Drill holes in some wood and put it outside. Good job — you just helped save the bees.
You know what's great? Animals.
This is not new information, I know. But in case you need a reminder...
Exhibit A: A baby seal making an entrance.
Exhibit B: This slow loris needs you to just give him a minute, please.
Exhibit C: A hedgehog enjoying bath or stuck upside down but either way is adorable.
Exhibit D: LOOK AT THIS PANDA'S TONGUE.
And Exhibit E: in which this baby bat is me, all the time, always.
See? You'd forgotten how great animals were, hadn't you?
There are some animals who need our help, though.
As the environment comes under increasing threat of harm, so do the animals that live in it. The good news is, there's a lot we can do right in our hometowns.
Here are 25 easy things you can do to get started on your path to becoming a wildlife warrior.
1. Create or restore your backyard wildlife habitat.
Find out what species live in your area, then add places for them to eat, drink, and sleep in your backyard.
2. And once you've done that, set up another one wherever you work!
3. Build a bee house.
Bees don't need much to make a home — just a cozy hole in some wood. Drill holes in your spare lumber and scatter them around your yard to give them someplace to live.
Image via iStock.
4. Start composting your waste.
It helps keep the soil rich, which in turn makes sure animals' natural plant food is happy and healthy! (Plus it cuts down on garbage waste.)
If soil had a mouth, it would be watering. Photo via elbrozzie/Flickr.
5. Learn how (and why) to shop for local, sustainable produce.
Non-locally sourced food uses up a lot of resources traveling to the grocery store. It's a lot better for the environment (and the animals that live in it) to shop locally, buying only what's in season.
6. If you live near a bat population, build an easy bat house to give them a place to rest.
Bringing a bat colony to your backyard will also cut down on the amount of mosquitoes hanging around. Bonus! Image via iStock.
7. Take this World Wildlife Fund pledge.
By doing so, you'll be committing to raise your voice in support of various environmental efforts around the world — and the WWF will help you find out where your efforts are most needed.
8. And apply to become a panda ambassador!
If you're feeling ambitious, apply to work in partnership with the WWF in your community.
9. Make a butterfly feeder, then put it near a window so you can admire its visitors!
Photo via Orin Zebest/Flickr.
10. Avoid buying products with microplastics, like face scrubs with plastic beads.
Tiny plastics might seem harmless, but they pollute the environment with chemicals and are dangerous to animals that swallow them.
11. Join the Endangered Species Coalition's activist network.
12. If you have large glass windows or doors, buy decals to prevent birds from colliding with them.
13. Learn how to care for your lawn and garden without using herbicides or pesticides.
Photo via Seattle Parks/Flickr.
It's actually not that hard. Undiluted white vinegar is an alternative to weed killer, and you can spread corn gluten in the spring to solve problems like dandelions and crabgrass.
14. Disinfect your birdbath to prevent the spread of disease.
15. Plant native, bee-friendly flowers in your yard.
Flowers like lavender, white clover, and goldenrod — just to name a few — provide our fragile bee population with homes to pollinate and populate. (Just make sure you're not introducing plant species that aren't native to your area.)
16. Buying souvenirs? Make sure they're not made from threatened or endangered species, like ivory or coral.
Image via iStock.
17. Participate in Clean Ocean Action's annual Beach Sweeps (or go out and do your own sweep whenever you're in the mood).
Clean Ocean Action's annual event not only serves to clean up beaches, it also provides scientists with data on pollution patterns that help them design solutions for the future.
18. Always cut up your six-pack soda rings before recycling them, and never let balloons loose outside.
Releasing balloons can seem like a cool idea, but it's devastating to nature. Balloons and bags that end up in the ocean create a hazard to turtles and other sea animals that mistake them for tasty jellyfish.
Image via iStock.
19. Avoid buying single-use items, like coffee pods, plastic water bottles, and disposable utensils.
Even if they're recyclable, it's still better for the Earth to get the permanent version and wash it between uses. The plastics in single-use items put harmful chemicals into animal environments, and it takes valuable resources (like pollutive fossil fuels) to melt them down and recycle them.
20. Build a frog pond in your backyard.
Image via iStock.
21. Sponsor an animal at your local zoo or through the World Wildlife Fund.
22. Find out what bills are currently being proposed to protect America's wild animals, then call your congressional representatives and ask them to support them.
23. Conserve water and electricity in your house by taking shorter showers, turning off electronics, and buying energy-efficient appliances.
Keeping our carbon footprint small helps slow climate change, which causes harm to animals that need a cold climate to live.
24. Only buy MSC-certified fish.
Certain populations are susceptible to overfishing, so make sure you're eating the right ones. There are over 20,000 certified sustainable seafoods to choose from with the Marine Stewardship Council, so it shouldn't be too hard.
Image via iStock.
25. Above all, stay informed.
The best way to help any animal species is to do research, get the facts, and find out more about how to get involved with organizations that are working to help.
There are plenty of things you can do at home to help save wildlife. From fun projects to small tweaks in your routine, simply being more mindful of the environment we inhabit can help us understand better what the animals around us need.
Beaver in water. Photo by 
An actual beaver dam on the now-thriving Price River
How much does "being good and looking tall" matter in a corporate setting?
If you find a company that values your contributions, you will know. 
People skills matter in workplace. 
Archivo:Rollo May USD Alcalá 1977.jpg - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia ... 
A poster for the musical Les Miserables on a tall building. Photo by 
Lin Manuel Miranda at the Tony Awards. 
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."