Contest Entry
Been meaning to post this for a while. Sam wrote this in response to a contest being run in National Geographic Kids. I was pretty impressed. He took this picture for it too.
No, I don’t want to even think about the possibility of what if he won. 
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Things that I have discovered in my Backyard
By Sam Martin
I have discovered that there is more wildlife than I would have guessed. It is a shock to see so much wildlife in my gigantic backyard because where I used to live (which was California) didn’t house much wildlife. At the border of our backyard there is a forest that envelopes my neighborhood in a beautiful cloak of trees too numerous in variety to count. I see wildlife all around my house like squirrels and a wide variety of birds from chickadees to red-bellied woodpeckers to the eerie cackle of the pileated woodpecker deep within the woods.
I believe that animal diversity is good. They maintain the food chain by being in existence. For an example, the predators (Coyotes, foxes, hawks, vultures, owls, etc.) dispose of the deceased so the others of its species do not catch the illness of which it has. Another example is that bugs like bees pollinate flowers and sprouts so they can bloom.
There are several things I can do to help the environment in my backyard. I do not litter ANYWHERE .To help the food web of my area, I compost food scraps like apple cores, banana peels, etc. I recycle things like tin cans, glass bottles, and boxes can really benefit for wildlife. Another thing I do to help is to provide the animals in my area with food and shelter. For example I maintain feeders for birds. I do not cut trees down unnecessarily; it’s more than likely that it houses animals. Finally, I provide things like birdbaths and bird houses.