Zana Pouncey, an educator at a botanical garden, asked students to step into the shoes of botanists studying the diversity of native plants in an ecosystem. Following methods used by the garden’s conservation team, students practiced identifying plants and conducted diversity surveys. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Investigating Ecosystem Diversity
Mike Johnston grew a classroom garden with his middle school science students as part of a study on food stewardship. Students deepened their knowledge of the impact of food consumption through a video call with a National Geographic Explorer. Continue reading Educator Spotlight: Growing a 28-Day Garden
FOOD Beyond a stack of hay bales, high school students in a tiny Indiana town stroll down a grassy slope to reach their newest classroom: a fenced-in field of cud-chewing cattle. (New York Times) Use our resources to learn more about classroom “green scenes.” Discussion Ideas Compare the agricultural program described in the New York Times article (in Hagerstown, Indiana) with the program described in … Continue reading Cattle-to-Cafeteria
ENVIRONMENT A new study has found that cities supported far fewer species of birds and plants compared with similar areas of undeveloped land. However, it also showed the vast majority of flora and fauna in a city reflected an area’s “unique biotic heritage.” (BBC) Use our resources to better understand biodiversity. Discussion Ideas This fascinating new study has a “good news/bad news” quality. What is … Continue reading Study Records Biodiversity in Cities
In response to my introductory post, our friend Julianne Idleman shared with us her sense of place. She said, “We love the feeling we have in the garden that we share with our local home schooling group. It gives us a sense of place that is always growing and changing.” I was intrigued by her garden, as gardening was something that I grew up with. … Continue reading Sense of Place- A Reader Response
