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Highlands Today

Earth Aid

NOREEN CULLEN/Highlands Today

Protecting nature and the preservation of wildlife and their endangered habitats is the mission of citizen-based environmental organizations.

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By Noreen Cullen

Published: September 30, 2007

The time has come to define and dignify the term environmentalist, since the national and world focus is once again on Earth issues.

A person who seeks to protect the natural environment is the true definition of an environmentalist.
The last Earth awareness movement of 40 years ago brought forth numerous environmental advocates who effectively influenced and helped change the nation's pollution standards for air, water and land.
Now we are being asked in the current Earth-health campaign to do our part in reducing waste and pollutions in our individual environments.

There's much to be done in all areas of our lives and throughout the world. For those citizens who want to do more for their communities and regions, there's groups to join of like-minded people who work together to solve environmental problems.

They are the environmentalists, the actively concerned citizens who are members of many well-known and powerful environmental groups.

The Audubon Society is a national, state and countywide organization whose mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for the benefit of Earth's biological diversity and humanity. This group has a strong voice and influence in promoting sound environmental issues in the government.

Regional chapters welcome new members and membership meeting attendance isn't required but the monthly environmental guest speaker always brings an interesting and informative presentation to the group.

This area's Audubon Society of Highlands County has a Web site www.highlandsaudubon.org, and additional membership information is available through Nancy Deyrup at 863-4651650. The Audubon Society is not just for the birds.

Another club, founded in 1892 by Naturalist John Muir, was formed for citizen's grassroots action on environmental issues and is known as the Sierra Club.

This group's motto is to explore, enjoy and protect the wild places of the Earth. Their main goal is to practice and promote the responsible use of the Earth's ecosystems and resources and to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.

The Sierra Club's work in preserving irreplaceable wildlands, saving endangered and threatened wildlife and protecting fragile environments is an ongoing effort supported by memberships and hard-working citizens.

We have this group to thank for their representative presence in lobbying important environmental issues at the state and national level in our government. Their main website is www.sierraclub.org and the Florida Sierra Club Chapter information address is 111 Second Ave. NE Suite 1001, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (727-8248813).

The Nature Conservancy group is a good friend to the lands of Florida because of their protection and preservation of more than 1.1 million acres of critical natural lands in this state, with many of those acres located here along the Lake Wales Ridge.

Their main mission is to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

The Nature Conservancy's approach to conservation is to protect, restore and manage natural places sensibly with the greatest benefits to nature and people.

Worldwide, the Nature Conservancy has helped protect over 117 million acres and more than 5000 miles of rivers in 32 countries.

This environmental group is working to protect lands and waterways in 11 regions throughout Florida.
Their website is www.nature.org and their main address is 4245 N. Faifax Dr. Suite 100, Arlington, VA 22203 (800-6286860).

There are many more environmental groups that work for the best outcomes facing Florida's ecological issues and through some exploration, interested citizens can find their place within these important organizations.

By joining any of these environmental groups, annual membership dues and additional donations contribute directly to the work of those environmentalists who devote their time and efforts to protecting the beauty, health and diversity of Earth's natural places.

It's never too late to get involved.

Noreen Cullen is a Florida wilderness artist and photographer and can be reached at ncullenfws@yahoo.com.

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