Earth Day, Every Day! – How Litter Impacts Wildlife

The impacts of improperly disposed of waste are apparent in many ways. We see plastic bags floating in the wind, cans squashed under car tires, and straws washed up on the banks of the Trinity River. Despite our best efforts to put waste where it belongs, trash still seems to be popping up everywhere we look polluting stormwater and the land.

Unfortunately, humans are not the only ones having to deal with the problem of litter, but it does come from us. Our animal neighbors often get the brunt of the negative consequences because they do not always know what’s trash and what’s safe for them. We will be learning more about what our litter problem does to our environment from our long-time friend, Sam Kieschnick and his intern, Grace Millsap.

Sam Kieschnick is an urban wildlife biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) serving the east side of the DFW metroplex. He previously worked as a nature educator with the City of Mansfield at Oliver Nature Park, as a naturalist at the Fort Worth Nature Center and Refuge, as a science interpreter with the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History, as a botanist with The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), and as an instructor at Weatherford College. He has a master’s degree from Tarleton State University where his studies focused in part on the genetics of pocket gophers. Often, Sam is in the field gaining firsthand experience of the wilds of Texas and all aspects of nature. He is presenting today with research specialist and intern with Texas Parks and Wildlife, Grace Millsap.

Earth Day Every Day is a series of online environmental education sessions continuing with the Earth Day theme and bringing expert speakers, special program topics, and a reminder that every day is Earth Day. Presented by Dallas Environmental Quality and Sustainability (DEQS; Green Dallas). These topics empower Dallas residents to make sustainable choices that improve the quality of life for everyone in Dallas and the world.

This program is available online only, through Zoom. Registration is required. Zoom information will be e-mailed the day of the program. E-mails may go to your spam folder.