Happy Friday {{first name | my friend}},

The first official week of spring has sprung across the Northern Hemisphere! See gorgeous cherry blossoms blooming in Tokyo, Washington D.C., Switzerland, and Tacoma, Wash. 🌸

🎥🎥 Details on the Greenfield film coming next week.

ECL TRIVIA: What is the thin layer of living tissue just under a tree’s bark that helps it grow in thickness each year? (Answer below)

🦜 PARROT PARTY: Australian researchers are celebrating an endangered baby cockatoo that “fledged from an artificial log hollow installed on a tree,” as part of a habitat restoration project. With less than 2k of these “smoky-black” parrots remaining in the wild, FIND OUT HOW the conservation team researched, designed, and enhanced nest conditions for this wild breeding success. 

🐳 HEADBUTTING WHALES: Are the legends true? For the first time, scientists were able to capture THIS STUNNING AERIAL VIDEO of a sperm whale headbutting another. “It was really exciting to observe this behavior, which we knew had been hypothesized for such a long time, but not yet documented and described systematically,” says the lead study author.

🦠 MICROBIAL MAGIC: A new 12-year study is reshaping our understanding of soil carbon storage, revealing that microbial access to moisture is a decisive factor. Read what happened in simulated “drought and warming” periods versus “wet years,” and HOW THIS CHANGES what we thought about safely stored “ancient carbon.”

📺 HEART RISK: Is excess screen time damaging your heart? Scientists say yes, after THIS NEW STUDY reveals that “excessive” time staring at digital screens is related to worse cardiovascular outcomes. "What makes this study different is that we looked at screen time as a specific, measurable digital behavior rather than just broadly labeling people as sedentary," says the lead cardiologist on the study.

🍄‍🟫 REMEMBERING OUR FOOD: In the 16th century, residents of a rural UK city ate largely wild, foraged foods; today, we rely on stores. A group of local farmers and chefs were shown photos of these 10+ common edible foods growingly wild in the area and one participant said “I grew up in the countryside… I’m surprised about how little I know and I’m someone who loves plants.” LEARN HOW their perceptions shifted after engaging in this study about wild foraging.

🧠 YOUR BRAIN IN NATURE: Time outside is never wasted. Researchers at McGill University have discovered how nature impacts the human brain, in “as little as 3 minutes” spent in nature. Here’s the FOUR SIGNS of how your brain settles down outdoors.

Cambium. This growth layer produces new wood inward and new bark outward, helping trees expand their trunks and branches.