"Psst... Wolves Are Essential. Pass It On 🐺" Https://t.co/EFIrbC0Ko3

Here is our Executive Director using Big Red, our resident red rat snake, for our virtual education program. One of the SNC’s main missions is to spread environmental education throughout South Florida. We are excited to pivot to a virtual, safe platform. Big Red was just happy to have a warm body to thermoregulate with in this #FloridaCold! 

His name is Bumper for a reason! Bumper is a Greek Tortoise that is native to Europe and many surrounding areas. Due to his exotic species status, Bumper will not be released by the SNC into the wild. Instead, he will remain a permanent resident. 

Greek tortoises is one of the longest living species of tortoise in existence. They can live anywhere from 20-100 years. 

World's biggest rooftop greenhouse opens in Montreal

Building on a new hanging garden trend, a greenhouse atop a Montreal warehouse growing eggplants and tomatoes to meet demand for locally sourced foods has set a record as the largest in the world.

So this is cool and all, but honestly, the very last line of the article is what I found most interesting:

“What’s a little crazy,” he recalls, is that none of the founders “had grown a tomato in their life” before opening the business.                                                                                                                       

Something about that. Idk. I feel like there’s a lesson there about the future of technology and industry, but maybe I’m thinking too deeply into it

Sometimes humans are just the best! A very good (and brave) Samaritan brought this eastern diamondback rattlesnake into the hospital after it was hit by a car. Look at this beautiful angry serpent!

That head wound looked pretty concerning so this baby went for a CT scan to assess the damage to its skull and soft tissue.

It might seem crazy that this wild snake could survive a tire to the head, but rattlesnakes are incredibly tough critters. Their heads are so muscular that when they’re struck by a car they can often survive with minimal damage to the bony structures of the head. In this case, the trauma from the tire forced those impressive facial muscles through the skin without breaking any cranial bones. Fortunately, an incredibly skilled exotics veterinarian was able to surgically repair the damage. Here it is after surgery!

This baby did great after the procedure and recovered beautifully. After several weeks in a wildlife rehabilitation facility, this rattlesnake was well enough to be released into the wild. You gotta love a happy ending! I know venomous snakes can get a bad rap, but just because they’re a little scary doesn’t mean they don’t deserve our love and respect.

Beautiful pictures 

butterfly

This African Spur Thigh Tortoise is named Bubba and he is a permanent resident at the Sawgrass Nature Center. He was previously kept as a pet, but his owners did not realize that he would get this large. And since he is an exotic species to Florida, he is non-releasable. 

The African Spur-Thigh is a native species of tortoise to Northern Africa, specifically along the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. They dig burrows in the ground to spend the hottest parts of the day in. This is known as aestivation. 

Fun fact: The African Spur Thigh Tortoise is the third largest tortoise in the world. Surpassed only by the Galapagos Tortoise and the Aldabra Giant Tortoise. 

Black voices are important and need to be empowered. Pasted below is a link to a list of resources put together by HelloAlice for black owned businesses. You will find grants, content builders, and more! 

https://blackbiz.helloalice.com/?mc_cid=51366c913b&mc_eid=60b4bb1101

March is Women’s History Month and therefore the perfect time to share the accomplishments of amazing women like Nzambi Matee from Nairobi, Kenya. Nzambi is one of seven winners of The Young Champions of the Earth prize.  Announced in December 2020, this United Nations Environment Program initiative engages youth in tackling the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.

Tired of seeing plastic waste littering the streets of Nairobi, Nzambi was determined to make a difference. She developed a mix of sand and plastic that when heated and compressed could produce bricks that are harder than cement. The building applications are enormous but as of the filming of this video she is currently only producing pavers. She hopes to scale the production and expand the use of her bricks.

Plastic waste is an environmental concern the world over. Our reliance on petrochemicals, single use plastics and cheap manufacturing materials has made plastics an increasingly dangerous threat to our biosphere.

You can read more about her work here: Building Blocks for a Greener Nairobi

References:

Roland Geyer, Jenna R. Jambeck and Kara Lavender,’Production, use and fate of all plastics ever made’,(Science Advances  19 Jul 2017: Vol. 3, no. 7, e1700782)

Hayden K. Webb, Jaimys Arnott, Russell J. Crawford and Elena P. Ivanova, ‘Plastic Degradation and Its Environmental Implications with Special Reference to Poly(ethylene terephthalate),’, (Faculty of Life and Social Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, 28 December 2012)