Biodiversity – A six-part series coming to this blog space near you!

The variety of life on the Earth is an enduring source of wonderment and mystery. Whether you are bird watching in your backyard, counting invertebrates to assess stream quality, planting oak trees and native plants in your local park, or hiking through Shenandoah National Park, the diversity of life is all around you. Its why you look out your window in the morning and stock the bird feeder in the winter.
 
Biodiversity is at the core of everything we do as Master Naturalists. Whether it’s citizen science projects, stewardship, or education outreach, a Master Naturalist must understand the patterns of nature -- the interconnected relationships between plants, birds, trees, insects, mammals and their environment. Without biodiversity, there would be no patterns or relationships in nature to observe.  There would be no nature.

So how did biodiversity arise, what is biodiversity, and how is it changing over time?  In this six-part series, I will explore each month the many facets of biodiversity, what it means for us, and how we can sustain it.  The series will cover the following topics:

• Part 1:  Biodiversity-What is it?
• Part 2:  Biodiversity: The Long View
• Part 3:  The current state of biodiversity
• Part 4:  What threatens biodiversity?
• Part 5:  Why is biodiversity important?
• Part 6: What can be done to protect and promote biodiversity?

So put on your wonderment goggles (free with three box tops and a self-addressed stamped envelope) and come along for the ride…..
​

---