment of life here on earth. For without natural energy, life would not be enjoyed to the fullest. Natural energy is important not only to the living things but also to the earth as a whole. They come from natural resources such as water, sun, air, and minerals. Conservation of natural energy is essential because it allows us to save things that can be used anytime when we need them in order for us to stay alive. We cannot surely survive without air to breathe, water to drink and food to eat. Natural energy itself produces a vast advantage on the part of the people.

There are two classes of natural energy, the renewable energy and non renewable energy. The energy which is produced from natural resources which can be constantly generated and can be use whenever we need them is called renewable energy. The most common example for this is the solar energy and wind energy. The sun is one of the sources of solar energy that generates the richest of energy obtainable on earth. The energy from the sun is useful as it can be transformed to electricity. The wind energy is also one of the outstanding resources use to produce electric energy. The windmill or the wind turbine is a machine that transforms wind into electric energy and it harnesses the natural resources which is the current of air. While the energy which is taken from the sources that are available in short supply of quantity and can be used only for a short period of time is called non-renewable sources. They cannot be regenerated and will usually be consumed. Non-renewable sources include oil, coal, fossil fuels and natural gas. They are not environment friendly and one of the causes of global warning.

There are lots of reasons that all of us most consider why the conservation of natural energy and natural resources is important:

    It has a big effect on the atmosphere for it save the environment from damaging thus preserving the natural resources as well as human life.

    For the family who is in a tight budget, it is beneficial to them for they can save a lot of money out from the electric bill usage down to the fuel consumption.

    Natural energy helps in eliminating the consumption of fossil fuel therefore preventing air pollution.

    Reducing the effect of global warming and climate change which is usually caused by greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.

    Conserving undeveloped lands help in protecting wildlife which is already endangered nowadays.

    Natural energy is cost effective as it requires low maintenance.

    It is not only important for our present existence but also for the next generation.

We should be thankful about the benefits of the natural energy to our life. We can help in conserving our natural resources by planting trees and recycling waste material which can substantially reduce the need for energy. Those are the simple things that we can do for the conservation of the environment. Natural energy must not be wasted and should be taken care of because they are indeed part of our daily lives. Love and respect are what they need as they are giving us the main things that we want in life. Mother Nature must be given all the appreciation not to be abused such that, it will give us the things we need in our way of life not only in this present time but also to those generation to come.

Much as what we want to do the things here on earth for the satisfaction of life, nevertheless, we will not disregard the paramount importance which is the respect accorded to the mother earth for purposes of making it the best place to live with, for it is the source of all natural energy that can be used of by the people. Development of science in discovering the natural energy should not run a foul as to the basic tenet of preserving the mother earth. While it is true that it can help augment the needs of the people for the enjoyment of life, it is notwithstanding the fact that giving value in the preservation of all natural resources that earth provides must be given all weight than enjoyment of life itself. By its very own purpose, energy derived from the universe must be by nature has a multitude positive effect of the people's survival.

Wildlife Art - Its History and Development

Summary

Some of the earliest of all known art (pre-historic cave and rock art) features wildlife. However, it might be more properly regarded as art about food, rather than art about wildlife as such.

Then for a lot of the rest of the history of art in the western world, art depicting wildlife was mostly absent, due to the fact that art during this period was mostly dominated by narrow perspectives on reality, such as religions. It is only more recently, as society, and the art it produces, frees itself from such narrow world-views, that wildlife art flourishes.

Wildlife is also a difficult subject for the artist, as it is difficult to find and even more difficult to find keeping still in a pose, long enough to even sketch, let alone paint. Recent advances such as photography have made this far easier, as well as being artforms in their own right. Wildlife art is thus now far easier to accomplish both accurately and aesthetically.

In art from outside the western world, wild animals and birds have been portrayed much more frequently throughout history.

Art about wild animals began as a depiction of vital food-sources, in pre-history. At the beginnings of history the western world seems to have shut itself off from the natural world for long periods, and this is reflected in the lack of wildlife art throughout most of art history. More recently, societies, and the art it produces, have become much more broad-minded. Wildlife has become something to marvel at as new areas of the world were explored for the first time, something to hunt for pleasure, to admire aesthetically, and to conserve. These interests are reflected in the wildlife art produced.

The History and development of Wildlife Art...

Wildlife art in Pre-history.

Animal and bird art appears in some of the earliest known examples of artistic creation, such as cave paintings and rock art

The earliest known cave paintings were made around 40,000 years ago, the Upper Paleolithic period. These art works might be more than decoration of living areas as they are often in caves which are difficult to access and don't show any signs of human habitation. Wildlife was a significant part of the daily life of humans at this time, particularly in terms of hunting for food, and this is reflected in their art. Religious interpretation of the natural world is also assumed to be a significant factor in the depiction of animals and birds at this time.

Probably the most famous of all cave painting, in Lascaux (France), includes the image of a wild horse, which is one of the earliest known examples of wildlife art. Another example of wildlife cave painting is that of reindeer in the Spanish cave of Cueva de las Monedas, probably painted at around the time of the last ice-age. The oldest known cave paintings (maybe around 32,000 years old) are also found in France, at the Grotte Chauvet, and depict horses, rhinoceros, lions, buffalo, mammoth and humans, often hunting.

Wildlife painting is one of the commonest forms of cave art. Subjects are often of large wild animals, including bison, horses, aurochs, lions, bears and deer. The people of this time were probably relating to the natural world mostly in terms of their own survival, rather than separating themselves from it.

Cave paintings found in Africa often include animals. Cave paintings from America include animal species such as rabbit, puma, lynx, deer, wild goat and sheep, whale, turtle, tuna, sardine, octopus, eagle, and pelican, and is noted for its high quality and remarkable color. Rock paintings made by Australian Aborigines include so-called "X-ray" paintings which show the bones and organs of the animals they depict. Paintings on caves/rocks in Australia include local species of animals, fish and turtles.

Animal carvings were also made during the Upper Paleolithic period... which constitute the earliest examples of wildlife sculpture.

In Africa, bushman rock paintings, at around 8000 BC, clearly depict antelope and other animals.

The advent of the Bronze age in Europe, from the 3rd Millennium BC, led to a dedicated artisan class, due to the beginnings of specialization resulting from the surpluses available in these advancing societies. During the Iron age, mythical and natural animals were a common subject of artworks, often involving decoration of objects such as plates, knives and cups. Celtic influences affected the art and architecture of local Roman colonies, and outlasted them, surviving into the historic period.

Wildlife Art in the Ancient world (Classical art).

History is considered to begin at the time writing is invented. The earliest examples of ancient art originate from Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The great art traditions have their origins in the art of one of the six great ancient "classical" civilizations: Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, Rome, India, or China. Each of these great civilizations developed their own unique style of art.

Animals were commonly depicted in Chinese art, including some examples from the 4th Century which depict stylized mythological creatures and thus are rather a departure from pure wildlife art. Ming dynasty Chinese art features pure wildlife art, including ducks, swans, sparrows, tigers, and other animals and birds, with increasing realism and detail.

In the 7th Century, Elephants, monkeys and other animals were depicted in stone carvings in Ellora, India. These carvings were religious in nature, yet depicted real animals rather than more mythological creatures.

Ancient Egyptian art includes many animals, used within the symbolic and highly religious nature of Egyptian art at the time, yet showing considerable anatomical knowledge and attention to detail. Animal symbols are used within the famous Egyptian hieroglyphic symbolic language.

Early South American art often depicts representations of a divine jaguar.

The Minoans, the greatest civilization of the Bronze Age, created naturalistic designs including fish, squid and birds in their middle period. By the late Minoan period, wildlife was still the most characteristic subject of their art, with increasing variety of species.

The art of the nomadic people of the Mongolian steppes is primarily animal art, such as gold stags, and is typically small in size as befits their traveling lifestyle.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) suggested the concept of photography, but this wasn't put into practice until 1826.

The Medieval period, AD 200 to 1430

This period includes early Christian and Byzantine art, as well as Romanesque and Gothic art (1200 to 1430). Most of the art which survives from this period is religious, rather than realistic, in nature. Animals in art at this time were used as symbols rather than representations of anything in the real world. So very little wildlife art as such could be said to exist at all during this period.

Renaissance wildlife art, 1300 to 1602.

This arts movement began from ideas which initially emerged in Florence. After centuries of religious domination of the arts, Renaissance artists began to move more towards ancient mystical themes and depicting the world around them, away from purely Christian subject matter. New techniques, such as oil painting and portable paintings, as well as new ways of looking such as use of perspective and realistic depiction of textures and lighting, led to great changes in artistic expression.

The two major schools of Renaissance art were the Italian school who were heavily influenced by the art of ancient Greece and Rome, and the northern Europeans... Flemish, Dutch and Germans, who were generally more realistic and less idealized in their work. The art of the Renaissance reflects the revolutions in ideas and science which occurred in this Reformation period.

The early Renaissance features artists such as Botticelli, and Donatello. Animals are still being used symbolically and in mythological context at this time, for example "Pegasus" by Jacopo de'Barbari.

The best-known artist of the high Renaissance is Leonardo-Da-Vinci. Although most of his artworks depict people and technology, he occasionally incorporates wildlife into his images, such as the swan in "Leda and the swan", and the animals portrayed in his "lady with an ermine", and "studies of cat movements and positions".

Durer is regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern European Renaissance. Albrecht Durer was particularly well-known for his wildlife art, including pictures of hare, rhinoceros, bullfinch, little owl, squirrels, the wing of a blue roller, monkey, and blue crow.