Celebrating Earth Day & WV’s Magnificent Creatures with Young Nature Lovers

Draw West Virginia Rare & Common Species and Win Fabulous Prizes!

West Virginia is home to almost 600 magnificent creatures; more than 57 species of amphibians and reptiles; 70 wild mammals; 178 species of fish and nearly 300 species of birds. What an incredible backyard we have!

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” Margaret J. Wheatley

Please email submissions by April 21st with the artist’s name and age/school grade to: cheyenne@saveblackwater.org

For guidance, check out our new wildlife web pages where you can find information about all kinds of our wildlife from mammals, to insects, and plants!

Rare Species: https://saveblackwater.org/wildlife/allegheny-highlands-wildlife-fun-facts/

Common Species: https://saveblackwater.org/common-native-wildlife-of-the-allegheny-highlands/

Last years winners:

Tiny conservationists (2-5 years): Nix Mielzarek, WV Northern Flying Squirrel

Elementary (K-5th graders): Levi Yoder, Candy Darter

Middle School (6-8th grade): Kate Eshenaur, Guyandotte River Crayfish

High School (9th-12th grade): Hermione Vos, Eastern Cougar

Involvement in the selection of photos for the March 2021 "Tournament Earth: Astronaut Photography" ends February 19; however, you can still browse these amazing photos of Earth and see if your favorites make it when you tune in to the March 2021 "Tournament Earth: Astronaut Photography"

The Recycling Coalition of West Virginia's 18th Annual ReFashion Show went virtual this year. More than two dozen designers and models submitted videos and photos of their recycled fashion creations. We're impressed by the creativity of this year's designs and we think you will be, too. Let's meet them and check out this year's winners!

The WVU Climate Conversations podcast was inspired by a TED talk by Climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe, where she said that the most important thing you can do to fight climate change is to talk about it. Therefore, the aim of each Climate Conversations episode is to do just that: to talk about an aspect of climate change, and to keep the conversation going. Hosted by students from the Fall 2019 Honors Book Club, each episode features a different guest speaker from in and around West Virginia University talking about important aspects of climate change. Podcast produced by WVU Student Media.

Are you interested in learning more about how you can start your zero-waste within your personal life and in your community? We’ve put together some useful resources and guides to help you explore what the path to zero-waste could look like for you.

USGBC West Virginia is committed to improving the quality of life for West Virginians by transforming the way the built environment is designed, constructed, and maintained, resulting in buildings and communities that are environmentally, socially, and economically prosperous.

Our local membership continues to grow, broadening our reach throughout the state. Membership is open to anyone, and we hope you will be part of our efforts to promote green building for all!

Be a scientist and help WVDNR document box turtle sightings

The eastern box turtle population is declining in West Virginia and WVDNR is launching a citizen science project to better understand where these lovable reptiles are located.

Reporting box turtle sightings to us is easy. Just identify the geographic coordinates of the encounter and mark them on our map at tinyurl.com/wvboxturtle. If you want to report the sighting while you’re in the field, we suggest using the Survey 123 app on your phone. And if you snap a photo of the turtle, be sure you submit that as well.

We need your help! For unknown reasons, fireflies, also known as lightning bugs, have been declining across their range. Almost every West Virginian child recalls seeing the majestic flashing displays of fireflies growing up. Amazingly, there are MANY species of fireflies, each with their own unique flashing patterns. We likely have somewhere between 23-41 firefly species, with each male species having its own unique flash (the females are rarely seen). A formal assessment of fireflies has never been done in our state- this is where you come in!

Access the online survey to report your firefly displays

During the Community Trees Challenge, The GLOBE Program is asking citizen scientists to observe, learn, engage, and create as they track their progress on the Trees Challenge activity tracker. You can choose the best journey for your interests or try to complete all the activities. Work together as a family, as a group of friends, or independently.

By completing these activities, you will improve your science observation skills, enrich your understanding of trees as part of our landscape, learn why NASA studies trees, be a part of a NASA-sponsored citizen science project, as well as join a citizen science community. Your observations of tree height contribute to a global database that is free and open so that anyone - scientists, students, communities, and citizen scientists - can conduct research.