Our Resident Yellow-naped Parrots Love Talking To The SNC’s Executive Director, Probably Because They’ve

Acrobatic hooded crow really, really wanted that pine cone! Taken in Victoria Park, East Belfast.

What is Climate?

Climate is a long-term state that helps us predict our weather. For example, Florida’s climate isn’t going to be anything like Alaska’s. We know, as Floridians, that our climate here is sub-tropical. Our proximity to the equator and the fact that we are almost completely surrounded by water means that we typically have warmer, wetter weather. Climate is long-term and weather is short-term. Even though Florida can get the occasional cold front and thus cold weather, we know that it will eventually give way to warmer weather. Our tropical climate here in Florida is the reason we can go swimming in December.

What is climate change?

Climate change typically refers to the Earth’s total climate. Since climate is such a long-term, broad concept, it can take a lot of things and a really long time to drastically change it. However, the effects of climate change can be felt as they gradually increase overtime. For example, there were more named storms in 2020 than in any previous recorded year.

What is causing climate change?

Historically, Earth’s climate has always gradually changed over time. What’s new is the rate at which our climate is changing. Climate scientists believe this rapid change is due to the massive increase in burning fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution. Burning fossil fuels for energy to power our homes, jobs, and cars releases gas into the atmosphere. The same atmosphere that traps air for us to breathe has been trapping the increased amounts of fossil fuels which is causing a massive shift in how we experience climate and weather.

What can I do?

Learning is always the first step. Making educated decisions for yourself and your family is the best way to move forward in any given scenario. Climate change is no different. Take the time to learn more and share the knowledge. Pasted below is a list of reliable resources on climate change.

NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html

United Nations (UN): https://www.un.org/en/sections/issues-depth/climate-change/

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/climate/climate-change-impacts

Check out part 1 of our Climate Change interview with Coral Springs Commissioner Nancy Metayer https://anchor.fm/snc-wild/episodes/Interview-with-Commissioner-Metayer-Part--I-eqtv93

Luckily there was a quack in the ice

SNC Staff took a stroll through one of our local parks, Tall Cypress, and spotted Beauty Berry and Red Lichen. It’s important now more than ever to immerse ourselves in nature for improved mental health. Look in your area for local parks and nature centers that are accessible to the public. Remember to stay safe and healthy. 

Tall Cypress was destined to be redeveloped into real estate until a Coral Springs High School Club called Save What’s Left began advocating for the area’s preservation and safety. The City of Coral Springs and Broward County through joint collaboration agreed to preserve and maintain the area. A phenomenal feat accomplished by teenagers. Remember anything is possible when you work together and never doubt the capability of youth!

Learn about Florida Box Turtles and rehabilitation of wildlife at the Sawgrass Nature Center!

🦢 Wearing is caring. 🦢

This year the SNC has rescued and rehabilitated over 900 wild animals in South Florida. Help us continue our mission by donating here https://sawgrassnaturecenter.org/ this #GivingTueday. 

A baby pika! Listen to his little cry. Someday it will be much louder.

How to Read an Academic/Research Paper

The main sections are: 

Abstract: a general overview of the paper’s content. It’s good to start here first, to sort of “seed” the ideas and concepts of the paper into your head.

Introduction: the general overview and setting of the paper. Sometimes you’ll find brief descriptions of key concepts or phrases

Methods: Read at the end, the technical jargon might be too heavy to for your to read this first.

Results:

Conclusion/Interpretation/Discussion: the hypothesis is either accepted or rejected. Reading the conclusion can help you decide if you want to spend your time reading the paper or not if you are looking for a specific method of doing something.

References: Read to familiarize yourself with the common titles, sources, and theories. 

Tip: Read the  Intro, and conclusion before you read the rest of the paper, its the fastest way of knowing what’s in the paper. 

Look out for the keywords key contribution and significant. 

Step by Step instructions: 

 Read Intro and Conclusion

 Identify the big question - what is this paper about?

Summarize the background in five sentences - why is this research important?

Identify specific questions - What exactly are the authors trying to answer with their research. 

Read methods

Read results and write down a sentence to summarize the result of each experiment. 

How do the results answer the specific question?

Read the conclusion section - Do the authors think that the results answered the big question?

Now read the abstract - did it match what happened?

Sources: 

https://medium.com/ai-saturdays/how-to-read-academic-papers-without-freaking-out-3f7ef43a070f

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jennifer-raff/how-to-read-and-understand-a-scientific-paper_b_5501628.html