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Celebrate 50th Earth Day from home

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Published April 22, 2020 fundamentals
By Laura Osnard

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Photo credit: Fletcher Smith

The 50th anniversary of Earth Day is an important milestone of environmental awareness and
progress.

Across the world, people and organizations are coming together to conserve and show support for
environmental protection. In that spirit, we celebrate Southern Company’s Environmental
Stewardship program and its rich conservation history spanning more than 17 years.

One example began in 2003 with Southern Company funding bird protection programs. We support
research and conservation of shorebirds who use the Atlantic Ocean coastlines through a National
Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant program, the Atlantic Flyaway Shorebird Initiative. One
feathered friend that has captured the attention of many is the red knot.

The red knot, also known as the Calidris canutus

rufa, is a small shorebird about the size of a
robin. It’s special for its long-distance migration.
Despite the bird having only a 20-inch wingspan,
it flies more than 9,000 miles every spring and
does the reverse each autumn.
The well-traveled bird’s journey takes it from the
Arctic Circle to the southern tip of South
America. Along the way, it makes several stops
including the coastline of Virginia and Georgia.
Georgia, along with other eastern coastlines, is a
popular stopover site for the red knot because of
its diet: horseshoe crab eggs and mollusks.
“Learning about red knots will give everyone a
chance to vicariously experience travel and the
Ideas to Celebrate Earth Day
There are many ways to celebrate Earth
Day, even while we celebrate remotely
and safely in our own homes. Here are
some ideas to get you started:
Plant flowers in your yard or start a
garden
Start (or continue) a recycling bin in
your home
Listen to and observe birds in your
yard
 beach while staying at home,” said Jim Ozier, Go on a nature walk (following the
Georgia Power environmental specialist and bird CDC guidelines of remaining 6 feet
expert. apart from others)

The red knot population saw a decline of nearly Pick up any litter or trash you see
75 percent from the 1980s into the 2000s due to while out for a walk or run
coastal development and other stressors on its
habitat. Together, NFWF and Southern Work on neighborhood beautification
Company’s Environmental Stewardship program projects
seeks to mitigate threats to the red knots by
Find ways to conserve water in your
conserving and restoring habitat, and ramping
home
up management and monitoring to assess
progress.

The goal is to minimize human disturbance, reduce the impact of predators and complete bird
monitoring and tagging, all of which can bolster population growth. Breeding, staging and wintering
are paramount to the species progression and survival.

Southern Company environmental stewardship is more than just birds. Some of the species and
places we conserve include freshwater streams, robust redhorse fish, rivers, longleaf pine forests,
gopher tortoises, bats, pollinators and many more.

Earth Day is the perfect time to learn and understand how we are all intertwined in the ecosystems
we serve. Click the link to learn more about the Conservation and Environmental Stewardship
program and how you can become an environmental citizen.

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Last Modified on 04/22/2020 11:00:19 | Page Contact: Darryl Bennett: 8-506-0645 SO Today | Highlights