March 23rd: National & International Days, Celebrations and Observances

March 23rd focuses on protecting wildlife and nature.

• Local animal shelters always need supplies - food, blankets, toys - and welcome new pet adoptions.
• Follow the World Wildlife Fund's updates about bear protection on social media.
• Weather research relies on people like you: download a tracking app to send data to scientists.
• Got a park nearby? Grab a bag and clean up trash to protect animals living there.
• And while you're online, NASA.gov shows what's happening with asteroids and Earth science.
• Plant something local in your garden.
• Birds and insects thrive on native flowers and shrubs.
• Skip processed foods - chop fresh vegetables for tonight's dinner instead.
• Bad weather happens fast, so tell neighbors when storms are coming.

In 1806, after wintering at Fort Clatsop, Lewis and Clark began their long journey home. The duo had charted 8,000 miles through western lands. Along the way, they documented hundreds of unknown species - 178 plants and 122 animals. Most notably, their thorough Columbia River maps reshaped understanding of western terrain.

March 23, 1909 saw Theodore Roosevelt embark for Africa. While his team collected 11,000 specimens for the Smithsonian, his true environmental legacy had already taken shape during his presidency. Roosevelt's bold policies protected vast tracts of American wilderness: 150 national forests spread across the country, alongside 51 protected bird areas and five national parks.

Years later, in spring 2014, Guinea reported its first Ebola cases to the WHO. Local research pointed to fruit bats as carriers, reinforcing what scientists had long suspected about wildlife disease transmission. As infections crossed into 10 different countries, the outbreak exposed the real impact of shifting forest boundaries on human health.

March 23rd connects an unexpected group of scientific minds. Back in 1728, John Bartram transformed a plot of Philadelphia land into the city's first botanical garden. He went on to serve King George III, building lasting plant networks between America and Europe.

William Smith changed how we see Earth's structure. His careful studies of rock layers and fossils in England led to something new - the first nationwide geological survey. Scientists still rely on his methods to study climate change.

During the 1900s, physicist Emmy Noether solved a puzzle that baffled her peers. She showed how symmetry in nature connects to basic conservation laws. This insight now helps researchers track both climate patterns and energy flows.

Few writers explain climate science better than Kim Stanley Robinson. His novel "The Ministry for the Future" mixes hard science with gripping stories about our environmental reality.

The biotech world knows Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw for practical innovation. Through Biocon Limited, she develops cleaner enzyme methods and influences the industry to adopt better manufacturing practices.