The only known white giraffe in the world has been fitted with a GPS tracking device in an effort to protect him from poachers (偷猎者) in Kenya. The unique male giraffe now stands alone after a female and her calf were killed by poachers in March, 2020.

The GPS tracking device, secured to one of the animal’s horns, will give hourly updates of his location, said the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy. Rangers will be able to monitor the giraffe’s movements in the conservancy located in Garissa County, eastern Kenya.

“The giraffe’s living range has been blessed with good rains in the recent past and the abundant vegetation is a good sign for the future of the white male,” said Ahmed Noor, manager of the Ishaqbini Hirola Community Conservancy.

Noor thanked the Kenya Wildlife Service, Save Giraffes Now and the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT) for their help in safeguarding wildlife species.

“Our mission is to work with communities, secure their livelihoods as well as protect the unique wildlife like the only known white giraffe,” said Antony Wandera, the senior wildlife monitoring officer at the NRT.

The male giraffe has a rare genetic trait called leucism (变白), which results in the partial loss of pigmentation (肤色) in an animal and makes it easy to spot for poachers. Unlike albinism (白化), animals with leucism continue to produce a dark pigment in their soft tissue, meaning the giraffe’s eyes are dark.

In March, 2020, the remains of two of the stunning white giraffes that lived at the Kenyan wildlife reserve were found dead, killed by poachers.

The world’s tallest land animal has lost 40％ of its population in just 30 years, the African Wildlife Foundation estimates.

Bees are essential for the pollination of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Sadly, over the past 15 years, the global population of the hardworking insects has been dropping worldwide at alarming rates due to loss of food and habitat. Now, Dutch cities are coming up with creative ideas to help stem the population decrease of these all-important insects.

In Amsterdam, bees can live for free in specially built “hotels” — tall wooden structures — across the city. While they may not look like much to the untrained eye, they provide perfect homes for members of the over 200 known species of solitary bees. As the name indicates, the insects spend their lives alone. The smart insects nest inside holes like the ones provided by the insect hotels, marking their occupancy by covering the entrance with a mud “door”. Though unable to produce honey, solitary bees are excellent pollinators and perform an essential role in many ecosystems.

Additionally, city officials are also educating people on the use of harmful chemicals and are providing prize money to encourage developers to build green roofs and populate them with local plants. In 2015, they set a goal to change some plants in public green spaces to native plants. Geert, one of eight ecologists working for the city, says, “Our idea is when we design a park, we use native species but also the species that give a lot of flowering and fruit for bees.” Many people, with help from the government, are replacing the sidewalks outside their homes with small gardens featuring flowers.

In Utrecht, bus stop roofs are gradually being turned into beautiful, living gardens designed to attract varieties of bee species. The green roofs, which naturally collect both rainwater and dust, are also beneficial for the environment.

These cities’ collective efforts seem to be working. A recent study found that the variety of bee species there has increased by an astonishing 45 percent since 2000.

At Mia's “Reuse-a-Palooza” party, eight colored bins contained items of matching colors. Staff arranged them in rainbow order. Materials included pipe cleaners, buttons, rings, funnels and tubes. 【小题1】 Mia, for example, created a pair of glasses from wire, hoops, and orange paper. Mia's party is one of several themed parties at Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.

Jewelry, sewing, instrument making, and Reuse-a-Palooza have been the most popular themes so far. 【小题2】 These include dioramas, marble rolls, birdhouses, bookmaking, yarn crafts, souvenirs, and empty lots. Some of these themes encourage the participants to use skills in addition to crafting. For example, the empty lots theme teaches how to transform vacant lots into green spaces for the community. Kids also learn about environmentally friendly structures like rain gardens and green walls.

【小题3】 Families were requesting them! As of spring 2019, more than 100 kids have participated. The parties are gaining popularity as the word spreads.

Every Creative Reuse party helps our planet. It is estimated that each participant uses between half a pound and one pound of materials. Creative Reuse's executive director Ash Andrews says, “【小题4】 We are measuring those numbers and thinking deeply about them. It's not all just like, ‘We want to make stuff !’We also want to divert things from the landfill.”

【小题5】 In 2018, 75 tons of stuff was kept out of the landfill. That's up from 52 tons in 2017 and 43 tons in 2016. “It's very interesting to see how the impact has grown,” says Andrews.