Virginia's Barrier Island: Chincoteague and the National Wildlife Refuge-Biodiversity Management

My love of food has led me to look deeper at the issue of biodiversity not just in the food production system, but also in our ecosystem. First of all,  I love food, especially fruit.  My dad was a Senior Chief in the U.S.Navy and would always bring back a taste of any new culture he experienced during his deployment.  Shameless to say, I still appreciate and crave a taste of the exotic. Recently, however, I have had an incredible craving for star fruit. It has been over 15 years since I had one.  Three weeks ago I began the hunt for star fruit.  I scoured Carroll County, Radford, Mt. Airy, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and parts in-between.  No one had star fruit.  As a final attempt to attain that which I crave, I asked the manager of my local Food Lion if they could order some star fruit for the store.  That was four days ago and I await a regional decision as to whether or not it can be ordered. Why would a store who once was a frequent ca...

This Island and its famous pony swim, that occurs yearly, is facing extinction due to sea-level rise and climate change.  As it stands it is the last and only inhabited island among Virginia's Easter Shore Barrier Islands. I discovered that my community in Southwest Virginia largely did not know about this island nor the string of barrier islands in Virginia.  They also were unaware of the threat they and other Virginia islands are facing at the hands of sea-level rise and climate change.  Thus, I am interested in creating an immersive lesson for Virginia Studies and Ecology students to better help them understand the coastal areas of Virginia and the complexity of its biodiversity that exists within such changing habitats.   Many would like to deny the fact that Global warming is real and taking place.  Barrier Islands like those off the coast of Virginia are key indicators of a combination of climate change indications.  Sea level rise and island migra...

Biodiversity is the saturation of any specified area’s ecosystem with a variety of living organisms inclusive of micro and macro organisms. Plants and animals thrive and survive when genetically diverse species populate an area which prevents species from breeding among close relations or between two weak species/organisms that cannot adapt to a changing environment.