From Guest Blogger Dixie Somers: How Environmental Improvements Affect Animals

We humans tend to see ourselves as being at the height of evolution and therefore don’t always consider how we’re impacting the environment when we allow urban expanses, pollution, sedimentation, and a lapse in helpful agricultural policies to reign supreme. Our actions have either positive or negative impacts on our ecosystems. The animals (and plants) who live within them can be driven away by pollution or the removal of dead, hollow trees in which many animals like to nest. The presence or absence of these creatures shapes the rest of the ecosystem. So, what are humans doing to help? Here are the ways in which environmental improvements positively affect animals living within an ecosystem.

1. Planting Trees

When dead trees are removed from a forest, many animals lose their nesting areas. Wrens, woodpeckers, bluebirds, squirrels, and other cavity nesting creatures lose their homes and have to seek shelter elsewhere. When these animals are driven out, that particular ecosystem can become infested with insects that would have otherwise been consumed by those creatures. Planting trees, especially in areas where dead trees have recently been or will soon be removed helps to keep cavity nesters in the ecosystem.

2. Creating Protective Policies

As any student who has pursued a master’s of environmental law and policy can tell you, the environmental protection policies we create can help negate the stress we humans place on the environment. Environmental protection agencies are looking for qualified individuals to help create, implement, maintain, and build upon environmental policies. These policies help regulate the output of toxic chemicals, address changes and needs within an ecosystem, and management of waste.

3. Protecting Waterways from Sedimentation

Rivers, wetlands, streams, and ponds are particularly vulnerable to sedimentation. Soil erosion occurs around all of these waterways and is a natural process. Sedimentation that comes from runoffs of nearby lawns, roofs, and urban development sites travels through storm drains and gets emptied out into these waterways. This excessive runoff clogs waterways and negatively impacts water-dwelling life forms who live in them. Humans can prevent sedimentation by limiting the amount of storm water that exits their property and find ways to reduce the soil erosion that happens around these waterways.

4. Creating Nesting Areas

A simple way that humans can positively affect animal life is to place nesting boxes in wooded areas that don’t have enough hollowed-out dead trees for cavity-nesting critters. A simple Pinterest search reveals hundreds of do-it-yourself nesting box projects that can be done for a low cost.

5. Wildlife Preserves

One of the biggest ways humans can create environmental improvements that affect animals is to help support local wildlife preserves and sanctuaries. Some environmentalists are finding ways to repurpose abandoned businesses, including golf courses. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, an abandoned golf course was recently purchased by a nature center and turned into a wildlife preserve with a trail for visitors to explore.

There are many more ways in which environmental improvements are benefiting animals in various ecosystems. Those who wish to contribute to bettering their local ecosystems should consider reaching out to local environmental agencies and activist groups to learn more about how they can get involved.