How Our Natural World Rewards Us For Our Effort To Help

Photo Credit: NPS Photo

This past summer Boston was able to see the effect that their work has done for the environment. Over the past few decades Boston has been working to clean up the harbor and on July 2nd, 2019, they were rewarded for their efforts with the birth of four piping plovers (Wu). The first to hatch in the past three decades. This event was brought to my attention after reading Sarah Wu's article, Endangered Piping Plovers Hatch in Boston for First Time in Decades. After reading this I began to look for other places where a similar event had occurred, and the results were global. Nature has been rewarding us and thanking us for our efforts in small ways all across the world, especially in Africa.

We see this when looking at endangered African wild dogs. In an attempt to restore a population of dogs to Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park a pack of 14 was released from rehab (Angier). The alpha female of the pack was pregnant when released, unfortunately, her first litter didn't survive. That didn't stop this pack, in the summer of 2019, the packs alpha female gave birth to 11 healthy pups, 10 of which survived (Angier). The pack wasn't limited to this birth, the beta female also gave birth to 8 pups, which the pack was happy to accept (Angier). This success was another example of nature showing us that our efforts are worth it and that we can be rewarded for those efforts. The park's dog population has grown from 0 to 50 in the last few years and continues to expand, proving that our efforts have been put to use (Angier). 

Photo Credit: Anastasia Miller

Not only have wild dogs started a comeback due to human action, but African vulture safe zones have begun to pop up across South Africa helping the population grow. Vulture populations of Africa have dwindled by 62% in the last thirty years (Kockott and Carnie). This past November one of five planned vulture safe zones was opened in Howick, South Africa (Kockott and Carnie). In the years to follow these openings it is projected for vulture populations to grow.


If we continue our effort, nature will reward us once again. As we set up different projects to help our environment the world becomes a better place for us to live. By cleaning our coasts and atmosphere we are given a hospitable place to live. By conserving our animal populations we are given beautiful biodiversity to admire and learn from. 

Works Cited

Angier, Natalie. "Wild Pups Romp Again in an African Paradise." The New York Times, 3 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/03/science/african-dogs-pups-gorongosa.html. Accessed 9 Dec. 2019.

Kockott, Fred, and Tony Carnie. "Lift-off for first African vulture safe zones." Mongabay, 28 Nov. 2019, news.mongabay.com/2019/11/lift-off-for-first-african-vulture-safe-zones/. Accessed 9 Dec. 2019.

NPS Photo. A newly hatched piping plover chick rests. National Park Service, www.nps.gov/gate/learn/news/plover-eggs-stolen.htm. Accessed 10 Dec. 2019.

Wu, Sarah. "Endangered piping plovers hatch in Boston for the first time in decades." The Boston Globe [Boston], 2 July 2019. Boston Globe, www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/07/02/endangered-piping-plovers-hatch-boston-for-first-time-decades/QrlnnjA0ytY5pFdhAaVkTN/story.html. Accessed 4 Dec. 2019.