"Those who have the privilege to know have the duty to act."   
                                                                                                                                   ALBERT EINSTEIN

Get the word out

Educate:  These issues presented on this website are global.  There is the need for increased education about several aspects of what information is presented on this website, but most importantly, the dangers we pose to our local wildlife by using poisons.  As biologists studying these issues, we focus on learning more about our local wildlife populations and how urbanization affects them.  We must raise our own research money, and so are presented with more than a full-time job to focus on our research and maintain the funds to do so.  That's why we need help from the community and those with an interest in this subject to help educate, and education can start small with spreading the word to your neighbors!  You can tell your neighbors about the negative consequences of rat poison use in and around the home, and perhaps encourage this material to be taught in your local schools.  If you want to do more, you can take initiative to something bigger by organizing local education events for your community, at your local schools, writing articles for local homeowner's assocations. 

If you are an educator at a school or other organization, you are in an excellent position to do help us in our efforts to get the word out about local poisons. And in fact, public education of scientific research is known to be more powerful when professional educators step in and help distribute the information.  We are interested in the involvement of community members to increase education, and we need help to do so. 

If you are a writer, blogger, journalist- write about the issue!  Spread the word in the writing you do. 

If you live in a community with a homeowner's association, try to spread the word through homeowner's meetings, or be bold- propose a rule to prevent the use of anticoagulant rat poisons within your community!  In Marin County, CA, the entire County has imposed ban on anticoagulants rat poisons.  It is possible to survive without these poisons, and it takes a group of interested people to get the ball rolling.

Join us in our effort to preserve local wildlife and do your part by spreading the word or organizing something bigger.  If you want to organize education events, contact us and perhaps we can participate by discussing our research!  If you need help otherwise to do something bigger, get in touch and we'll see how we can help:  Laurelklein (at) UCLA.edu