March 3 was World Wildlife Day, a day to celebrate and raise awareness about plants and animals that also share our planet. Conservation isn't just for one day. It's something that we all can take part in every day. Quinn Heist, Environmental Education Specialist with the Bureau of State Parks shared the importance of conservation.

Quinn: Yeah, so World Wildlife Day was created on the anniversary of the passing of CITES, which is the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species. So, it was a day that was created after that to kind of, you know, mark the importance of wildlife and, you know, the flora and fauna that we share the planet with and, to talk about the importance of conserving them.

Asia: So, Quinn, like we said, conservation it's important and it should matter to every person. How does it impact our daily lives?

Quinn:  It's important not only because plants and animals have intrinsic value, they deserve to be here just because we share the planet with them and they have just as much right to the planet as we do, but also ecological value. They provide ecological services to us. Can you imagine how hard it would be for farmers to pollinate all of their plants if they didn't have bees to pollinate them for them? Do you know, trees provide runoff assistance? So, when it rains, it doesn't take all of our soil, and you know into the rivers you know we have our roots from our trees that you know slowdown that water and provide you know storm mitigation which is really important. Conservation is just something that we need to do to maintain our planet and to you know make sure it's okay for the future.

Asia: They need us as much as we need them. Pennsylvania has a rich variety of plants and animals. What are some of the unique species that people may not realize that's here in our state?

Quinn: The wildlife of Pennsylvania is great, and its wildlife is so cool and I'm so into it because it changes seasonally, right? Right now, it's the spring, so we have Woodcock that are doing their sky dances, so you can go out and see their mating rituals where the male Woodcock, you know, tries to attract a mate. We have vernal pools, so all of the amphibians are, you know, making their down there to give birth, to lay eggs. For the future of amphibian kind. We have so many awesome things, a variety of mammal species, you know, bobcats are super awesome, black bears, so many things that are out there to explore if you just get out into nature, state parks, or even just your backyard, right? There's some awesome wildlife, even in urban environments, opossums and raccoons and fun things running around to see and to experience.

 

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