Make Your Impact

In order for our forest to live humanity needs to restore it and help it grow. Restoration is the renewal or restoration of something. There are many ways that people can help restore the world's forests. Some restoration techniques that help are: thinning, replanting, removing unhealthy features, and donating. Restoring our forest helps to make a more livable future. It is time for humans to get their hands dirty and restore our forests before the forests are gone.

While our issue with climate change is at a poor spot right now there are ways to help fix it. The easiest ways to help stop climate change are to cut down on fossil fuels and to start using more renewable energy. Fossil fuels release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which traps the sun's heat increasing the earth’s temperature. Using more renewable energy is better because it minimizes carbon pollution.

While visitor interactions with national parks can be harmful, engagement and interest in the park is vital to conservation efforts. Visitors provide park funding and potential volunteers, park rangers, ecologists and biologists for the future. The beauty of national parks must be public because this attention is what drives conservation in the first place. To capitalize on this, visitors should engage with the park by intentionally getting involved with park-led programs. Youth engagement sessions, workshops, trail maintenance, other forms of volunteering, and attending information sessions are all fantastic ways to give back rather than take from national parks.

While each state currently has individual regulations in regards to distribution of single-use plastics, we won’t see any changes to our society unless each state gets on the same page and creates a country-wide regulation. If all states create a more organized, systematic routine that follows the elimination of distributing single-use plastics, our oceans will thrive and human survival won’t be threatened in the future.

Researchers have predicted the disappearance of the Great Barrier Reef; the concern now is how to maintain the coral reef while keeping visitor rates up. Queensland, Australia depends on tourism, and if the Great Barrier Reef dies, it will affect the people and businesses there. A solution Shafer and Inglis have come up with is to have more control when managing protected areas. Management of tour companies aims to find that balance where visitors enjoy the natural beauty of the area while protecting its cultural and biophysical resources.