In the end,
we will conserve only what we love,
we will love only what we understand,
we will understand only what we are taught.
Baba Dioum,
Senegalese Conservationis
Nature Explore is a complete program of fun, effective resources to help educators, families, and anyone working to connect young children with nature. Nature Action Collaborative for Children: http://www.arborday.org/explore/nacc/
AMC Mountain Plant Monitors - New Hampshire
http://www.outdoors.org/conservation/mountainwatch/mtplant.cfm
AMC is looking for volunteers to help watch certain plants every year near their facilities in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Over time AMC will determine how plants in the mountains may be responding to trends in average annual air temperature and other weather related variables. Hikers will be able to submit observations and hence take an active role in the collection of scientific data. Observations made by these citizen scientists will create a baseline of information that will help detect and document ecological impacts of a changing climate.
AMC needs you to help to document forest flowering times across the Northeast this spring and summer and especially during June; which is Flower Watch Month
How to monitor:
http://www.outdoors.org/conservation/mountainwatch/upload/ForestFlowerWeb08.pdf
Forest Flower field guide and 2 data sheets pdf
(6 pages) print double-sided (read this printing hint to keep paper use down)
If you want to be more involved then sign up for our Mountain Watch Adopt-A-Peak monitoring program. Targeted species for forest monitoring include painted trillium, bunchberry, Canada mayflower, blue-bead lily, wood sorrel, and hobblebush.
Recently I read about a school in California that adopted a new zero-waste system to divert as much trash as possible from the local landfill by recycling and composting as much waste from the cafeteria and classrooms as possible. Kids learn that FOOD SCRAPS AREN'T WASTE, THEY'RE REUSABLE ENERGY! They learn to put all food scraps in composting bins and recyclables in other bins.
In this program, the smallest details matter. Milk and juice cartons out of the cafeteria come unglazed for easier composting. Even the cafeteria's plates, bowls and utensils — once a huge part of the school's trash — are put in the composting bin. They're made of corn.
Partnering with waste haulers and commercial compost facilities, the schools teach the basics of waste diversion. Compost is a soil amendment for enriching the fertility of the soil.
In a recent conversation with Rachel Carlson, our Sandy Island Food Service Director, we may have an opportunity to implement a similar program for Sandy Island in the future. Stay tuned.
RESOURCES
Resourceful Schools
http://www.resourcefulschools.org/
Don’t Throw Away That Food: Strategies for Record-Setting Waste Reduction, US EPA
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/reduce/food/foodmain.pdf
Be Smart. Reducing Food Waste. Think a little about waste reduction, it can save a lot.
http://www.besmart.org/festival/foodwaste.html
A "phantom load" is any appliance or electronic gizmo that uses energy even when turned off. Some people call them "vampire appliances" or "energy vampires."
Surprise -- most American appliances use electricity even when turned off. because the "off" button doesn't really mean "off." Yes, even chargers for cell phones and MP3 players siphon energy when plugged in - even if they're not charging a thing!Read about phantom load, stand-by power or vampire load
http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/definitions/Phantom-Load
At risk:
Smart energy choices and policies not only safeguard the stability of our climate; they provide energy independence, a stronger economy and a better quality of life for our citizens.
The keys:
HIKING WITH ME in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains in June, my 9-year-old son took a header on a rocky trail. A well-stocked first aid kit and a fellow hiker who happened to be a physician made blessedly quick work of a head wound that will leave my son with nothing more than a neat scar and a blood-stained baseball cap -- both things he already brags about. There is something more ominous, though, that any parent of children who are hiking or exercising outdoors should be concerned about: unhealthy air.
Many of us look to escape in summer to places like the White Mountains and Acadia National Park, expecting clean air and endless views. The reality on our public lands in New England is often shockingly different. There, high haze levels and diminished views are vivid reminders that we are at a time in our planet's history when there is no promise of finding good, clean ''country air."
Each summer in the Northeastern United States, regional haze, primarily caused by sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-burning power plants in the Midwest, cuts visibility in the most scenic of our national parks and wilderness areas by up to 70 percent. Humid summer conditions in the Northeast cause particulates to expand and exacerbates the pollution-induced haze.
Read more.___
William M. Hill is president of the Board of Directors of the Appalachian Mountain Club.
