Meet Leaders Of 3 Local Conservation Projects | Preserving ‘Space Junk’ Left On Mars

Dec 26, 2024

Explore the power of community involvement in local conservation projects tackling invasive species and urban waste. Discover how Maryland turns dead trees into valuable resources while inspiring community engagement. Delve into the ethical debate over preserving space artifacts on Mars, as experts argue these remnants tell stories of our interplanetary explorations. Join the conversation on minimizing ecological footprints and protecting our heritage, both on Earth and beyond.

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ADVICE

Identifying and Removing Invasive Plants

Check online for your area's list of invasive species.
Consult your local Soil and Water Conservation District for removal options.

ANECDOTE

Hamilton County Invasive Species Trade-In Program

Hamilton County's trade-in program helps homeowners replace invasive species with native plants.
This program provides identification, removal assistance, and free native plant replacements.

ANECDOTE

Chronolog's Impact on Understanding Ecological Changes

Chronolog stations help demonstrate the benefits of controlled burns by comparing timelapse footage of managed and unmanaged areas.
They also unexpectedly captured the impact and recovery of hurricanes on mangroves in Florida.

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What makes three very different conservation projects so successful? These experts say it’s getting the community involved. And, archaeologists make a case for tracking and preserving artifacts left on Mars to chronicle humans’ first attempts at interplanetary exploration.

Meet 3 Leaders Addressing Local Conservation Problems

While 2024 saw a lot of governments and institutions falling short on climate goals, there were also smaller, localized efforts making a big difference for the environment.

To understand more about the creative ways that people are protecting nature, Science Friday began a newsletter series called “Tiny Nature Triumphs.” It highlights small conservation projects that have helped scientists and communities alike—and inspired people to get involved in solutions in their own backyard.

SciFri Digital Producer Emma Gometz sits down with leaders on three projects featured in “Tiny Nature Triumphs”—Claire Lane, an urban ecologist and leader on the Hamilton County Invasive Species Trade In Program; Jake Rose, co-founder of Chronolog; and Shaun Preston, yardmaster at Camp Small. They discuss how their programs address local conservation problems, and how to get involved.

A New Argument For Preserving ‘Space Junk’ Left On Mars

Over the past 60 years or so of space exploration, humans have left some things behind: bits of satellites, moon buggies, Mars rovers, even human excrement. It’s all part of the countless bits of human-made material that some people have dubbed “space junk.”

But what if, many, many years from now, archeologists wanted to trace the chronology of space exploration by examining the items we left in our wake? A new paper in the journal Nature Astronomy argues just this, that artifacts should be considered heritage, rather than trash.

Lead author Dr. Justin Holcomb, assistant research professor at the University of Kansas, joins Ira to discuss shifting our mindset on “space junk.”

Transcripts for each segment will be available after the show airs on sciencefriday.com.

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