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Teachers as Park Rangers
North Cascades National Park's Teacher-to-Ranger-to-Teacher (TRT) Program is now accepting applications from teachers in the Puget Sound area to fill one Teacher-to-Ranger-to-Teacher (TRT) position. The TRT works in North Cascades National Park for up to 8 weeks from June-September. During their time in the park, the TRT explores the area and learns about the National Park Service while carrying out duties a sa National Park Service interpreter. Specific duties include, but are notlimited to, researching and presenting on-site and outreach programs for youth and families, creating curriculum-based activities, and working on specific education projects determined by the park. When the TRT returns totheir school they (1) incorporate activities related to the National Park Service into their classroom curriculum during the school year and (2) during National Parks Week they wear the NPS uniform and conduct activities related to the National Park Service and give presentations to their classes, a possible school assembly, and/or their colleagues. The TRT receives a $60/day stipend, housing, and a full class-A uniform plus access to excellent National Park Service and visiting researchers. For more information, email Cindy Bjorklund. From: NPS
Cold Out? Tips from the Birds
In Seattle, we're experiencing a cold snap, with temperatures in the teens and 20s. We're rewarded with winter-crisp blue skies, a welcome from our weeks of smeared-gray storm clouds, but really, it's cold here. When the weather is particular harsh (whether hot, windy, stormy, or icy), I turn my eyes to the sky, the trees, and the ground, and consider the adaptations of birds in winter.While many birds take the migratory way out, our resident birds go about their daily lives regardless of the weather. Crow, American Robin, Black-Capped Chickadee, and various waterfowl employ a variety of biological strategies to stay warm as the mercury drops. Some of these strategies include:- Engaging piloerection of their feathers (think of a chickadee standing with her feathers puffed up)
- Sharing communal roosts to pool body heat with other birds
- Going into a state of torpor, where metabolism, heart rate, and other body functions drop
- Keeping feet from freezing with a network of veins and arteries in their feet and legs, known as rete mirabile (imagine ducks paddling around an icy pond)
For more information on birds' adaptations to cold weather, check out this website and this one too.
Is that Track from a Mountain Lion or Dog?
Ever stared at an animal track, trying to decipher if it was from a mountain lion or a dog? It can be difficult to tell the subtle differences between these two tracks, and sometimes, even dog tracks don't register claws. Find out how to identify these two tracks with this article from NatureSkills Journal.Mountain Lion Tracks vs. Dog Tracksby Emily Gibson
The morning was gray, and the group was full of tension and excitement. It was day one of the CyberTracker Track & Sign Evaluation with Mark Elbroch, one of the first in North America. So, perhaps it's not surprising that I was a little on edge. At the three forks of the Snoqualmie River in North Bend, WA, 10 of us were being evaluated, and we were gathered at the edge of some cottonwoods along a sandbar, just a few questions into the test. The first questions were easy, an elk track, the tracks of three deer walking together, and a large splayed canine track. Mark showed us the three stations first, and then we had to go back to each of them on our own and decide on our answer and then tell him what it was.
The elk track was a relief. The tracks of elk and other ungulates are unmistakable, and the tracks of adult elk are easily distinguished by their size from those of deer. One down. The next question was harder – it was clear that they were deer tracks, but the question was not "What?", but "How Many?". Click here to read the rest of this article.From: NatureSkills Journal
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