I don’t exactly remember how I settled on the name Wednesday Island for this site. But as I was thinking about that, I wondered if Wednesday Island actually exists anywhere. It turns out, there are at least two:

• In Antarctica, Wednesday Island is an island at the east end of Wauwermans Islands in the north part of Wilhelm Archipelago. It was reportedly named for the day on which it was first sighted in the mid-1930s by the British Graham Land Expedition (BGLE).   
• The other Wednesday Island is one of hundreds of islands in the Torres Straight off the Cape York Peninsula along the northern coast of Australia. It is also known as Mowaru Island. 

Both Wednesday Islands are uninhabited and infrequently visited. So infrequently, in fact, that there is next to no information at all about either on the internet. And you can find anything on the internet, right?!

The Thing About Islands

The thing about islands is they are physically cut off from the rest of the world. Thus, they often have distinct and unique ecosystems that have evolved over time. Even though islands make up only 5% of land on Earth:

• 20% of the world’s bird, reptile and plant species live there and nowhere else.
• Around 61% of recorded extinctions globally have occurred on islands since the beginning of the 15th century. Oof!

After first contact with humans, many island species disappear due to hunting, habitat alteration or the effects of introduced invasive species.

Outsized Returns on Conservation Investments

Island Conservation is a nonprofit whose work revolves around removing invasive animals and plants to restore islands for nature and people. Examples of their projects:

• On Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, native trees increased 5,000% after invasive rat removal.
• Four years after invasive rodents were removed from Pinzon Island in the Galapagos, hatchlings of the Pinzon Giant Tortoise (extinct in the wild) were able to survive in the wild for the first time in 150 years.
• For the first time in more than 40 years a Peruvian Diving-petrel chick has hatched (naturally) on Chañaral Island in Chile, representing a significant milestone on an island no longer devastated by invasive rabbits and foxes. 

And because everything is interconnected, what Island Conservation has found is that healthy island biodiversity, including nesting seabirds, bring nutrients that feed the surrounding coral and marine ecosystems, leading to increased resilience in the face of climate change and a healthier planet for all.