International Tiger Day! Wildability & MycoRemedy

WORLD TIGER DAY

Global Tiger Day is celebrated every year on July 29th as a way to raise awareness about this magnificent but endangered big cat. The day was founded in 2010, when the 13 tiger range countries came together to create Tx2 – the global goal to double the number of wild tigers by the year 2022. Why 2022? This is the lunar Year of the Tiger. About a century ago, the global tiger population was estimated to be about 100,000. In 2010, that number was closer to 3,200.

The WWF and its partner organizations are building back wild tigers by protecting tiger habitats, partnering with local communities, tackling the tiger trade and working to stop poaching. Why does celebrating World Tiger Day matter to us? In the words of Marco Lambertini, Director General of the World Wildlife Fund, “Doubling tigers is about tigers, about the whole of nature – and it’s also about us” 

IOW saving the climate relies on saving biodiversity because biodiversity keeps the climate resilient and resistant to collapse. Tx2 partners include the Global Tiger Initiative and the Global Tiger Forum (GTF). (GTI) was launched in 2008 as a global alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society, the conservation and scientific communities and the private sector, with the aim of working together to save wild tigers from extinction.

Inter-governmental international body working exclusively for the conservation of Tigers in the wild. Utilizing co-operative policies, common approaches, technical expertise, scientific modules and other appropriate programs….I love the initiative. So how’d we do? Truth is, I can’t tell you. I found no data on if we met the goal, failed to meet the goal or exceeded the goal. Which is super frustrating. Lots of pretty brochures. No hard numbers. Listeners, if you see it, hip me too it, please!

DEEPER DIVE: Tx2 2020 Report, GTF, GTI

WILDABILITY–BOOSTING DISABLED PEOPLE INTO THE OUTDOORS

Here’s an awesome outlet for handicapable folks. It’s called, WildAbility. According to its website, WildAbility’s an online platform that centers disabled voices in climate conversations, environmental activism, and the development of nature-based solutions. The organization empowers disabled youth to become environmental leaders by ensuring that they have equal access to opportunities for outdoor experiences, learning and career development.⁠

It was founded by Kelcie Miller-Anderson. She lives with several genetic diseases. She began using a wheelchair in 2019, and that’s when she realized how inaccessible outdoor spaces are. Having been an avid outdoor person prior to her wheelchair, and because of the research she was doing she was lucky enough to be invited to environmental, climate, youth leadership events all over the world. It was during some of these events that she realized she was usually the only disabled person in the room – rooms that often weren’t even accessible for her. 

Not long after, she founded WildAbility. The platform invites disabled youth to participate in educational and capacity building activities that are available to other aspiring environmental leaders. WildAbility’s Instagram features informative posts and inspiring stories to foster a community of nature lovers who want to protect the earth they love.

Why does Wildability matter to us? Its work in three major areas—1) Facilitating access: working to connect youth outdoor & environmental programs with disability groups to help provide access to resources, adaptive gear, and to recruit disabled youth to join the great outdoors. 2) reporting and diversity: developing a database on the current state of disability inclusion in the climate sector. Finally, challenging the status quo. Wildability works with outdoor brands to diversify the look of who is outdoorsy while also sharing stories of disabled outdoorsy people.

DEEPER DIVE: WildAbility, Insta, Kelcie’s Site, YouTube

MYCOREMEDY, NATURAL SOLUTIONS SOIL REMEDIATION COMPANY

So, speaking of Disabled outdoor rights activist, Kelcie Miller-Anderson, did we mention she’s also a social entrepreneur? And that before she’d even graduated high school, she founded MycoRemedy, a soil remediation company that cleans contaminated environmental sites the natural way – no chemicals or energy-intensive inputs necessary? 

Soil remediation is a term involving various processes designed to remove contaminants such as hydrocarbons (petroleum and fuel residues), heavy metals, acidification, pesticides, cyanides, volatiles or semi-volatiles and many others contaminants from soil. Many techniques are used to clean, eliminate, obliterate or sequester these hazardous pollutants from the soil. However, these techniques can be costly, labor intensive, and often disquieting.  

Miller-Anderson discovered a way to use mushrooms to remediate contaminated soils. It’s part of a larger field called Phytoremediation. Phytoremediation is a simple, cost effective, environmental friendly and fast-emerging new technology for eliminating toxic heavy metals and other related soil pollutants. According to the white paper, “Soil Remediation and Plants: Prospects and Challenges,”  Soil Remediation and Plants provides a common platform for biologists, agricultural engineers, environmental scientists, and chemists, working with a common aim of finding sustainable solutions to various environmental issues. 

While MycoRemedy is still in start-up phase it matters to us for three reasons. First it’s a great example of a Gen-Zer/Gen Green New Dealer taking bold steps to scale up natural solutions to clean up our increasingly toxic soils. Two, she’s done it without any formal education, so three’s she proof that you can start where you are. Just start. 

DEEPER DIVE: Kelcie’s Site, White Paper