Banner image by Rick Dandridge
Today we celebrate Endangered Species Day, which is recognized annually on the third Friday in May to spread awareness about endangered species and how to protect them from extinction. In 2006, the National Wildlife Federation led Congress to establish Endangered Species Day on May 17th, which is an opportunity to recognize the importance of wildlife conservation and restoration efforts for all imperiled species. It is also a time to celebrate the progress made to protect wildlife since the creation of the Endangered Species Act in 1973.
With education at the core of SCWF’s mission, we strive to create the next generation of environmental stewards by visiting schools all across the state. SCWF’s Habitat Education Manager Savannah Jordan recently visited Dutch Fork Middle School to present about endangered species in South Carolina and what we can all do to help them. Students learned specifically about how species become endangered, the Endangered Species Act, and what endangered species we have in South Carolina. They also learned about how SCWF works for wildlife, other career fields that they can pursue, and actions that we can all take such as keeping our environment clean and writing to our local leaders in government so they make good decisions that help protect nature.
One species in particular that the students learned in depth about is the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW), which Savannah worked with during her previous role as a wildlife biologist. The middle-schoolers were fascinated by the banding process of RCW nestlings and adult woodpeckers that help biologists track individuals and monitor their population. They also learned about how the long-leaf pine habitat where RCWs live requires the application of prescribed fire to maintain the open, park-like habitat that the woodpeckers prefer. Fire also helps to reduce hazardous fuels that can lead to catastrophic wildfires due to the accumulation of leaf litter on the forest floor.
Student groups participated in a STEM Project-based Learning activity where they chose an endangered species in South Carolina to research and present to their class, encouraging community action that can be implemented to help save endangered species from extinction. Each group presented about how we can maintain biodiversity with strategies such as incorporating native plants into our landscapes for species like the rusty-patched bumblebee. The students taught their classmates how to work together with the community and even created real-world solutions that can be implemented to protect imperiled species in South Carolina.
2023 was the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Take a look back at the plants and animals found in South Carolina which we featured throughout 2023 that have benefited from the passage of the Endangered Species Act
“In the end, we will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.”