ECO: It certainly isn't a new word. In Greek ("oikos"), it means the home, the place where we live. And ecology means the science of how all living creatures interact within our home - our environment on this fascinating and complex Earth.

In fact, it seems that many people think of the word “ecology” only in its biological context and as a synonym for the word "environment". While it’s true that the term "environment" generally refers to the sum of all external conditions affecting the life, development and survival of an organism, the term "ecology" examines the relationship of living things to one another and their environment, or the study of such relationships.

 

Flora and fauna refer to plant and wildlife, respectively. The indigenous plant and wildlife of a geographical region is often referred to as that region’s flora and fauna. Both are collective terms, referring to groups of plant or wildlife specific to a region or a time period. For example, the flora and fauna of a warm region may consist of tropical to warm-temperate vegetation and exotic species of birds.

The flora of the Great Lakes region includes white pine, hemlock, sugar and red maples, yellow birch, and beech trees. The fauna of the Great Lakes region includes deer, black bear, opossum, gray and red squirrels, otter, beaver, fox, coyote and skunk; birds include eastern bluebird, red-winged blackbird, robin, wood thrush, woodpecker, oriole, bobolink, crow, hawk, bittern, heron, black duck, and loon. Further north in the boreal forest area there are moose, caribou, black bear, lynx, timber wolf, marten, beaver, porcupine, snowshoe rabbit, red squirrel, and chipmunk.