Tag Archives: reselling

A Second Life for a Birding Book

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Second-Hand Conservation

Every once in a while, I’ll feature an item from my eBay or Etsy stores under the banner of Second-Hand Conservation.

Why?

Because conservation isn’t just about protecting forests, wetlands, wildlife, and natural resources. It is also about how we use the resources we already have. Every item that is reused, repurposed, repaired, gifted, or sold second-hand is one less item headed to a landfill and one less demand for something new to be manufactured.

Today’s featured item is a copy of Of a Feather: A Brief History of American Birding by Scott Weidensaul.

Birdwatching is now one of America’s most popular outdoor activities, enjoyed by millions of people each year. Yet birding wasn’t always the widespread pastime it is today. This book explores how birdwatching evolved from a pursuit practiced by a relatively small group of naturalists into a major recreational activity that has influenced conservation, environmental education, and our understanding of the natural world.

As someone who has spent much of his life working in conservation and environmental education, I find books like this particularly interesting because they help tell the story of how people developed a deeper appreciation for birds and nature. That appreciation has often translated into conservation action.

This particular copy comes from my personal library. Like many of the books I own, it has served its purpose for me and is now ready to continue its journey with someone else.

That’s really what Second-Hand Conservation is all about.

A book is written once, printed once, and then has the potential to educate and inspire many readers over its lifetime. Passing books along rather than allowing them to sit unused on shelves is a simple form of stewardship.

If you’re interested in learning more about the history of birding in America, this book may be worth a look.

View the listing here:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/236845179899

“Doing Good and Doing Well” sometimes starts with something as simple as giving a good book a second life.
— Ron Dodson, The Conservation Company

Stewardship and Billy Beer

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Yesterday morning I heard the familiar “Cha-ching” sound on my cell phone—the sound that tells me something just sold in my eBay store.

A few years ago, after retiring, I started The Conservation Company store as a way to clear out items we no longer needed. But over time, it became something more. It became one small way that I practice what I call a Stewardship Lifestyle—giving still-useful items a second chance at life instead of sending them to a landfill.

Along the way, the store also generates a little extra income—helping me keep my publications free of charge while supporting a few conservation organizations that are doing important work.

So what sold yesterday?

An empty can of Billy Beer.

Yes…an empty beer can.

Who would have thought?

To be honest, I have no idea where I originally came across this little collector’s gem. I do vaguely remember drinking a Billy Beer or two many years ago—and if memory serves me right…it wasn’t exactly unforgettable for the right reasons.

Still, somebody out there wanted it enough to buy it.

And that’s the point.

Stewardship doesn’t always look like planting trees, restoring wetlands, or building bird habitat. Sometimes it looks like giving an old collectible a second life, making a few extra bucks, and using that money to do a little good in the world.

That’s stewardship too.

If this little story got you thinking about your own choices, habits, or opportunities, you might enjoy my Conservation Lifestyles online magazine, where I share practical ideas for building your own Stewardship Way—where you live and work. Subscriptions are free at Conservation Lifestyles

When Shipping Costs More Than the Thing You’re Trying to Save

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Today I’ll be making another “shipping run” to the post office.

That’s become a regular part of what I do through The Conservation Company—selling items on eBay, not so much as a business aimed at maximizing income, but as a way to keep useful items out of landfills and give them a second or third life.

At least, that’s the idea.

But over the past few years, something has been changing.

The shipping part of this process has become more expensive, more time-consuming, and increasingly unreliable.

Shipping costs now often rival—or exceed—the value of the item itself. And since those costs must be passed along to the buyer, something interesting happens:

Items that are perfectly useful…
Items that someone might genuinely want…
…suddenly become “too expensive” to justify purchasing.

Not because of the item itself—but because of the system required to move it.

And then there’s the reliability issue.

We live on a rural route, and it has become increasingly clear that delivery is inconsistent. Some days, it feels like our route is simply skipped. Other days, we receive mail that belongs to our neighbors, while our neighbors receive ours.

I spoke with the manager of our small local post office, and the explanation was straightforward: they can’t find enough people to fill open positions. So they bring in workers from other areas—people who don’t know the routes, the names, or the patterns of the community.

In other words, the system is still operating…
…but it’s no longer functioning the way it once did.

And then this morning, I read something that put all of this into a much bigger context.

According to a Reuters report, the new Postmaster General is considering major changes—ending six-day delivery, closing post offices, and raising stamp prices to $1 or more. At the same time, mail volume—the Postal Service’s most profitable segment—continues to decline.

The warning was blunt:

“The failure to do this could lead to the end of the Postal Service as we know it now.”

That’s a powerful statement.

And it made me stop and think.

Because what I’m experiencing locally isn’t just a local issue—it’s a reflection of a system under stress.

A system that many of us still depend on.

A system that, in many ways, has quietly supported everyday life—especially in rural communities like ours.

What Does This Mean?

From a Stewardship Way perspective, this raises an important question:

What happens when the systems we rely on to do the right thing…no longer support the right thing?

Right now, it is often easier—and sometimes cheaper—to throw something away than it is to give it a second life.

Think about that.

We talk a lot about recycling, reuse, and sustainability. But the underlying systems—shipping, logistics, labor—are not necessarily designed to support those goals.

They are designed for efficiency, scale, and volume.

And when those systems begin to strain, the first things to suffer are often the smaller, quieter activities—like one person trying to sell a used item to another person who could use it.

A Thought Moving Forward

I’m not sure what the solution is.

But I am beginning to wonder if part of the answer lies closer to home.

Maybe the future of reuse and conservation isn’t just about national platforms and long-distance shipping.

Maybe it’s about more local connections.
More community-based exchanges.
More “second lives” happening closer to where things already are.

That’s something I’ll be thinking about today…as I make another trip to the post office.

Want to follow along?

If you’d like to be notified when I post Field Notes like this, you can subscribe for free to The Nature of Things here:
https://natureandthings.substack.com

The Nature of Things – Here and There

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Field Trips – It was another hot and dry week here in Upstate NY. But we did manage to get in a couple of short hikes and a couple of walks down the road and back. Most days in addition to the heat, the humidity has been very high too. We actually went to Hollyhock Hollow Sanctuary on 2 occasions last week, mostly to explore the dry creek bed. My office was at Hollyhock Hollow for 26 years and I don’t recall seeing the creek as dry as it is this year.

 

 

Nature-based Communities – I have fully launched my initiative that I call the Nature-based Communities Initiative, which is a campaign to get people in regions across the country to become more connected with nature and natural resource management. I’m focusing on 3 regions myself, one here in New York, one in Florida and one in Indiana. I’m trying to practice what I preach and then report on my personal efforts in hope that others in various regions around the United States might decide to take on similar actions where they live. Want to learn more CLICK HERE

 

Conservation Landscapes – This initiative is aimed at offering information that I hope is useful for landowner/managers who might care to manage their landscapes with nature and natural resources in mind. This site and blog is essentially a series of fact sheet type posts on various topics that provides information on landscape management for people to consider using where they live, work and play. To see an example: CLICK HERE

 

The Conservation Company – In an effort to keep items out of landfills and to generate money for conservation and environmental education project, I resell items on eBay. Sales have generally been slow, and as I have heard sales has been slow for most people who are resellers. So, I have just been listing, listing, listing, and reducing prices too. CLICK HERE for my latest update on my reselling efforts.

 

Letters from a Foxhole – This project is not directly connected with nature, but it is connected with my dad. I’ve continued to post a series of Letters that Dad wrote home to his sister during his time in the Army during World War 2. If that sounds like something that might interest, you CLICK HERE to see more.