Sometimes I Think About The Golden Record And I Want To Cry

Vox

This animal is on the edge of extinction. Trump just fired the people trying to save it.

Job cuts and frozen funding could inch one of the world’s rarest species even closer to extinction.

DOGE just froze funding to vital Federal and Indigenous conservation programs devoted to supporting the very delicate and tenuous existence of the black-footed ferret.

I fell in love with these animals as a kid traveling to our National Parks. Their rarity and ferocity made me sharply aware, even as a child, of just how much of a responsibility we have toward our environment. I can't bear the thought of them being a fucking casualty of Trump and Musk.

Look at them! They do war dances.

common spiny flower mantis, as an apology for the hiatus🌷

hope is a skill

All who are interested in the cause of plant diversity, pollinators, and the restoration of ecosystems, please pay attention to the simplest articulation of my advice:

You must seek those who know the ways of the plants and who share the plant agenda

Look for organizations, events and places where these people might be found, and wait for them to appear. Some are from the academic world, many others came to know the plants another way

If someone's email address is publicly available, you can use it to contact them. But the most powerful contacts will be those unreachable by online means

When you find someone, they will tell you the names of other people, so you can seek those people as well. When contacting new connections, tell them who sent you

If you learn to explore your surroundings, recognize the plants, gather their seeds and grow plants yourself, you will be a valued connection

Write down your contacts in a little book and make yourself slightly annoying by offering your service in some way

The plants will teach you the rest...start learning from the weeds, which are easy to know and easy to grow

“Since 1959, our collection has been open to the public to educate visitors of all ages and provide permanent housing for almost 4,000 plant species, some of which are critically endangered.

We've always been dedicated to the conservation of plant species, including Welwitschias, cacti, succulents, orchids, cycads, water lilies, carnivorous plants, and so much more!

Earlier this week, we were informed that we have been placed on a shortlist for potential permanent closure and will know in May.

At the moment, we are still operating under our normal hours, allowing visitors, labs, and discussions to observe, touch, and smell all of our unique and fascinating plants-for free, as it has always been.

Currently, Marlene Simon, the director of the conservatory, is drafting a letter of support for those who wish to sign in support of the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory to continue to get University funding.

Additionally, supporters are more than welcome to write to our department which is the College of Biological Sciences.

@ucdavisbiology

Lastly, we would deeply appreciate it if all supporters could share this news to help gather more support.

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UC Davis’s botany conservatory needs your help! Please message @ucdavisbiology on instagram and/or email UC Davis’s Chancellor Gary May at chancellor@ucdavis.edu about why this would be a loss for the botany community, endangered plant species, and the general public!

Please share if you can!

my bacteria #mybacteria

It seems that your cheap phones are not a god given right but actually a luxury sustained by imperialist inequality after all. Mirá vos.

happy Thursday the 20th

I made some little fairies out of pressed flowers 🌷