As I'm sure you've heard, Steve Irwin, better known as the crocodile hunter, passed away a few days ago. Steve was an amazing man who had a connection to wildlife that I don't believe we have ever had or will ever see again in another person. He was a worldwide advocate for conservation and care for animals. Steve is survived by his wife Terri, and two young kids. My heart truely goes out to them. Steve was truely one in a trillion, a COMPLETELY unselfish person who'se passion in life, was caring for all living creatures. The world mourns the loss of Steve more than they have for any other single person for the past 2000 years.

Having been in the US Marine Corps, I don't have much emotions when it comes to death. I didn't cry when my best bud died in front of me in boot camp from a severe asthma attack, nor when one of my good friends was killed in Iraq. But somehow with the loss of Steve Irwin, I feel like I have lost a member of my own immediate family, and I'm not ashamed to say that I have wept for him. There are so many animals that owe their lives to his direct rescue, or his indirect influence on rest of the world, that the number could not possibly be counted. Besides that, he was an all around likable guy.

With Steve's loss, every one of us around the world will have to pick up the slack to help mother nature, in some way. Even if it is just one small thing that you do, help mother nature in some way to honor and remember Steve Irwin. Below are some things you can do to honor this truely great man, and I can not think of anything he would have wanted us to do to remember or honor his memory, more than this:

:star: Those of you who have some money to spare, you can make a donation to the Wildlife Warriors Fund at: http://www.wildlifewarriors.org.au/ (please be patient in trying to make your donation, as the site has been innundated with so many people wanting to donate that the servers have not been able to handle the traffic and have been shutting down).

:star: Or if you have some time to spare, you can donate your time at an animal shelter in honor of Steve

:star: You can also do things in your own life to help preserve wildlife throughout the world, such as reducing your greenhouse gas emissions by switching your lights from incadescent to low energy compact flourescent. Planting a deciduous shade tree to shade your outside A/C unit at your house durring the summer, while allowing the sun to heat the coils in the winter (if it is a heat pump system). Or switching to a programmable thermostat. All of these things save energy, will save more money than they cost, and will help reduce pollution and minimize the negative effects mankind has had on wildlife.

:star: If you're really dedicated, you can create a water pre-heater to save almost 1/2 of your total energy durring summer months. Or install a solar panel system to reduce or even completely replace your dependance on polluting energy sources.

:star: No matter where you live, there is wildlife that lives all around you. You can build a birdhouse, or bird feeder, or bird bath in honor of Steve Irwin

:star: In addition to making a great cobbler, blackberry bushes are some of the best plants for sustaining wildlife in your community. From birds to turtles and even bears will eat the fruits, and many thousands of other animals will use the bushes as shelter. If they will grow in your area, I highly recommend planting some. You can also make a garden and plant bird seed in the garden. Most of the time it will make a beautiful garden, while helping to sustain local wildlife.

:star: If you fish, eat what you catch, and if you hunt, never kill anything you don't intend to eat. There is nothing more disgusting than people who go out to kill wildlife for the "sport" of it.

:star: Most importantly, if you're here, you're probably a pet owner. Be a responsible pet owner and don't ever release pets not native to the area. Have your dog or cat spayed or neutered. Never buy dogs or cats at retail stores or from breeders. Rather, adopt them from rescue shelters.