6 Creative Ways People Are Preserving Nature—And You Can Too
Read a roundup of stories about creative ways people are preserving and protecting nature from our “Tiny Nature Triumphs” newsletter.
Throughout fall 2024, Science Friday ran a six-part newsletter about creative ways people are making a difference for the environment right where they are. The series, called “Tiny Nature Triumphs,” was a tiny triumph of its own, culminating in an outpouring of stories from readers about individuals and groups that have made a difference in their own communities.
Here’s a roundup of the stories we shared:
Baltimore’s Camp Small
For years, Baltimore’s dead and dying trees were hauled to Camp Small, known as the “stump dump,” then sent to landfills. Dead trees on city property made up about 9,000 tons of waste per year.
But in 2016, the stump dump had a makeover that allowed it to make use of those trees by treating them as timber rather than waste. Now, Camp Small receives all of the city’s downed street and park trees and recycles them into lumber, firewood, mulch, and even furniture.
October Big Day
Twice a year, wherever you are, you can join tens of thousands of people around the world to identify and record birds—even if you don’t have any birding experience. These Big Days are put on by eBird, which makes the resulting data publicly available. Thanks to the sheer volume of observations, it has helped scientists track trends in bird species’ numbers, movement, and geographic distribution.
Beech Leaf Disease Educational Events
American beech trees, recognizable by their smooth gray bark, are found in most of the eastern United States and bordering areas of Canada. But many beech populations are in trouble due to beech leaf disease, which is caused by a microscopic worm called a nematode. Infected trees can’t photosynthesize as well, and often lose branches or even die as the nematodes take hold.
To understand where the disease is spreading and how trees are faring, we need more data. So, Science Friday is working with scientists and forestry managers to develop a standardized way for people anywhere to submit reports of trees that show signs of beech leaf disease through an app called EDDMapS.
Chronolog
Monitoring things like habitat restoration, plant cycles, and river health on an ongoing basis gets costly. Trail cameras can be expensive, and can be stolen or wear out over time. But a system called Chronolog could help change that. Chronolog stations are phone docks where passersby can take photos of a habitat, contributing to a time-lapse video of the area that scientists can use for research. What started as a prototype being tested in a few Maryland state parks is now a monitoring system used in 48 states and seven countries.
Invasive Species Trade-In Program
Indiana has a list of invasive plants that are illegal to sell or grow because of the dangers they pose to the environment. Government agencies can remove invasives from public land, but many of them reside on private property, adorning lawns and threatening native plants. To take on this issue, the Soil and Water Conservation District in Hamilton County created the Invasive Species Trade In Program. It works to inform residents about invasive ornamental plants, like the callery pear or burning bush, and help them replace those species with equally lovely native plants for free.
Your Conservation Heroes
In our final installment of “Tiny Nature Triumphs,” we handed the mic back to our readers. Over the course of the newsletter, they shared stories of people in their communities who made positive changes for the environment and inspired others to do the same.
Interested in more stories like these? Sign up below to follow “Tiny Nature Triumphs” in 2025.
Meet the Writer
About Emma Lee Gometz
Emma Lee Gometz is Science Friday’s Digital Producer of Engagement. She writes SciFri’s “Science Goes To The Movies” series and is a journalist and illustrator based in Queens, NY.