What amazing insects literally eat poop but still inspired the ancients?
Dung beetles!
Art for Nature
The first memories of my childhood that I can recall is that of me sitting on my bed with a blank sheet of paper and a box of crayons, making lines and circles and shapes of all kinds as the warm sunlight flooded in through the windows of the apartment. Painting was something I was…
Biodiversity Field Day at Gladney Farm
Bio4Climate friends Tim Jones and Chie Morizuka manage a regenerative farm called Gladney Farm in Hokkaido, Japan. As the name suggests, there’s a lot to be glad about on the newly restored land! Tim and Chie share the love by hosting groups eager to learn from the farm animals and plants. Students of all ages…
What are these tiny forests’ big benefits anyway?
What a thrilling week it has been! Since last Thursday’s New York Times article Tiny Forests with Big Benefits, my teammates and I at Bio4Climate have been buzzing with excitement at the recognition our forests and this type of restoration is getting. We are so thrilled by the enthusiasm of people’s responses, from interest in…
Featured Creature: Humongous Fungus
Do you know which fungus among us is most humongous?
Our First Miyawaki Forest Turns Two
Our community grows alongside our first Miyawaki forest! In September of 2021, we planted our first Miyawaki forest – the first in the Northeastern U.S. – in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As the forest turns two, and demonstrates signs of resilient, abundant growth, the Bio4Climate team gathered with local forest enthusiasts to reflect and celebrate the ecosystem…
Featured Creature: Prairie Dog
Have you ever heard of a squirrel that barks?
Let me introduce you to the Prairie Dog.
Featured Creature: Grizzly Bear
Which ferocious, fuzzy creatures dominate the forest and help their ecosystems thrive?
Grizzly Bears!
Featured Creature: Capybara
What cute creature takes the title of the largest rodent on Earth?
That would be the Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris, more commonly known as the capybara. Although they resemble their smaller relatives, these aquatic mammals are the biggest rodents to walk the planet!
Featured Creature: Bush Dog
What would you get if you crossed a bear, a dog, and an otter?
The Bush Dog!
Featured Creature: Nine-banded Armadillo
What curious creature with its own built-in armor digs its way into trouble but floats right out?
The armadillo!
Featured Creature: Bamboo
What organism can grow up to 35 inches in a day, conduct electricity, and survive an atomic bomb?
Bamboo!
Featured Creature: Scorpion
Which creature gets confused for an insect, has two famous body parts, and is full of hidden talents?
Scorpions!
Featured Creature: Pando
What is the heaviest, oldest and one of the largest creatures on the planet? It’s not the sperm whale, not even close. The surprising answer is PANDO!!! You’ve never heard of Pando? Neither had I, till Paula Phipps here at Bio4Climate suggested it as a Featured Creature! Pando is a 108-acre forest of quaking aspens…
Saving Coral Reefs From Extinction
June 4, 2023 2pm EDT Coral reefs are vulnerable to rising global temperatures more than any other ecosystem. Marine and climate scientists are researching ways to protect coral reefs and the many ocean species that rely on them for food and shelter. Without coral reefs, ocean biodiversity remains at risk of decline and eventual extinction.…
Featured Creature: Mangroves
What creature lives in salty or brackish water, provides an ideal breeding ground for countless organisms, and helps maintain a thriving planet?
The Mangrove!
Featured Creature: Xenohyla truncata
What tiny creature dwells in a unique coastal forest, where it is famous for its appetite?
That would be Xenohyla truncata, or Izecksohn’s Brazilian treefrog.
Featured Creature: Tuatara
Which ancient reptile is as old as crocodiles, has equally scary teeth, and can see all the way to the heavens?
Of course it’s New Zealand’s own Tuatara!
Featured Creature: Black Drongo
What small but fearless songbird can astonish with its aerial acrobatics and is always ready to battle much bigger birds for dominance?
The Black Drongo!
Featured Creature: Azolla
What 100 million year old creature brought on the ice age but is so tiny that a cluster can fit on your finger tip?
That would be Azolla!
Featured Creature: Rattlesnake Plantain
What curious creature sounds like it will bite, but is actually used to heal?
It is the Goodyera orchid, and it is a plant of contradictions!
Featured Creature: Zombie Ant Fungus
What creature preys on ants and other insects, invading their bodies, seizing control of their minds, and killing them off to reproduce, all the while inspiring zombie stories that terrify us humans?
Welcome to Zombie Ant Fungus, or Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis!
Featured Creature: Self-Heal
What unassuming weed could really brighten your garden and heal the world?
Self-heal!
Featured Creature: Nilgai
Which creature is the largest Asian antelope, considered sacred to some and pest to others?
The Nilgai!
Featured Creature: Wombats
What creature roams the Australian Outback, extends its hospitality to others in times of need, and eludes predators with a unique rear end?
The tiny, mighty wombat! This little roly-poly ball of densely matted fur is a staple of Australia’s menagerie of weird and wonderful creatures.
Featured Creature: Velvet Worms
What ancient invertebrate can breathe through its skin, squeeze through tight spots, and use slime to attack prey?
The velvet worm!
Featured Creature: Mantis Shrimp
What creature has the best and most adaptable eyesight in the natural world, packs a wicked punch harder than a bullet and can change its body colors at will?
This would be the mantis shrimp in the stomatopod family!
Featured Creature: Luna Moths
What nocturnal creatures native to North America are known for their beauty and the fact that they don’t eat at all in their adult life?
Luna moths!
Featured Creature: Banana Slug
What slimy creature improves its forest ecosystem, uses clever tactics to impair predators, and might make you think twice about a favorite fruit?
The Banana Slug!
Featured Creature: Dandelions
What prolific gold-flowered plant is loved by children, helps mitigate drought, has powerful medicinal properties and is named for an apex predator?
The dandelion, of course! (Taraxacum officinale)
Featured Creature: Cats
What mammal makes a mysterious sound that scientists can’t figure out, can jump straight up to a height eight times their body length, and loves us when we love them?
Felis catus, the mostly tame, sometimes feral, house cat!
Featured Creature: Beaver
Which creature fights fires, creates wetlands, recharges groundwater, alters landscapes, and is a climate hero?
Beavers!
Featured Creature: Peafowl
Which bird from Asia is sought after worldwide, holds a beautiful crown with a purpose, and graces our eyesight with colorful feathers?
Peafowls!
Featured Creature: Zebra
Which migratory creature is native to 15 countries, has the longest mammal migration known, and has a unique coat pattern across individuals?
The Zebra!
Using the Miyawaki Method to Rapidly Rewild our Communities
Bulu mini-forest in Cameroon after 19 months; Photo: Agborkang Godfred Hannah Lewis, Compendium Editor for Biodiversity for a Liveable Climate and freelance writer The Miyawaki Method The Miyawaki Method is a way to grow natural, mature forests in a couple of decades rather than a couple of centuries. You do this by observing what happens…