Year in Review: 5 interesting facts to end this year

1. Did you know that 1/3 of the food eaten by Americans comes from crops pollinated by honey bees? Anytime that you eat squash, broccoli, almonds, pumpkins, cranberries, melons, or apples you can thank the honey bees for the sweet treat

2. Think twice before you clean up your yard from the fallen leaves. Bumblebees sometimes hibernate underground while other bee species find their way into the hollow stems of native plants to rest and wait for spring. Butterflies find cozy shelter in plant litter and some caterpillars roll themselves up in fallen leaves. (Global Briefs, NABerks.com)

3. There is such a thing as good carbon. Did you know that there are more bacteria in a gram of soil than there are people on the planet? Carbon in soil is actually essential- it helps retain water and means a healthier ecosystem for growth. Soil contains 3 times as much carbon as the atmosphere and almost 5 times as much carbon as all the plants on the planet. (Katelyn Silva, University of Pennsylvania)

4. Did you know that Global Business depends on the Natural world? PwC research reveals that 55% of the world's GDP, equivalent to US$58 trillion, is moderately or highly dependent on nature.

5. Monitoring butterfly populations can provide valuable insights into the health of ecosystems and the impact of climate change on biodiversity. They are what we call an "indicator species".