On May 22, 1993, the United Nations sanctioned this date as the International Day for Biological Diversity to increase awareness of biodiversity issues worldwide. Building and Acting Locally for Global Impact is this year’s theme on International Day for Biological Diversity to highlight the essential role of local…
The Second Weekends of May and October are events observed twice each year as World Migratory Bird Day to focus world attention on the need to protect migratory bird populations, their habitats, and their international flyways. Through exchanges of information from people within and…
On May 8, 1926 British naturalist Sir David Frederick Attenborough was born. For 70 years, Attenborough has filmed, documented, and advocated on behalf of nature around the planet. He has showcased biological sciences and enhanced our visual relationship with the natural world and its…
On May 3, 1715, astronomer Edmund Halley observed a total lunar eclipse of the sun in London England. At the moment of totality, he observed an arc of uneven light around the disc of the moon just before it covered the sun. The points…
On April 27, 1947, American forester and conservationist Mollie H. Beattie was born. The first woman Director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Beattie fought to conserve species by managing whole ecosystems rather than waiting until individual species were endangered. “What a country…
On April 24, 1996, Wapusk National Park, an area covering 11,475 km2 (4,430.5 mi2 ), became part of Canada’s National Parks system. Wapusk, “White Bear” in Cree, protects one of the world’s largest polar bear den areas. On the transition between boreal forest and…
April 22, Earth Day, is celebrated around the world as tens of millions of people make time to attend their environment. The United Nations calls this International Mother Earth Day because “Mother Earth” is a multi-national common expression used in most cultural references to…
On April 17, 1899, English entomologist Sir Vincent Brian Wigglesworth was born. He created a new science – the study of Insect Physiology – and researched extensively into the role of hormones in insect growth, metamorphosis, and reproduction. Wigglesworth detailed many physical mechanisms and…
On April 10, 1865, Canadian naturalist, Jack Miner was born. At 39, he established the Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary for the conservation of migrating Canada geese and ducks on an Ontario peninsula between Lake Erie to the south and Lake Saint Clair to the…
On April 7, 1795, France introduced the metric system of measurement with the original units for length, area, volumes and mass. The main feature of the metric system is the standardized set of interrelated base units that include a standard set of prefixes in…