First off, I wanted to apologize for not having posted a blog in a while. I have been very busy this year. In fact, being in 8th grade at my school means that I have to do a large project named a “Capstone” project. While this may seem like a normal project, this project is special in the regard that the project must have a positive influence on the lives of the community and the environment. Truthfully, I really like the opportunity to work on something like this.
Also, I had an accident where I fractured my wrist and was on limited activities for a while. Luckily, I am happy to report that it is healing well and I am going to recover soon! It was really hard on me when I couldn’t play the piano or my saxophone.
Yesterday, being Earth Day, reminded me of Capstone project, making me think of some possible ideas on how to impact not only my local community, but also those around the world. Here locally, my group has decided to help build artificial reefs to provide habitats for fish to flourish in the Chesapeake Bay, but I figured that we could go beyond that. While pondering on what could be done, I began to realize that I had a great resource into a larger community with Acalympics. There are teams that compete all around the world! What a wonderful opportunity to spread some environmental awareness!
So here we are, what are some threats to water ways/aquatic habitats?
- Large corporation fishing
- Predator/prey population decline
- Pollution
- Fish populations decline which affect more than one fish because of predator/prey relations
- Population decline of fish means less food/economy for humans
- Once fish species start to decline, the tend to migrate meaning local fishermen may suffer
- Drive less
- Use rain barrels to collect rain water
- Use pervious pavement
- Join local cleanup foundations
- Reduce energy usage
- Check your septic tank
- Buy locally
- Stop using synthetic fertilizer
- Plant seagrass/trees
- Visit parks to learn about local issues
How can these help?
- Every action counts!
- Take any two fish species, one a predator and the other a prey to this predator and examine their populations. Most of the time, these are correlated. This shows how the water way is affected by even small changes
- They inspire others to join in the fun!
- Make artificial reefs/habitats
- Promote sustainability at a catch and release fishing tournament
- Participate in a trash clean up
- Spread awareness to others
Acalympics.com 