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No worries!! I'll only send occasional updates. And I promise to never share your email address with anyone for any reason.
10% of proceeds on all sales donated to support nature conservation
10% of my proceeds from any sales of my books and art donated to support non-profit conservation organizations.
“It is up to us to save the world. It’s up to you and me.” – Jane Goodall
Individually, it often feels like there is not much we can do to save nature, but I believe together we can make a difference.
I hope my books about nature help others discover its allure and amazing interconnections. I create art to share the beauty of nature and in hopes of inspiring others to get outdoors to observe and experience the natural world for themselves.
But I want to do more. Since I am continually inspired by the great work being accomplished by many different non-profit conservation organizations and personally support their work, I decided that I also want sales of my books and art to support their efforts. My long-term goal is to donate all my book and art proceeds to conservation, but at present I need some of the proceeds to produce additional products and for additional marketing. So for now, I am donating 10% of my proceeds for nature. The total amount generated doesn’t add up to a whole lot so far, but I think every penny going to help these organizations fund their critically important research, educational efforts, and habitat conservation and restoration actions can help make a difference.
In the spirit of transparency, here are the names of each of the organizations to which I have donated small portions of the total 10% of my proceeds in past years, and which I expect to also support going forward. This list is in no particular order. Click the name to view each organization’s website.
Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
Bird Conservancy of the Rockies
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Rocky Mountain Raptor Association
HIgh Plains Environmental Center
Certainly there are many more organizations I try to support personally and hope to possibly contribute some sales proceeds to in the future. But for now, these are my priority organizations. You can check the links above for more information about each organization, but I also wanted to share a little about why I support these particular organizations here.
Many people do not appreciate the critical, ecological roles of invertebrates. This huge group of living things are often overlooked, misunderstood, and maligned. But our future depends on their future. Sadly, many invertebrate populations, including a wide variety of species that perform critical roles as pollinators, pest predators, decomposers, soil builders, and food for birds and other vertebrates have dramatically declined in the past twenty to thirty years. Considering their important ecosystem values and the fact that this group of organisms have been overlooked and misunderstood for too long, I strongly support two organizations that are working to conserve invertebrates through research, conservation, and education.
This organization creates awareness and appreciation of invertebrates through their stunning Butterfly Pavilion facility in Westminster, Colorado (soon moving to a new facility in Broomfield). Featuring live butterflies and other invertebrates, plus educational interpretive displays and programs, Butterfly Pavilion helps engage and educate visitors of all ages about the beauty, diversity and ecological values of invertebrates. In addition to their impressive facility, Butterfly Pavilion also supports and undertakes important research on invertebrates around the world. They also facilitate several programs to directly involve Coloradans in invertebrate research and conservation.
Named for the first butterfly species known to go extinct in North America, this organization conducts a wide variety of research on invertebrates and offers extensive information about invertebrate biology and conservation via their website, publications and virtual and in-person presentations.
Birds bring beauty and song to our lives and they are what led me to a career in nature conservation. So I strongly support organizations that are working to conserve bird populations and conducting important bird research and/or undertaking effective educational efforts to inspire more people to care about birds and all of nature.
I support this organization because they are working specifically to promote awareness and conservation of the birds that live right here in Colorado, both in the mountains and on the plains. In addition to conducting fascinating bird conservation research and banding birds to learn more about their migrations and populations, Bird Conservancy of the Rockies also conducts educational events for everyone and bird camps specifically for kids.
Affiliated with Cornell University, this organization is a clearing house/compiler of all kinds of information related to bird conservation as well as an active participant in efforts to educate people and conserve nature. Cornell states their mission is “to interpret and conserve the Earth’s biological diversity through research, education, and participatory science focused on birds and nature.” This mission closely aligns with my own goals and I see continual evidence that Cornell’s work is making a difference for birds in many different ways and places. As the organization that created and supports ebird and Merlin bird app, I think Cornell is helping more and more people learn to notice, identify and appreciate birds in their local areas and in places they visit. I consider them to be one of the best sources for information about the natural history of birds and bird conservation.
This organization provides veterinary care for hawks, eagles, falcons, vultures, and owls that have been injured by lead pollution, collisions with cars, windows, wind turbines, or other hazards. When treatment is successful enough to allow the injured bird to survive on its own, the birds are released back into the wild. The birds that cannot be fully healed due to the severity of their injuries are kept in captivity and used in educational programs to increase public awareness and appreciation of raptors. I support this organization because there is a strong need for their services. I love all birds, but raptors are comparatively uncommon due to their comparatively low reproductive rates and their important place as top predators (or decomposers, in the case of vultures) in our ecosystems. So saving individual raptors seems a worthwhile undertaking. In addition, these beautiful, often majestic birds, make good ambassadors to help encourage people of all ages to learn more, and care more, about nature and conservation.
This Colorado organization offers a variety of services to encourage everyone to learn about and conserve native plants, They offer lots of online information, monthly meetings around the state, some online webinars, summer plant field trips, annual conferences, as well as support for research related to Colorado’s native plants. This organization is a great resource for anyone interested in identifying, growing, and/or conserving Colorado’s native plants.
High Plains Environmental Center (HPEC), located in Loveland, Colorado, works to find and promote ways for people and nature to exist and flourish together.
HPEC’s native plant nursery grows and sells a wide variety of native plants making it much easier for anyone to convert a water-guzzling, biodiversity deficient lawn to a rich, native plant garden that supports pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. High Plains also has a free to visit demonstration native plant garden, provides many free resources, as well as classes and events to connect people with local nature.
Conservation of nature is a worldwide necessity, but it is difficult to figure out how best to support conservation in other countries. I believe iNaturalist and Idea Wild both offer effective ways to help citizens of other countries learn more about nature and potentially become local conservation leaders.
This online platform provides an incredible free service that enables any individual, anywhere, to submit photos of birds, mammals, invertebrates, plants, or fungi to both obtain identification and contribute valuable observations that scientists can use when they are trying to learn more about any specific area or species. I strongly believe that we all care more about nature as we learn and observe more. I think iNaturalist is an amazing tool that offers everyone who has an internet connection an opportunity to learn more about nature anywhere, and personally contribute to science and conservation.
Founded by Fort Collins resident, Wally Van Sickle, Idea Wild is focused on helping citizens of planet Earth who live in developing countries learn more about nature in their home countries or aim to educate fellow citizens about local wildlife and ecosystems. Idea Wild is based on the idea that an effective way to help conserve biodiversity worldwide is by providing needed equipment to individuals in developing countries who have the desire and passion to conduct research, or create educational programs, on the species and/or ecosystems in their own countries. Interested individual submit research or educational program proposals to Idea Wild. Idea Wild staff evaluate the proposals for quality and fund selected projects by providing equipment such as gps units, radio tagging supplies, or audiovisual equipment that applicants need to undertake their proposed projects. I love learning about the projects in need of support and being able to select specific projects that I can help fund. Learn more about Idea Wild’s work here.
At present (2025), I am donating 10% of net sales of my books and art annually. Since my sales volume is not that large, this means I can only donate small amounts of money to each of these organizations annually, at least so far. However, my long term goal is to increase sales, as well as the percent of my sales I can donate, so that my support for these organizations, and perhaps additional conservation organizations, can increase yearly. I hope that you will consider purchasing my art and books to help me reach this goal. You can also help these organizations by supporting them directly.
Thank you for sharing my concern and commitment to help conserve nature and protect the biodiversity of our beautiful planet.