Gratitude Gourmet

Putting our hands in soil and touching grass, trees or moss provides a wide range of health benefits. https://bbc.in/4r4nF3q

When you realize the yard is actually a sanctuary, you start to see it entirely differently.

Scientists Had People Eat Tomato Paste For 3 Months. Their Brain Scans Looked Different. One of the world's most popular foods may be quietly changing how our brains function.

🌙 TURN OFF THE LIGHTS FOR MIGRATING BIRDS! 🐦

We’re entering the peak fall bird migration season, and something as simple as turning off unnecessary lights at night can make a life-saving difference.

Artificial light at night can disorient migrating birds, drawing them toward buildings where they can collide with windows or become exhausted and trapped.

And birds aren’t the only ones affected. 💡🦋 Artificial light also disrupts insects, including moths and other nocturnal insects that are essential food for birds, bats, and other wildlife. Lights can interfere with their feeding, reproduction, navigation, and ability to avoid predators.

One small action can help an incredible number of creatures:

If you don’t need the light, turn it off. 🌎💚

Close your blinds, use motion sensors when necessary, and keep outdoor lighting warm, shielded, and directed downward.

Let’s give wildlife a darker, safer night sky. ✨

How one Americano ☕️ changed my life forever #baristabrian If you like this story and would like to support me on my journey, you can buy me a coffee at link in my bio and keep me caffeinated ❤️☕️🫶

Dr. Sara Kuburic

Leaves are habitat, not trash

One of the most valuable things you can do to support pollinators and other invertebrates is to provide them with the shelter they need to survive the winter. Thankfully, that’s pretty easy; all you need to do is do less yard work.

Read more 👇
https://organicconsumers.org/leave-the-leaves/

We Should Be Focusing On Native Bees and Other Pollinators, Not Just Honeybees

A study published in Science News in 2023 emphasizes the importance of conserving wild, native insects too.

“This study is an example of why more conservation focus should be on native bees and other pollinators, which are vital to ecosystems and agriculture, in addition to honeybees.

Honeybees command a lot of attention in insect conservation circles, in part because they are important for pollinating our food supply.

But findings emphasize the importance of prioritizing pollinators like wild, native bees, moths and butterflies in conservation efforts too, the researchers say.

Flowers pollinated by honeybees make fewer and lower-quality seeds than flowers visited by other pollinators.

That could be because honeybees spend more time buzzing between flowers of the same plant than other pollinators do. As a result, more of the plant’s own pollen is deposited back on itself, leading to more in**ed seeds, researchers report June 28 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.”

Flowers pollinated by honeybees make lower-quality seeds: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/flowers-pollinate-honeybees-low-seeds

Photo collage of native bees: Yellow-faced bumble bee, Ultra-green Sweat Bee, female Valley Carpenter Bee, Yellow-faced bumble bee