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Book Reading: Saving Puget Sound
Homewaters Project Presents:
Saving Puget Sound
A Book Reading by John Lombard
Wednesday January 31, 2007
7:00pm - 9:00pm
North Seattle Community College
Baxter Student Events Center
Free
John Lombard's book, Saving Puget Sound: A Conservation Strategy for the 21st Century, provides both a vision for conservation in the Puget Sound region and a detailed review of the political and legal issues that ultimately must be at the core of any practical strategy to achieve it.
Learn more about John's book at www.savingpugetsound.com.
Get Directions to NSCC: http://www.northseattle.edu/maps/For more information about this event, contact Homewaters Project
Phone: 206.526.0187
Email: homewaters@sccd.ctc.edu
Website: www.homewatersproject.org
Register now for Spring Teacher Workshops at the Zoo
Spring 2007 Workshops
Woodland Park Zoo and National Geographic present:Teacher Professional Development Opportunities African Savanna: Predators and Prey- Sunday, February 25, 2007 (8:15 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.)
Includes the matinee speaker presentation - Cost: $10 materials fee
- Most appropriate for teachers of grades 1-8
- Clock hours (7) will be available
- Applications due date: Friday, February 9, 2007
What roles do predators play in ecosystems? What roles do prey species play in ecosystems, other than being food for predators? Explore Woodland Park Zoo's African Savanna exhibit while learning about the importance of predator/prey relationships and how they affect the tropical savanna ecosystems of east and southern Africa. This workshop includes admission to the National Geographic Live! matinee presentation, "Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo" with Dereck and Beverly Joubert on Sunday, February 25th.Primates of the World- Saturday, May 12, 2007 (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) and Sunday, May 13, 2007 (2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.) for the matinee speaker presentation
- Cost: $10 materials fee
- Most appropriate for teachers of grades 5-10.
- Clock hours (9) and credit (one graduate quarter credit) will be available.
- Application due date: Friday, April 13, 2007
What's the difference between an ape and a monkey? What about a mouse lemur and a macaque? Spend a day at Woodland Park Zoo learning about the physical characteristics and behaviors of primates and how zoos are involved in conservation efforts for primate species around the world. This workshop includes admission to the National Geographic Live! matinee presentation, "My Wild Life: Discovery in Madagascar" with Mireya Mayor on Sunday, May 13th.Join this dynamic scientist and journalist as she recounts her work in Madagascar, and offers an update on efforts to preserve that country's lemurs. She will also share a glimpse into the world of television journalism, highlighting some of her adventures both in front of the camera and behind the scenes of natural history filmmaking.Celebrating Washington's Wildflowers and Wildlife- Saturday, March 10, 2007 (8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.)
- Most appropriate for grades 2-12
- Presented by Woodland Park Zoo, North Cascades Institute, the US Forest Service and Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium
- This workshop will be held at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium in Tacoma
- To register, contact registrar Debi Martin, North Cascades Institute at 360.856.5700 x309 or email nci@ncascades.org
- Cost: $20 material fee.
- Clock hours (7) available.
- Application due date: Friday, February 16, 2007
Join us for this interdisciplinary, hands-on workshop about Washington's native plants and animals. Participants will receive WPZ's Washington Wildlife teacher packet, NCI's Celebrating Wildflowers curriculum guide, and NCI's Native Plants of Washington video/DVD, which introduces the concepts of native plants, native plant communities and ecosystems and can be used along with the standards-based activities in the curriculum guide.
REGISTRATION
Advance registration by fax or mail is required for these workshops.In order to be accepted into one of these teacher workshops, you must complete and submit an application, available at www.zoo.org under Education/Teacher/Professional Development/Workshops.
For the Love of Crows
Are you a corvidophile?
Corvidophile: one who has a particular passion for the avian members of the corvid family, including crows, ravens, and jays.
Do you scan the powerlines and rooftops for black silhouettes while driving or walking? Is your ear tuned to the throaty caw-caw, gurgly chortles, and sharp barks of your local crows?
As I'm writing this, my neighborhood crows are calling to each other. It is late afternoon; soon they will gather and fly en mass to their shared roost. All except one. My neighbors Kyle and Laura are caretakers for a crow named "Bird." Bird is a beautiful crow, slender and petite, feminine and wily. She broke her wing as a fledgling and is unable to fly.
Bird lives in an outdoor aviary in their side yard. When Kyle and Laura go out of town, they often ask me to bring Bird her breakfast. She doesn't like people who wear hats or make eye-contact. She is very wary of strangers. I think by now, she recognizes me, as I pushes open the door to her enclosure and step onto the straw. I feed her ripe ground beef, chunks of cheese, dried fruit, crackers, nuts, hunks of bread, and whatever yummies Kyle has packed into a plastic container and left for me on my front porch.
Kyle and Laura once told me that Bird's family comes to visit her. They will appear suddenly, landing in the fig tree, hopping along the gutters, calling to her. Kyle has even see Bird pass tasty morsels of food to other crows, beak to beak, through the chicken wire.
Today, we focus on crows. Have you every actually watched a crow? Really watched? You may be amazed by the problem-solving skills, curiosity, and brashness of the crow.
Some scientists believe that crows are more adapt at making tools than chimps. Check out this article and video that shows a female New Caledonian crow solving a complicated problem by fashioning her own tool. This is amazing!
Check out PBS's special website on RAVENS, which includes lesson plans, articles, images and more.
Find out more about the corvidophile personality. These crow lovers seem to share some key personality traits with the crow. Interested in learning more about Seattle's crows? Check out the University of Washington's Seattle Crow Survey. And if you are a corvidophile, you might consider volunteering for the crow survey. I do it several times of year. It is wonderful to dedicate several hours to crow watching, and it is surprising to see just how many crows there are on the lawn, on the powerline, on the rooftop, on the dumpster, and everywhere in between.Caw-Caw!
Young Naturalist Awards
The Young Naturalist Awards, a program from the American Museum of Natural History and sponsored by Alcoa Foundation, is a research-based essay contest for students in grades 7-12 to promote participation and communication in science. All entrants will receive a personalized letter from the judges. Contest winners (two from each grade) win cash scholarship awards from $500 to $2,500, an expense-paid trip to New York City to attend an award ceremony, and their essays are published on the Museum's Web site. Deadline: April 1, 2007 http://www.amnh.org/youngnaturalistawards
Sustainable Schools Awards Program
Terry Husseman Sustainable Schools Awards AvailableThe deadline for awards applications is January 31, 2007.
It is time again to kick off the Sustainable Schools Awards Program. Your school could receive a cash award from Ecology for waste reduction, recycling, resource conservation, and other sustainability activities.
Ecology plans to distribute as much as $36,000 among the winners this year. Applications are due January 31, 2007 and we will announce the winners in February. On May 10, 2007, we will celebrate with the award winning schools in the Capitol Rotunda.
Our website (http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/terryhusseman.html) has additional information on sustainability, including the “How-to Manual for Implementing Sustainability in Your School.”
For more information on the awards program, criteria, or ideas to foster sustainability in your school, contact the Awards Coordinator, Michelle Payne, at (360) 407-6129 or mdav461@ecy.wa.gov. Michelle can guide you through the application process and connect you with any assistance or local resources you may draw upon to help you establish sustainability focused activities in your school.
Teen Science Lectures at Town Hall
Town Hall is planning a new science lecture series for middle-school-aged teens! (This is a direct reprint of an announcement from Town Hall's Executive Director)Wier Harman, executive director at Town Hall, will present this idea to middle school teachers and seek their input at a reception on January 30th, 6pm-7:30pm, at Town Hall (reception is free to teachers). The reception is followed by a science lecture from George Dyson, a historian of science, who speaks about John von Neumann (1903-1957), one of the computer science pioneers (cost of lecture is $5.00). Please find below the invitation of Wier Harman for this event. If you plan to attend the reception, please RSVP Wier Harman at wier@townhallseattle.org. We hope you can join your colleagues for this reception and/or for a great science lecture. Best regards, CENTER FOR INQUIRY SCIENCE at the Institute for Systems Biology Bridging Best Practices in Science Education http://www.systemsbiology.org/Center_for_Inquiry_Science/_______________________________________________________________ Hello all--I write from Town Hall, an arts, civics and cultural center in downtown Seattle, with an invitation to a reception prior to an appearance by noted science historian George Dyson on Tuesday, January 30, at 6pm. Also at the reception, I'd like to take the opportunity to introduce an exciting idea for a new Town Hall series of Teen Science Lectures. As you may know, for the last three years, our Seattle Science Lectures series (produced in cooperation with University Bookstore and the Pacific Science Center) has embraced a broad range of fascinating speakers from across many fields of inquiry--including Brian Greene, Richard Dawkins, Lisa Randall, Michio Kaku, Ray Kurzweil, and Jared Diamond, over forty in all. On January 30 we're proud to host George Dyson--brother of internet pioneer Esther Dyson, and the son of legendary physicist Freeman Dyson, from whom he inherited a curious, critical mind and a gift for storytelling; his entertaining lectures are at once expert and self effacing. His previous Town Hall appearance addressed the engineering and cultural anthropology of the kayak; this time, he'll present a lecture (conceived and initially delivered at Princeton) on mathematician, quantum physicist and computing pioneer John Von Neumann. Expect a vividly illustrated talk, rich in ephemera and "inside" history, that reflects on scientific curiosity and ethics as well as the high profile teams (Manhattan Project, Institute for Advanced Study) on which Von Neumann served. Town Hall's located at 8th and Seneca, with handy parking adjacent or in convention center lots. The reception runs from 6-7:30pm, and the lecture from 7:30-9pm. I sincerely hope you'll join us, for as much as your schedule will allow, and thanks again! Wier Harman Executive Director
Authors Seeking Feedback Environmental & Land Use Law Curriculum
The Washington State Bar Association Environmental and Land Use Law Section is gathering information on how their curriculum, Environmental & Land Use Law: Engaging Students in their Communities, is being utilized.
If your school has used the guide and/or a local attorney to address environmental or land use issues, we would love to hear from you. Please contact Marty Fortin at fortin@cispus.org.
The free curriculum is a flexible resource designed to help teachers make environmental and land use law relevant to their existing classroom curriculum and to their community. It can also be used as a practical experience for student leaders to test their leadership skills. The curriculum was developed by Kristen Clapper Bergsman of Laughing Crow Curriculum and Marty Fortin of Cispus Learning Center.
PAWS Youth Helping Animals Award
Do you know a young person in the Puget Sound area who deserves to be honored for their work and compassion for animals? If, so then here is your chance to make it happen! Nominate him or her for the 2nd annual PAWS Youth Helping Animals Award. For all the details, including printable nomination form, please follow this link: http://www.paws.org/wildnight/WN07YouthAwardPacket.pdf
NAAEE Conference Call for Presenters
2007 NAAEE Annual Conference and Research SymposiumVirginia Beach Annual Conference: November 14-17, 2007
"Explore New Horizons for Environmental Education"
Research Symposium: November 13-14, 2007 "Celebrating the diversity of our research methodologies: finding common ground"Submission Deadline: January 31, 2007http://www.naaee.org/conference2006/2007-call-for-presentations
Birds + Bees + Kids
Where do babies come from?It is such a simple question, but it leaves most parents flustered and tongue-tied. Even parents who have a background in science flounder when it comes time to teach their own children about the birds and the bees. What kind of information is age-appropriate? What words should I use? How much does my pre-schooler really need to know? How do I talk to my teenager about safe sex?I recently crossed paths with Amy Lang, owner of Birds + Bees + Kids, a local company that helps parents learn how to talk to their kids about sex and sexuality. I highly recommend Amy's company to parents and educators of children from pre-school to adolescence. Amy offers public workshops, private workshops (a bit like a book group), and one-on-one coaching.Check out her website at: http://www.birdsandbeesandkids.com
Celebrate Darwin's Birthday, February 12th
Happy Birthday, Darwin!
Get ready to engage your students in celebrating science and Darwin's life on February 12th.
For lesson plans, articles, resources and more, go to the American Museum of Natural History's exhibit on Darwin, at http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/darwin/
Free Play Script "Walden: The Ballad of Thoreau"
Walden: The Ballad of ThoreauFree play available to high schools and colleges in recognition of Earth Day 2007.Educators can download the script for this free play to perform in their school or community. The play features the last two days that 30 year old Henry David Thoreau spent in his cabin at Walden Pond. The two-act play has four characters and one simple step. Educators can download the free script, as well as music, posters, program, lesson plans and more.Find out more at: http://www.waldenplay.com/
Build a Survival Shelter
Building a primitive shelter: debris hutCheck out this article from the NatureSkills Journal. Can you imagine sleeping outdoors without a tent, sleeping bag, or other shelter? You can do it, and stay warm and dry, by building a simple survival shelter called a debris hut. When I was in college studying environmental education, we spent a field day at a campsite in the Mt. Baker National Forest. We were challenged to follow several simple steps to build a debris hut in a forested area. My small group worked together to find the perfect ridgepole, a notched stump, sturdy branches, and armful upon armful of leaves, moss, and other natural materials gathered from the forest floor. While we were not given the opportunity to spend the night in our debris huts, I did crawl inside it and snuggle down inside the nest of leaves. And...it was warm in there! Knowing how to build a debris hut could save your life. Plus, it is a fun activity for children and adults alike, providing an opportunity to learn a survival skill while also getting to know the ingredients of the forest floor.You can read the article here: http://www.natureskills.com/primitive_shelter.html
Glossopedia Web Tool for Kids
Glossopedia Online EncyclopediaGLOBIO's Glossopedia is a free, interactive web tool that allows kids, ages 8-12, to explore multimedia science topics. Kids can search for multimedia articles in two ways: by clicking on an area of a world map for a list of articles, or by searching for a topic.Once you have found an article that interests you, there are a variety of tools at your fingertips. You can read the article, search through thumbnail photographs, watch videos, listen to sounds, or view a map that shows what regions of the world relate to that topic.This is a fun, advertisement-free zone where kids can explore science topics on their own. Topics are wide ranging, including: bamboo, Borneo, harvester ants, Earth Day and more. The website will be expanding in 2007 with a partnership with Ranger Rick children's magazine.To access Glossopedia, go to: http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/To learn more about how to use Glossopedia in the classroom, go to: http://info.globio.org/education/To learn more about GLOBIO, a non-profit based in Portland, Oregon focused on engaging children in discovering issues of biodiversity, go to: http://info.globio.org/
Free Lesson Plans from the CDC
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