Songs and Stories for Kids about Animals & Nature

My Backyard!

2011-06-29T20:54:00.001-04:00

My new CD is out! It’s the birth of a new collection of songs celebrating this whole wide beautiful world that is our backyard! After all, each corner of this spectacular planet is someone’s backyard!

It’s been over 20 years since I began this journey of weaving songs into a narrative about the natural world - a no brainer really that I would do such a thing, since I am passionate abut both music and I grew up in Sherwood Forest with the Major Oak as my cradle! (The Major Oak is an ancient tree which is hollow inside – as a child I would crawl inside and spend many an afternoon daydreaming there!)

Music and nature enhance human lives, and I hope this new collection of songs will bring delight and joy to all those who listen, as well as encourage a renewed exploration of backyards everywhere!

Nature is filled with the sounds of music; from the cacophony of the dawn chorus to the rustling of leaves, (different in each tree) and our ears can be trained to become finely tuned to the myriad of musical notes present in each moment if we so choose. I have been somewhat remiss in keeping this Blog current, due in large part to the work load created by the new television show, Curious Kids! that I began producing last September. I will, however, be making a concerted effort to write more frequently in the future, so please stay tuned!

My new Website is finally ready so please come and visit! I welcome your comments or feedback on it! You can listen to some of the songs from the new CD on the website and there is a free song to download along with a coloring page!

You can find a Lesson Plan for Verse One of the song Butterflies Kissing by clicking on the word "butterfly" in the adjacent Label Cloud! Enjoy these summer days and playing outdoors with your children! I am a new Grandmother and I am excited to watch my grandson grow; I look forward to introducing him to the wonders of nature.
Be well!
Rosie

Teaching Children the Value of Nature

2010-11-21T19:59:00.002-05:00

Perhaps it’s time we taught children the real value of nature.

It’s wonderful that we are teaching them to care for it, to protect and preserve it, to try to “save” it etc. etc., but unless we, and they, fundamentally comprehend its intrinsic value, I fear we will not act fast enough to prevent the complete breakdown of biodiversity that is actually happening at this very moment.

Thankfully nature has an indomitable way of resurrecting itself when we just leave it alone; however if we continue on this present trajectory it may take millions of years for that to happen and we, like some pesky mite, will simply be sloughed off along the way.

How do we understand this value? How can we teach it to the youngest members of our society so that they might grow up fiercely determined to acknowledge its importance and relevance in monetary terms? I will attempt here to offer some ideas that you might find useful in your classrooms and home-school lessons.

Lesson Plans

1. The value of a watershed

Everyone lives in a watershed, and every watershed impacts the ocean. Even if you live far inland, the lakes, rivers, streams and aquifers all flow through the countryside to the sea. Therefore, the health of that watershed has far reaching implications not only for wildlife but for humans too. Find out which watershed you live in and invite your students to learn how that watershed impacts the economic wellbeing of the various communities therein. For example, here in Florida, saltwater fishing in the Charlotte Harbor region generates nearly $37milllon, annual revenue from angler expenditures. Pollutants from human habitation can severely affect the health of the marine ecosystems subsequently impacting the fish and the industry that is reliant upon it.

Celebrate Wetlands Watershed Education Links

2. Bats

Bats provide a valuable service to famers because they feed on many of the pests that destroy crops. Without bats, farmers would have to spend large sums of money on pesticides to curtail such destruction. Fruit-eating bats spread seeds across large swaths of forest ensuring the survival of fruit bearing trees. Ask students to find out which pests bats eat, and what fruits might be impacted if bats were not able to distribute the seeds.

3. Bees

Bees pollinate a variety of plants that provide us with essential foods; invite students to research these foods and then look at their commercial value. Bees are currently declining around the globe; what would be the economic impact if there were no bees? Ways Kids Can Help Protect Bees

Everything About Bees Brilliant Bees

4. Earthworms

Without earthworms, there would be no soil and therefore no plants, no food. We don’t often see posters celebrating the value of worms! Create a poster illustrating the role of earthworms in the food chain. Write a song, a poem, an ode to the earthworm! Importance of Earthworms

5. Trees

Trees provide a multitude of services; paper, wood for building, shade for crops, they provide us with food and they also clean the air and act as carbon sinks. Ask students to list some of the econimical benefits of trees. A Tree's importance and Environmental Benefit

Songs

Bats, bats, bats! Is one that comes to mind! The Coral Reef is another - coral reefs are essential nursery grounds for so many species of fish.

Have fun! Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if I can help you in any way with your lesson plans!

In gratitude to this Earth for life!

Rosie

Other Resources:

Biodiversity For Kids

Environmental Websites for Kids

Stealing from our Children

2010-10-02T21:04:00.001-04:00

I was honored to hear Chief Oren Lyons speak today at the NAAEE conference in Buffalo, New York.

Not only did he remind us all that we are running out of time, but he reiterated this Native American Proverb:

“We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”

Those words rattled around my head as I wandered back to my hotel after presenting my own session at the conference. I’d heard the quotation before, but somehow today, hearing it spoken by Chief Lyons, brought tears to my eyes.

I thought we loved our children? We do everything we can to nurture and protect them don’t we? We have child protection agencies, child care this and child care that. And yet the stark reality is that we are NOT protecting them from a future that is likely to be pretty grim; one that we ourselves probably won’t have to endure. We are neglecting all the children of the earth right now and into the next generations because we are refusing to act boldly and decisively in this moment, when it is so crucial that we do so.

I admit, on the one hand it all makes me feel weary, this continual apathy on the part of so many global leaders and the constant bickering about climate change by certain insidious media types and political news grabbers.

But then, in my session, there were these enthusiastic young educators, singing along, doing the actions, excited about ecology programs they’re creating with their kids and suddenly my energy’s back! My determination to, at the very least, take each moment of this life that I have been gifted, to find ways to inspire kids to love and honor this planet by continuing to create resources and programs that can contribute to the growing abundance of work out there.

I didn't begin this Blog to rant, there's plenty of exasperation out there, so forgive me this slight deviation. However, as Chief Lyons pointed out, "Nature's laws are not negotiable...and Cap and Trade is the temple of doom." How can we rob our children and the next generations of a healthy, abundant planet, I mean really, how can we?

Earth Hero Activity

Invite kids to seek out someone who is their Earth Hero; someone who has inspired them with their work to protect the planet, a particular species or habitat. Rachel Carson, John Muir, Wangari Maathai, Sylvia Earle and Jane Goodall are just a few.

Story: The story of Chipko

Song: Dolphin Teach Us To Play Celebrate being alive!

Resources:

Here are some interesting Blogs I came across lately - No Student Left Indoors

I'm A Teacher Get Me Outside

Thanks for reading, for caring, for doing all that you do to raise awareness and the quality of life for all beings; each one of us can make a difference, so lets act together now to really make change happen.
In gratitude for this life, nourished unselfishly by this precious, fragile planet.
Rosie
Photo by Georgia Emery

Communion and Connection!

2010-09-06T15:22:00.003-04:00

I read something this week that sparked my imagination and got me reflecting on the way in which today’s proliferation of social media, screen time, and constant connecting affects our deeper ability for communion and connection, with each other, and with the larger community of life.

The article, by David Spangler, alluded to him asking his daughter why she didn’t just call her friends instead of constantly texting them. She replies sweetly,

“If we called each other, we’d have to have something to talk about!”

David responds, “But aren’t you talking to each other when you’re texting?”

“Oh, no”, she replied. “we’re not talking, we’re connecting.”

The article continues with Spangler exploring the difference between communication for the purpose of conveying information and communication intended to create communion and to build connection. You can read the full article at David's Desk.

In the face of such formidable and alluring competitors as the Internet, the cellphone and the video game, (not to mention the TV!), how can we re-ignite in children a sense of communion and connection to nature? Basically, it’s going to take a lot of work, commitment and determination on the part of parents, teachers and grandparents! Something that was once just a natural part of life (kids playing outdoors), has morphed into a scheduled activity! The good news is that there are some wonderful resources to help you back onto the path of re-discovering the outdoors with your children!

Here are some Blogs and websites that I've found along the way that you might find helpful!

Teacher, Juliet Robertson’s Blog “I’m A Teacher, Get Me Outside here!” has some wonderful ideas!

Beth Almeras is The Grass Stained Guru and she shares lots of fun tips for immersing kids in nature!

The Children & Nature Network provides plenty of information as well as reminders of why it's so important for us to reconnect our children back to nature.

Out Bound Family provides fun ideas for family activities - a useful resource

Eartheasy – provides solutions for sustainable living has some very useful links to environmental websites for kids.

Songs! Well, of course it being my blog, I am bound to recommend a song or two to sing as you meander down the garden path! I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today, is a favorite, and it names lots of critters you can look out for along the way!

Stories! A short break on your hike provides the perfect moment for a story! Here’s an easy one to learn that reminds us that each of us carries within the beauty of the universe: The Stars Inside

I am not able to write as many posts as before since I am working full time on producing a new half-hour Curious Kids TV Show for WGCU Public Media (www.wgcu.org) There is a wealth of useful information and links in the archives of this Blog; I urge you to take a look. I will be releasing my new CD and launching a companion website very soon, so stay tuned and thanks, as always for taking the time to read and share this Blog.

Have fun communing and connecting with/to this beautiful Earth!

In gratitude for life.

Rosie
Photo by Chip Hoffman

Setting Our Intentions!

2010-08-08T17:06:00.001-04:00

I heard something this week that I just loved; it was someone describing how their mother arose each day before dawn just so that she could send out her intention for the day. As if by witnessing the dawn, and sending out one’s prayers, one could partake in influencing the unfolding of that day in a positive way.

Sages have long practiced such early morning meditation for exactly this reason; sending out their intentions and prayers to heal and inspire all beings.

With kids heading back to school, I wanted to share this idea with teachers so that perhaps this semester they could gather their students together and collectively set their intentions to protect and preserve this very battered planet and help build a more peaceful, just, kind and harmonious world in which we can all live.

So here are a few ideas of how it could be a fun and joyful experience!

Morning Circle: People have gathered in circles since the dawn of time; sitting in a circle allows us to see each person’s face, to listen to our fellow compatriots on this journey and get to know them a little better. Share a song, or a poem that will set the tone for the day. Invite each child to share one thing that they might do that day to help protect the earth; or some action they could take to bring kindness to another person, or an animal. Create a Talking Stick and use it each time you gather in circle.

Pledge to Act! Margaret Meade’s famous quote “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.” is empowering. Each one of us can make a change in our daily lives that helps to reduce our footprint on this earth, brings peace to others and builds a foundation of trust and harmony; all it takes is our decision to do so. Make it a daily, or weekly event, to make a pledge with the children.

The Little Earth Charter; this program for children provides a fun springboard from which to create activities that focus on protecting the earth and being socially responsible.

Songs: Friends of the Earth is a great song to learn – it is a wonderful song to incoporate sign language. I have had numerous student bodies sing this song to me and sign it as they are singing. You can hear it at Little Animation For Kids Just go to the Music Section. Dolphin Teach Us To Play is another one that illustrates the joy and harmony of life.

Photo by Tessa Emery

Campfire Fun!

2010-07-18T20:15:00.000-04:00

There is something about a campfire that awakens memories of ancient times in us; we are drawn to stare into the golden flames, to reflect and imagine – at least that has been my experience from many campfire moments with adults and kids.

Storytelling comes alive as the flames flicker, and legends take on a whole new dimension, as well they should since many have been passed along on just such nights as this with everyone gathered in the glow!

I’ve shared some of my favorite stories and songs below, but here are a few fun ideas for campfire games too. 10 Campfire Games You Have to Play! With younger kids the alphabet travel game is always fun.: you just go through the alphabet, each person choosing a different letter; start with a name, then a place and then something that comes from there. So – my name is Alice and I come from Alabama and I am bringing apples, and so forth.

I find that just sharing personal stories can be a very moving and profound experience with children and adults. We all have a story to tell and most good stories are the ones that recount the tale of an event in someone’s life. Stories are as old as time and many cultures and indigenous peoples history is recorded only through their oral traditions. Here is an interesting article on storytelling.

Songs can add to the atmosphere, especially if everyone can join in and sing along. Some of my favorite tunes to share with kids around a fire are the Mosquito song, Bats, bats, bats, and Slip Slitheree Dee. I make up actions for my songs and that adds more fun for the kids – you can easily make up your own actions, or better still get the kids to! You can fine all these songs on my MySpace page.

Stories One of my favorite campfire stories is the Iroquois story of the Big Dipper. Twice I have told this story and a shooting star has fallen at exactly the right moment! Amazing! The legend of the Milky Way is another good one.

I am back in Florida now, working on a brand new half-hour kids TV show for WGCU Public Media We are in the midst of auditions, looking for children who will be our Curious Kids TV Hosts! Due to this new workload my blogs will not be as frequent, but I will be posting from time to time and there is a wealth of information already written if you look through the archives. Hope everyone is having a good summer (or winter, depending on where you are!). Feel free to get in touch with me if you want a specific song back up on MySpace! I will be launching a new website in the fall along with my new CD!

Stay tuned! In gratitude for life and this precious earth that sustains us all!

Rosie

Photo of Campfire Eric Dufresne

Traveling Back to Florida

2010-06-22T10:53:00.000-04:00

If you're reading this, you will know that I am on the road again! Traveling back to Florida, from Montreal! I am beginning a fabulous new project, one which I have dreamed of doing my whole life! I will be producing a Children's half-hour TV Show for WGCU Public Media (PBS) in Fort Myers, so lots of work, but an amazing opportunity to share knowledge, inspire kids to get outside and discover the marvels of the natural world, promote wellness and demonstrate our interconnectedness to the Earth and each other!

I will be resuming my Blog Posts in a few weeks, so please come back and visit! In the meantime, if you scroll through the archives, you will find a wealth of information and ideas as well as links to some great stories and resources!

I hope your summer is going well and that we will connect again soon!
In gratitude for life and this precious Earth,
Rosie

The Boys Do Their Share!

2010-06-15T04:15:00.000-04:00

It’s a weird thing, that three o’clock in the morning, wide-awake situation that happens every now and then. Usually I just toss and turn, counting sheep and reciting every mantra I’ve ever learned ad nauseum; but this a.m. I was zapped with a sudden inspiration to write this Post.

Father’s Day’s coming up (June 20^th) and my interest in all things “father” was peaked by Natural Papa's Blog Post featuring the Good Men Project. (Interesting that it is also World Solar Day June 19^th and the Sun is called “Father Sun” by many indigenous peoples.)

Obviously I think it’s really important to nurture environmental stewardship in both boys and girls, however, through my experience visiting hundreds of schools I have noticed that girls seem to gravitate more toward eco-clubs and earth-friendly projects. I am sure it all evens out as they all grow into adulthood, but nevertheless it can do no harm to share with kids some of the male role models in nature whose paternal attributes are worthy of notice.

Here are some examples to share with your kids or students:

1. The Sea Horse: This uniquely delightful fish is one of the only animal species on earth in which the male bears the unborn young!

2. Emperor Penguins: While the females make an arduous trek in search of food, it is the males who delicately balance and protect the eggs from the bitter cold elements.

3. Emu: The female emu lays the eggs, but it is the male who incubates them and once hatched, takes care of the chicks for up to six months!

If we are to overcome the challenges of the future, we need every boy and girl to understand that it is all of our responsibilities to care for and protect the living systems of this earth. World Governments voted last week to set up an international body to spearhead the battle against the destruction of the natural world! Imagine that we have to do such a thing! One day, our children’s children will look back on this time and say “what were they thinking?”

Song: The Boys Do Their Share!– sing the song to celebrate this Father’s Day!

And here’s a Fun Video: Why's Daddy Crying? - by JC Little of Little Animation Inc.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am writing shorter posts over the summer, particularly over the next week or so, as I am traveling and working on a new project. I will, however, be writing from time to time and come the fall will continue with more prolific posts! I appreciate those of you who are followers and anyone who happens to take the time to read my ramblings! Have a great week!

In gratitude for life and this precious Earth!

Rosie

Photo of Penguins: Ian Duffy - Wikimedia Commons

The Ocean is Bleeding.

2010-06-06T14:36:00.003-04:00

I was going to take a break from blogging over the summer, and I confess that my posts will be shorter and slightly less in-depth; however the practice seems to have seeped into my weekly routine and therefore I am going to try and write some short pieces and share information I find along the way!

Obviously the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has heightened everyone’s awareness of the fragility of the oceans, the vulnerability of our dependence upon its bounty and the devastating effects our reliance on oil has wrought. With globs of red tar washing up on Florida beaches last week I heard a newscaster say that it was almost as if the ocean was bleeding. As my heart breaks with every picture of an oil covered bird, marsh grasses tainted brown and fisher folk despairing over how they will survive the future, I wonder how we explain all this to the children.

Educator David Sobel cautions us to be careful of how much doom and gloom we expose young children to and yet with this recent incident it is hard to imagine that children have escaped the painful images. Perhaps one way to talk to children about such events is to focus on the gifts and beauty that the oceans provide; and to remind them that while we are currently so dependent on oil, that in their lifetimes they will bear witness to an incredible transformation as we switch to clean Energy sources. Get them excited about this, ask them about their ideas to become part of the Solution!!

Learning about the ocean must also include learning the basics about water – here is a great website with Resources and links. World Ocean Day is June 8^th – maybe a bit late to organize something this week, but plan for next year, although simply acknowledging and celebrating the ocean on that day is a start! The Smithsonian’s Ocean Portal provides a wonderful view into the ocean for anyone to explore with an Educators Corner providing resources.

Songs: The Coral reef song and Dolphin teach Us To Play are up on my MySpace Page and Raffi's Baby Beluga is always a favorite! Sing one of them on World Ocean Day!

Story: Here is an amazing website with Stories of the Ocean from around the world!

Yes, the oil spill is a terrible disaster that will have repercussions for years, but lets hope that out of it may come a stronger resolve to lessen our collective addiction to oil and work to bring clean energy solutions everywhere.

Have a great week everyone.

In gratitude for life and this precious Earth!

Rosie

More Clean Energy Resources:

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/

Drawings by: Rosie Emery

PS If you'd like to become part of my new Kids CD "I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today!", please pledge your support to be the first to receive it! Thank you!

I Saw Butterflies Kissing: Wrap Up!

2010-05-30T17:04:00.000-04:00

A beautiful Swallowtail butterfly flew into my windscreen today as I was driving. Zap, its short life diminished to a smear; there wasn’t much I could do but say a quick prayer of gratitude for its life, accept responsibility for its death, and be relieved upon exiting the highway to see lots more of them, fluttering in all their glory! Thankfully they seem abundant, unlike so many other species that are facing challenging times.

This is my last post in the series that has focused on the song I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! since we have arrived at the last verse! I hope it has provided some insight into of the abundance and diversity of species living all around us, even in urban centers and inspired ideas for introducing children to these neighborhood characters!

I know that I write from a place of privilege since much of my childhood was spent in nature. For me, hours spent watching water bugs, tadpoles and dragonflies was the norm; collecting wild flowers and then carefully pressing them into books was a precious pastime and summer afternoons lying under the horse chestnut tree dreaming of the pony express riders somewhere in that vast land called America gifted me with a treasure chest of memories.

My family was not wealthy; sure, we lived in the country, and our garden bordered on a forest and fields with ponds and streams, but my rich experience of the natural world came from the fact that I was not allowed to stay indoors. I was told to go and play outside! I’ve heard the excuses given by many parents today and I don’t dispute that the world is a different place now; it does appear scarier and there do seem to be more dangerous people around. I am not here to diminish the very real fears that plague parents today.

However, I do believe that we are robbing our children of a valuable lifeline if we do not find ways to connect them to nature; one that is inherently important to their own well being and creativity as much as it is vital for the future preservation of the planet. Increasing research, particularly that of author Richard Louv, demonstrates that Nature Deficit Disorder is real and needs to be addressed.

A recent article in Wired magazine illustrates how the Web “Shatters Focus and Rewires our Brains.” It certainly made me step back and assess how much time I spend a day online (I purposely kept myself off the computer most of this weekend!). Kids today live vicariously through their screens; they text, surf the web and socialize on Facebook, Twitter and other networks and watch a lot of TV. Lets get kids back outdoors! It’s not about money, its about recognizing that we have a problem here and making a concerted effort to address it anyway we can; we owe it to our kids and to the planet which gives us all life.

Verse 5

Well I didn’t go far, just stepped outside,

Cost no money to take this ride

It’s quite amazing what you see,

When you open the door and feel the breeze!

Lesson Ideas!

1. Step outside! Gather up jars, tweezers, magnifying glasses and off you go! Create a Scavenger Hunt, just begin! Kids are naturally curious and nature is full of opportunities to nurture that curiosity!

2. Take kids outdoors to the backyard, park or schoolyard (if it is not covered by concrete) and ask each child mark out a square of land approximately 3’ by 3’ (you can use something like cornmeal to demarcate the boundaries). Have them study that piece of land, noting down every living thing that is there, or that visits the patch while they are observing. They can use their magnifying glasses and dig up a piece of the earth to see what is underneath. In the Secret Life of the Suburban Garden you will see that quite the variety of species was discovered!

3. A Day in My Backyard! Write a “Backyard” Play all about the creatures that live there. First identify some of the species that you see; learn about them; draw pictures of them and then collectively write a story about a day in the life of...the little brown rabbit...the little black snail, or whomever you choose! You could make it a musical – I have quite a few songs about animals , (bats, spiders, skunks, raccoons, chickadees) and so do other artists! Here is a great Critter Catalogue that can help to identify species.

Interconnections!

Urban centers have grown and sprawled across this planet. Yes, there are thankfully still large tracts of land preserved as National Parks and conservation sanctuaries, but for wildlife, particularly migrating species, they must seem few and far between. Creating Wildlife Corridors is one way in which we can help many species. Once you have begun to learn what species live or travel through your neighborhood, explore what kinds of plants and trees could be planted to benefit them. In doing this you will also create a beautiful oasis that lives and breathes in amongst the concrete!

Songs!

Grandmother Spider, the Chickadee Blues, Bats, Punk the Skunk, Rocky Raquino and I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! All these are up on my MySpace page. My new CD, all about the backyard, will be ready by mid July – if you would like to be the first to get a copy please sign up on my Kickstarter page!

Story!

One of my most favorite books as a child was The Secret Garden If your kids or students have not read this timeless classic, then I would recommend that they do so. There is also the Secret Garden Movie, which would be a pleasant rainy day activity!

Have a great week, enjoy the days out under the trees exploring this magical earth!

In gratitude for life, and this beautiful planet upon which we live!

Rosie

Resources

Outdoor Games for Family Fun!

Photo of Swallowtail butterfly Mila Zinkova

Photo of young girl by Tessa Emery

Other photos by Rosie Emery

I Saw Butterflies Kissing: Bridge

2010-05-23T12:44:00.001-04:00

The sweetness of an early summer evening, the soft sunlight shimmering through the green leaves; the smell of lilacs, oh such delicious perfume! When I am in Montreal, I live on the edge of a beautiful neighborhood, with lots of trees and parks. I’m happy to say there are more and more gardens with wild edges covered in dandelions and greenery, providing a biodiversic (not sure if that’s a qualified word, but it should be!) haven for the birds and the bees!

I saw a bat as I was walking home tonight, flitting fast through the air catching early insects for dinner. Bats are having a hard time right now with the onset of White Nose Syndrome, which is decimating hundreds of them. Bees, bats, frogs, coral reefs - the canary is singing really loudly in the coal mine! The good news is that people are trying to make changes in any way that they can; planting native gardens, buying food from local farmers markets, taking public transit, recycling, saving energy and water, writing to politicians and just paying attention. You cannot focus on the enormity of it all, you just have to keep doing whatever you can, to raise the quality of life for all sentient beings. Don’t get bogged down by the bad news, the constant barrage of negativity; it numbs us and creates apathy and that is the last thing we need.

This week we’re on to the bridge of the song “I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today!”. Here we go:

As the sun went down

Saw a little brown bat,

Flying through the air catching all those gnats!

Had me a wish on a star in the sky

Just before I left I saw a firefly!

Lesson Ideas!

1. Little Brown Bats

One of the most abundant bat species in North America, these nocturnal mammals have been impacted by the White Nose Syndrome Introducing kids to bats early on is a good way to quell the irrational fear that seems to surround them. Bats are important to ecological balance as well as being extremely Beneficial to farmers. With the onset of diseases like West Nile disease, which is primarily spread through mosquitoes, having bats around is instrumental in diminishing its spread. Bats feed on a variety of insects and of course some bats feed on fruit and berries. Vampire bats do indeed exist, feeding off the blood of sleeping animals. Which kind of bat species live in your neighborhood? Have any of the kids seen one? Investigate which species lives nearby and learn everything you can about it. If you can, build a Bat House, or ask someone in the community to help you build it and put it up. This Website has some fun information and activities on different Bats.

2. Why do we wish on a star? Ask students to think about this, discuss it with them; what is it about stars, that captures our imagination so much that we would wish upon one? What are stars? NASA has a nice program you can explore, called StarChild; look at some incredible photos such as the one above which is the Birth of Stars or Stars – beautiful images captured by the Herschel telescope. Have your students ever seen a night sky filled with stars? Living in the city, many of them might not have had this experience. Find out if there is a Planetarium close to you that you could possibly visit with students. The NASA Kids Club Club has some fun activities you can use. We are made up of Stardust, so perhaps that is why the stars hold so much fascination for us; or maybe it is just our innate sense of curiosity about the mystery of this infinite universe in which we live! Our cosmic heritage!

3. Firefly! There is something magical about witnessing fireflies sparkling in the darkness of a summer night! Fireflies are actually a kind of beetle, with wings that are in the same family as glowworms. Ask students if they’ve ever seen a firefly? Maybe they haven’t; here is a Video showing them glowing in the dark. So, how do fireflies produce their light? They use Bioluminescence; and how does Bioluminescence work? Glowing animals typically create light through Luminescence, mixing together chemical compounds to produce a glow. Plants and Animals use bioluminescence including many Sea Creatures So, the big question for inquiring minds is....do both the male and female fireflies flash their lights? Does the female have an ulterior Motive?

Interconnections!

Bats, insects, stars and fireflies...hmmm let me see! Bats predate on insects and help to maintain an ecological balance; fruit bats are crucial for seed dispersal. Bat Guano is an effective natural fertilizer that can be used to enrich soil that is deficient in organic matter. The larvae of fireflies help to maintain ecological balance in the soil since their diet consists mostly of cutworms, snails and grubs. As for the stars, well since we are all made up of stardust, that make us pretty interconnected, no?

Songs!

In addition to “I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today!”, you will find the Bat song on my MySpace page, and here is a cute Video of that song too.

Story!

These Native American Sky Legends have some good stories. The Legend of Quito shows how a city was founded because of a falling star! Here's some more Folklore about stars and meteors.

Have a great week and enjoy the outdoors wherever you are! If you enjoy my songs and would like to support the music, please join my Kickstarter Fundraiser which will give you a copy of my new CD!

In gratitude for life and this precious Earth!

Rosie

Resources

Bat Conservation International

Information on Bats

For Fun – Here’s 50 signs of Good Luck from around the world!

More information on Fireflies

Make a “Firefly Diorama”

Photo of Lilac Sten Porse Wikimedia Commons

Little brown Bat photo by Don Pfritzer US Fish & Wildlife

Firefly on leaf by Cyphonocerus, Wikimedia Commons

Photo of firefly with light by Emmanuelm, Wikimedia Commons

I Saw Butterflies Kissing: Verse 4

2010-05-16T14:38:00.002-04:00

I’m healing from some minor surgery; it wasn’t too serious but nonetheless an invasion of the body, and any such intrusion leaves one’s system shaken and one’s heart grateful for the precious gift of health! Imagine how the Earth must feel, with the daily invasions ubiquitously seeping into every nook and cranny. The oil continues to gush into the pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico; so many crushed lives, both in the ocean and out. Will this be the final straw that pushes both the US and Canadian governments to finally recognize that we must embrace alternative energy? I sure hope so.

Here in Montreal, I think I can safely say that we are on our way to summer! The trees are in bloom, the leaves such a vibrant green, its luscious and glorious and I am forever stopping on my walks to gasp at the beauty! So....this Post is Verse 4 of I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! Who are we going to find in the backyard? It's all about birds this week! And while the three species of birds I am featuring are all quite common, each one has their own particularities! Everything in nature is intricate and fascinating if we just dig a little!

Verse 4

Heard me the cry of a red-tailed hawk,

A big old crow went “cawk, cawk, cawk”!

Listened to the cooing of a little grey dove

As he sidled up to his life-long love!

Lesson Ideas

1. Red-tailed hawk You are unlikely to see a red-tailed hawk in the center of the city, although these days anything is possible! However, if you are close to a large park, or on the edge of town near open fields, you might be lucky enough to see one. They are a magnificent bird to study with an easily recognizable call. As carnivores, they play an important role in maintaining the balance of ecosystems, feeding on small mammals such as rabbits and rodents as well as snakes. Teaching children how to identify these birds helps to spark their interest as they become able to identify them both visually and auditorily; encourage children to keep an eye out for them when traveling, makes the journey more interesting! I love to spot raptors along the roadside. Here is an in-depth Lesson Plan called Radical Raptors

2. Crow Crows and other birds in the Corvidae Family such as ravens, rooks and blue jays, are all survivors; they are adept at adapting to their surroundings, which is why they do so well in urban centers. They are wily birds, not afraid to intimidate others to get what they want, and new studies have revealed how wild crows use Tools. Begin by exploring some of their similarities and differences – just being able to identify a crow from a raven is a start! Invite kids to list some of the variations such as: the shapes of their bills, wings and tails; the sound of their calls; their size; where they live and what they eat. How many different species of crow and raven are there in the world? Here are answers to some Frequently asked questions about Crows and here is another interesting Website that has a research component attached to it. Ravens have long been featured in indigenous mythology and scientists are beginning to discover just how Smart they are!

3. A little grey dove! Just to give you an idea of how many kinds of pigeons and doves there are in the world, take a look at this Website! The bird that I was thinking about when I wrote the song, is the Mourning Dove, a graceful bird, whose distinctive call frequently greets my Florida mornings! In addition to learning about this bird, explore with children why the dove has become a symbol for Peace. Invite kids to draw their own pictures of doves and to write a short story or poem to go with it. Here are some birds that are used as Peace symbols in other cultures. It is thought that Mourning doves are monogamous, and while there seems to be continued discussion about this, watching them perched close to each other on a wire, or rooftop, it's easy to imagine that they share some kind of strong bond!

Here is a short Video to watch with students, showing how habitat is one of the most important ways to identify birds Finally, here's a question - where does the Mourning dove get its name from?

Interconnections:

While all these birds are common we would be wise to teach kids about the demise of the Passenger Pigeon. In this fast changing world, even the most adaptable species can suddenly become at risk. Learning how species interact with their habitats is a good way to discover the interconnections of life. This Website has some great links that demonstrate how the red-tailed hawk and other species are intertwined with different habitats.

Song In addition to I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! Here is a cute song about Crows

Story

There are many legends and stories that include ravens and crows, here is one from the Tlingit Nation, simply titled Raven and while I did not find a story about Mourning dove, I did discover that a woman called Mourning Dove was a very interesting Native American novelist!

I hope you all have a great week, enjoy this beautiful time of year when everything is so fresh, well that is here in this hemisphere! Please do feel free to contact me if I can be of any help in your seeking of educational content on nature.

In gratitude for Life and this Earth!

Rosie

Photo of Close-up of red-tailed hawk

Red-tailed hawk by Derek Ramsey, Wikimedia

Crow photo by American Crow – Wikimedia

Mourning dove photo by

http://www.naturespicsonline.com/

I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! Verse 3

2010-05-09T09:07:00.003-04:00

Thank you to my mother, who inspired great strength in me!

It’s Mother’s Day this Sunday, and I thank Michael Pata, a Twitter friend and Animal Enthusiast, who shared these wonderful Wildlife Photos of Animal Mothers earlier this week! The Dalai Lama often says, “We have all been somebody’s mother, and everyone has once been our mother.” In other words, we should treat every being we meet with the respect and kindness that we would show to our own mother.

I am a mother of two beautiful human beings, a son and daughter, and they continue to be my greatest teachers. I am grateful to know them both and love them dearly. For many Indigenous people the Earth is our mother and as they so aptly say: “Mother Earth can live without us but we cannot live without her!” Cultivating a deep respect and caring for the Earth and all its creatures in young children can help encourage a lifetime of earth stewardship. I remember my favorite hymn as a child, was All Things Bright and Beautiful! In hindsight, I think that song has resonated through my life!

This week I am focusing on Verse three of my song “I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today!”; it is amazing to me how this one song could provide an entire semester’s curriculum, and you get to have the kids sing the song at the end! It is also a nice reminder of the biodiversity that is inches away from our doorstep! Here we go...

Verse 3

Caught me the scent of a wild pink rose,

Felt soft grass between my toes;

Followed the trail of a little black snail,

Found me the feather from a blue jay’s tail!

Lesson Ideas!

1. Wild Rose In today’s world, roses are often thought of as simply flowers to give someone special on a variety of Hallmark occasions. Wild roses, however, like many other plants and herbs, provide important sustenance, medicine and delight to those who understand their gifts. Teach students about the properties of the wild rose, rosehips and the wood rose. Make a list of all the different ways in which humans can use this delicate flower, its leaves and root. If you can, go on a walk to a park or field where wild roses might be growing – often they are in back alleys or gardens.

2. Grass! “Felt soft grass beneath my toes!” Unfortunately a lot of the grass on modern lawns isn’t as soft as it used to be! One of my favorite childhood memories of summer is of running barefoot on the grass, no fear of pesticides or anything else. As it turns out, the evolution of the grass lawn is quite a history lesson and as with so many things human, it's a story tied to a Machine! And then of course there is the evolution of Grass, which is in fact a flowering plant. Prairie Grass which made up so much of the grasslands, is now one of the most endangered habitats in Canada. Perhaps you could plant a patch of prairie grass in your schoolyard! Lots of ways in which you can explore grass with students, from its evolution to its relevance to so many different species.

3. Little black snail! Snails don’t tend to be on most people’s favorite critter list, and slugs can certainly be ubiquitous and harmful to a garden! However, as with all species, they play their role in the interconnectedness of life and have some fascinating traits! All About Snails will give you some insight into the biology of snails. The Black Mystery Snail originates from Brazil, and as its name suggests, it is a bit of a mystery! Invite students to learn about snails, to list what their role is in an ecosystem. With older students you could explore The Living Machines – these are a series of ecosystems designed to clean waste water – snails are one of the species used in these beautiful, non-toxic systems.

4. Blue Jay ! One of the prettiest of the more common birds, and certainly one that’s easy to spot in urban environments! Have a Blue Jay spotting contest, to see who manages to see one first! Invite kids to draw and color pictures of blue jays. One of the easiest ways to identify blue jays is their call – you can hear them coming because they are like the alarm system of the neighborhood! Here is a cool Website that plays it for you.

Interconnections! Birds, snails, flowers and grass; all important elements of Biodiversity Oftentimes emphasis is focused on the larger species, the more flashy, endearing characters of nature. But in real life, it is the ordinary, not so flashy species and people that weave the fabric upon which all life and society flourish. Teach kids how every lowly snail and ant working away inconspicuously is just as important as a polar bear or an elephant. Similarly, it is the multitude of people working hard in so many different jobs, that builds the foundation upon which a healthy society is formed. Each one is important in his or her own way.

Songs I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today, is obviously one of the songs for this Post; the Ant song can also be used. I found this fun little Snail song – Bob the Snail

Story Here is a Legend about Blue Jay from the Cowichan Tribe, the Coast Salish History; and for young kids, here is the story of Slimy the Snail!

Wishing everyone a great week, may the qualities of motherhood inspire us to be kind and compassionate with ourselves, everyone we meet and all living beings.

In gratitude, for my mother, for life and this precious Earth!

Rosie

PS. If you like the song Butterflies Kissing, you can help support the CD and get your own copy as soon as it is released by pledging $10 at Kickstarter.

Resources

Video and more information on Prairies

Grass Flowers

Photos of wild pink rose by Silberchen – Wikimedia

Photo of Lawn SB _Johnny - Wikimedia

Black snail by Hakan Scensson (Xauxa) - Wikimedia

Blue Jay by Fish & Wildlife Service - Wikimedia

I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! Verse 2

2010-05-02T20:24:00.003-04:00

Just when we thought spring had sprung, an April snowstorm literally knocked the leaves from the trees here in Montreal! Thankfully the snow didn’t stick around, though it did pull down quite a few branches and dampen the joyful glee of many a tulip and daffodil!

To further diminish our spirits, the oil from the spill in the Gulf of Mexico is heading for shore portending devastation and misery for so many species and people, who must surely be feeling Solastalgia. Thankfully the Obama Administration has now abandoned their intention for future drilling in those waters. Wake-up calls can be painful, but if heeded can prevent further damage and save lives.

Today is glorious, the sun gradually warming the Earth in this northern place; each day bringing a veritable flurry of activity outside my window as birds begin to build nests and insects venture out from winter hideaways. The gardens and parks are filled with activity, there’s plenty for a curious young mind to discover! Continuing on from last week I’m exploring the creatures featured in my song “I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today!” aiming to show how one song can provide a wealth of lesson ideas!

Verse 2

I saw me a spider, yellow and black,

A column of ants and a Whisky Jack!

Hummingbird with a ruby throat

A little brown rabbit with the softest coat!

Lesson Ideas:

1. Black and Yellow Garden Spider Argiope aurantia! Many people are scared of spiders (myself included), and yet most spiders are harmless even if they look intimidating. Introducing children to the ecology of spiders early on can help to mitigate these fears and instead spark an interest in arachnids. Spider’s Silk, for example, is one of the strongest materials in the world, relative to its weight; spiders can lay between 2 and 1000 eggs, depending on the species and some spiders weave new webs every night! Learn about the species of spider that live in your neighborhood. Are there any poisonous ones? If so, make sure the children can recognize them. Here are some more Ideas for creating a lesson plan on spiders.

2. Ants! Here is a previous Blog Post that I wrote about Ants, which has Lesson Plan ideas and stories.

3. Whiskey Jack also known as the Canada Jay or Grey Jay is resident from Alaska east across Canada in Boreal forests; and in the western mountains own to New Mexico and Arizona. These birds are omnivores that feed on meat, insects, fruits and seeds; they have a reputation as rascals and camp robbers, frequenting campsites and stealing any food they can find! The name Whiskey Jack is derived from the word Wesakechak used in the Algonquin family of Aboriginal languages of eastern Canada to describe a mischevious, trickster character who liked to play tricks on people. Introduce Kids to this hardy bird that survives well in its northern environment. Has anyone ever seen one? What other birds manage to survive through cold winters? How do birds survive such cold temperatures?

4. Ruby-throated Hummingbird One of the most fascinating birds to learn about; from their amazing flight abilities to the thousands of kilometers they travel during migration, these tiny power houses are a great species to study with kids. Use the journey of the hummingbird as a geography lesson; where do they migrate to and how long does it take them to get there? Invite young children to draw pictures of the hummingbird; what do they eat? What does a hummingbird nest look like, and what materials do they use to make these tiny constructions. Why do hummingbirds play an important role in pollination? Finally, hummingbirds have one rather unusual enemy, an insect that can prove to be a deadly opponent, Preying Mantis

5. Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae, of the order Lagomorpha (which includes hares); the most common rabbits are the European and Cottontail rabbit which have spread out across the world. Are there any rabbits in your neighborhood? Have the children seen them? Maybe some kids have pet rabbits! Rabbits have been around for a long time and fossil remains have been found in Mongolia that date back 55 million years! Learn about rabbits and how they affect the communities in which they live. With older kids you can really study the toll that they have had in countries like Australia.

Interconnections

Nature is a delicate balance and when there is imbalance, trouble arrives. The example of rabbits in Australia serves as a reminder that when humans introduce species, there can be grave consequences. Spiders and ants might not be the most attractive insects and yet they are vital to their ecological community. Many biologists believe that some plants have evolved the shape of their flowers to attract hummingbird, evolving the color and shape of their flowers to be more attractive to them. All things are connected and no species can prosper in isolation, not even human beings.

Story

The Story of Arachne Arachne and of course, How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun

Songs: I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! The Ants Song, Grandmother Spider are uploaded to my MySpace page. The Chickadee Blues is there too - a fun song about a bird that survives cold northern winters!

If you enjoy my songs and would like to help support my new CD you can help by pledging $10 to get your copy on Kickstarter! Have a wonderful week exploring the wonders of the backyard!

In gratitude for Life, and this beautiful Earth!

Rosie

Photos:

Bird in Tree by Carolyn Herriot

Spider by Patrick Edwin Moran – Wikimedia

Whisky Jack by Mdf – Wikimdeia

Hummingbird by Michelle Lynn Reynolds – Wikimedia

Rabbit by US Fish & Wildlife Service

I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! Verse One

2010-04-26T10:26:00.001-04:00

I’m back in Montreal after spending 10 days in Winnipeg working on my new Children's CD:

I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today!” The recording is the first phase of a larger project; the second stage will be to create an accompanying book focused on many of the fascinating backyard critters waiting to be discovered. The key is curiosity!

I spent hours, as a child, watching tadpoles in ponds, waiting for dormice in corn fields, gazing at scurrying clouds through sun dappled leaves and tending to my dearest friends, an injured crow and a friendly pigeon. The song, Butterflies Kissing illustrates the diversity of species that can be found simply by stepping outside our homes and schools!

So, for the next few weeks I am going to go through the verses of my song, “I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today!” and explore the species mentioned in each verse! In this way, I aim to provide you with some ideas for introducing your children or students to the biodiversity that surrounds us.

Verse One

I saw me a frog, as green as a tree,

A little yellow bird and a bumblebee;

A damselfly, bright electric blue,

And a ladybug landed on my shoe!

Lesson Plans

1. Discover any green tree frogs in your neighborhood. American Green Tree Frogs like the one in the picture, are one of the most endearing amphibians! Found in many backyards across the southern United States, their green color helps them to hide successfully in foliage. Other species of green tree frog include those in Australia, and the Pacific Northwest - here is a Video of one croaking! Cuban Tree Frogs are considered an Invasive Species in Florida and they are thought to hitchhike in on ornamental plants.

2. Yellow Warblers are one of my favorite birds! They have a wide range across North America and down into northern South America and have even been seen in the Galapagos Islands Look at the Range map to see where they live or migrate through, relative to your home. In the UK you might see a little yellow bird called the Yellow Hammer; yellowhammer also live in New Zealand. Make your lesson a voyage of discovery! Follow the little yellow bird around the world, beginning in your own backyard! Write a story about the bird's migration adventures, the places it sees, the food it eats, the other species it encounters.

3. Bumblebees, like honeybees are crucial for the pollination of many plants species upon which we depend for food. These bees lived in the wild for centuries before humans began to Domesticate them due to the fact that their tongues are longer than honeybees therefore enabling them to pollinate a greater variety of flowers. Introduce younger children to bumblebees through Crafts, Stories and Activities and take them outside to a garden so that they can watch them. Be sure to explain that bees, unlike wasps, will die if they use their sting, therefore they are not looking to sting anyone! Here is a Lesson Plan for older Kids.

4. Watching blue-tailed damselflies down by the lake in the summer is just magical! Their turquoise blue and black coloration is exquisite! Introduce children to the Lifecycle of the Damselfly What are some of the Differences between dragonflies and damselflies? Take the kids outside to see if you can find some; they like to hang out close to water or where there are lots of flowers. The Lifecycles of frogs, dragonflies and butterflies are similar; here is a Lesson Plan for K-2 students.

5. Most people like Ladybugs and with good reason, because they are Beneficial insects; this means that they feed on other insects that are considered pests such as aphids. Ladybugs are actually beetles, and are common in most habitats. Ladybug Larvae are also predators, and while they may look dangerous, they are quite harmless to humans. If you have a garden at your school or home, you can order Live Ladybugs and release them there. Here are some ideas for Lesson Plans that might be helpful to you and here are some Cool LadyBug Facts to share.

Interconnections

All of the above species play an important role in maintaining the diversity of ecosystems. Warblers help to disperse plants because they ingest seeds which are released through their feces as they fly about. Ladybugs help to prevent infestations of insects that are harmful to crops and fruits. Damselflies and dragonflies eat large quantities of insects and are in turn predated upon by a variety of species including fish and frogs. Bees are important pollinators and play a significant role in pollinating many of the plants, which provide us with food. Create a wall chart for each verse of the song using pictures linked together by their connections.

Song - I Saw Butterflies Kissing Today! Here is A LadyBug Song for young kids!

Stories - Eric Carle's Very Hungry Caterpillar is great for younger children. For older children here are some Dragonfly Legends And then there is the story of King Solomon and the Bee

Enjoy your week exploring nature in the backyard!

In gratitude for life and this Earth!

Rosie

The Movie Dirt is coming out soon. It illustrates who soil is so important to us all.

The Girl and the Robin is a true story I came across this week that is very touching.

Photo of Yellow Warbler by Mdf – Wikimedia Commons

Photo of Bumblebee by Dodudah – Wikimedia

Photo of Common Bluetail Damselfly by Laitche

Photo of Ladybug by Alvesgaspar

Photo of Butterflies Kissing by StevenMiller

One Week Left to Earth Day! Week 16: Earth Stewardship

2010-04-18T20:48:00.003-04:00

So here I am, at week 16 in this series of posts that began in January; the goal was to provide a collection of ideas that might be useful to a teacher or parent in the run up to Earth Day. Truth is that I think every day should be Earth Day, I mean let’s face it without the Earth we don’t exist! However, I am grateful that we do have at least one day dedicated to the Earth, and I do believe we are changing and becoming more aware of Earth’s importance to our survival and wellbeing!

It seemed fitting that the last post in this sequence should be about Earth Stewardship. What makes someone a good steward of the earth? I return to Baba Dioum’s famous quote: “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.”

“We will love only what we understand....only what we are taught.” It is vital that we share with children the beauty of Earth; that we make the time to take them outside to experience first hand this incredible place where we live. Educate them about the importance of preserving and protecting ecosystems, and convey to them that it is our individual responsibility to be good stewards. According to Google Trends, environmental education has steadily declined since 2004 to the present day. With all the “green” hoopla, you’d think that maybe, just maybe, it would have increased! It is a reminder to us all to not be complacent or assume that it is not our responsibility. Each voice is crucial and relevant.

I’m currently in studio recording a new CD, called I “Saw Butterflies Kissing Today”! With a focus on backyard critters, I aim to use this body of work to inspire parents and grandparents to get their kids out exploring the backyard again! After all, the whole wide world is really our backyard! Encouraging kids to be outdoors, to explore and discover nature plants the seed that can blossom into love.

Lesson Plans

1. Awe and discovery! To ignite passion for the Earth, help kids to discover it! Begin with the backyard, or if you don’t have one, go to the nearest park. Take magnifying glasses, jars and tweezers and go on a Nature Treasure Hunt! Collect things - leaves, worms, insects, bits of bark, rocks, flowers, anything that looks interesting! Bring your findings back to the classroom and share what you’ve found. Make leaf and bark rubbings; look at patterns; make paintings using the natural pigments of leaves and berries. Nature Mom’s Blog has some fun ideas for Natural Play for Teaching Science!

2. Plant a garden! Even if you don’t have much space you can create a small area of pots and tubs for plants. Here's an Easy Way way to get you going! Planting a garden is one of the greatest science lessons kids can have! You can make it as simple or as complex as you want! Kids Garden Club has some good ideas to help you and here are some Lesson Plans built around plants.

3. Explore some of the incredible aspects of nature, such as Patterns captured in these National Geographic photos. Take students outside and invite them to draw what they see; sitting quietly in a natural setting is a great way to get kids connected to the natural world. If you have a hard time justifying including such an activity in nature, then discover how the Fibonacci Numbers work in nature! Here is a beautiful film you could share with your older students called Nature by Numbers! This website, called Patterns in Nature has some cool ideas too!

4. Plan a trip to a park, river, beach, swamp – some natural setting. Fund-raise if you have to. Prepare for this trip with your students; learn about the flora and fauna that live in the place you are going to visit. Create journals to take with you and make sure that all the food you are taking is packed in re-usable containers so that you leave no trash behind. Invite students to write a story about the trip and when you are actually at the location, ensure that time is set aside for quiet reflection. Students should each spend time sitting by themselves, with just their journals.

Interconnections

Kids need to know that our lives are integrally connected to the health and well being of this planet. If we live in a city, this is not always obvious and therefore it is incumbent upon those of us who are parents, grandparents, teachers or mentors to impart this wisdom to young people. It is as simple as that; we will not be healthy unless the planet is healthy. Show them how Global Ocean Currents connect us; how we all breathe the same AIR – even if pollution is far away, it soon reaches us. The recent eruption of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano demonstrates how interconnected we all are!

Songs

When I was out on tour across Canada and the US, children would often sing Friends of the Earth to me, especially on Earth Day! In celebration of neighborhood critters you could sing Rocky Raquino (about a raccoon) or the Chickadee Blues, or Butterflies Kissing! All of these songs can be found on my MySpace page.
Story
One of my favorites! The Rainbow Child

Green Action of the Week!

Make a pledge! Invite each child to pledge to do at least one thing toward becoming a true steward for the Earth. There are plenty of things to choose from - to always recycle, to walk or bike instead of going by car when traveling short distances, to plant a tree or some native plants, to turn off lights and appliances, to educate others about why it is important to do these things, to raise money to protect a local habitat, to seek out products that are locally made or produced and much more! Each one of us that commits IS making a difference.

As I mentioned earlier, I am recording my new CD. If you like my songs and would like to show your support, please visit my Kickstarter page; a $10 pledge will give you a free download of the CD! I am really thrilled with the collection of songs and think they are some of the best I have written.

Have a WONDERFUL week, and Earth Day! I shall be thinking of everyone around the world celebrating!
In gratitude for life and this precious Earth!
Rosie
Photos by Tessa Emery

Resources/Websites

The Little Earth Charter

Child in Nature

Children in Nature

Nature Bag

Outdoor Nature Activities

Discovering Nature's Alphabet

Early Childhood Education Takes to the Outdoors

Council of All Beings

Kids Gardening

2 Weeks left to Earth Day: Week 15: Green Spring Clean

2010-04-12T00:09:00.001-04:00

There’s no denying, spring is definitely in the air! One of the things I dislike about being in Florida is that the seasons are not as evident there, though there are subtle indicators if you are keenly aware. But here in Montreal, the first rush of warmth brings every living thing to life, bursting forth from the earth and from homes with an urgency borne of lengthy dormancy.

I remember my mother beginning her spring-cleaning saga; she would wash all the curtains, sheets and covers, hanging them out to billow in the wind like colorful flags heralding the incoming season with joyful zest. In Morocco the women would drag all the rugs up onto the rooftops to be beaten thoroughly until every dust mote had departed on the wind; floors would be washed and spring and summer clothes retrieved from chests to be laid out in lively piles for the sun to extract every hint of mildew.

As far as I can remember my mother used mostly vinegar, baking soda and borax in her cleaning extravaganzas; I do remember Vim, a kind of corrosive cleaner she employed for stubborn stains. In Morocco the standard cleaner was bleach, which while not ideal, seems mild compared to the plethora of products lining today’s supermarket shelves!

Fabric softeners, household cleaning products, shampoos and anti-bacterials are having some disturbing effects on the environment with serious consequences not only for wetland and ocean biodiversity, but threatening human wellbeing too. Studies continue to demonstrate the negative impacts resulting from the use of such products and we would be prudent to pay attention and change our household cleaning strategies. As I always say, we’re all interconnected and this Earth is like an insulated space ship whose precious living systems are slowly deteriorating to the point of no return. If we are to survive as a species, we must listen to the canary that is no longer singing, and the butterflies, the bees, the frogs and the fish that are quite simply just dying off.

So, lets educate kids about the effects of household products and inspire them to take action, to teach their parents and families how to make good, ecologically friendly cleaning products that will cost less and ultimately make everyone feel better!

Lesson Plans

1. Where does our water go? Many children (and adults for that matter), don’t really understand the flow of water once it leaves our homes. This Water Science for Schools webpage has some of the answers.

2. Teach children what is meant by “Nonpoint-source pollution”. This means that the solution cannot be traced back to a single origin or source such as stormwater runoff, water runoff from urban areas and failed septic systems. Here is a Lesson Plan for Grades 4-8, called Down by the River and here is another Website that could be helpful.

3. May, is Wetlands month is the USA and the EPA has some suggestions for learning about wetlands near you. Explore the nearest wetlands with your students and learn how they impact your lives. Remember that wetlands play many different Roles – share some of these with your students. Who Polluted the River is another Lesson Plan you can use.

4. What can you do? Here are some of the Do's and Don'ts around the home! Demonstrate to students how easy it is to make eco-friendly cleaning products with simple ingredients found in most homes.

Here are a list of some that will get your started:

Homemade Laundry Soap

Non-toxic Home Cleaning

3 Homemade Cleaning Products

Cleaning Household Silver

Interconnections!

Well, the interconnections are becoming more and more obvious, as Studies continue to demonstrate.

What goes into the ground, seeps into the water tables and subsequently affects all life.

Green Action of the Week!

Invite kids to show their parents how to make one “eco-friendly” cleaning product! If everyone began to do this, the waterways of the world would soon be clean again. Show them how Dr. John Todd's Green Eco-Machine uses plants and natural systems to clean water!

Song There's Only One River, Only One Sea
Story Earth Day Story – What Can I Do?

We're almost to Earth Day! I hope spring has sprung in your neck of the woods, (that is if spring is in your hemisphere!) I am beginning a new CD tomorrow, if you would like to be a part of this project I'd be grateful for your help - visit the Kickstarter page to find out how!
Have a great week!
In gratitude for life, and this magical Earth!
Rosie

Photo of the house on the St. Lawrence River, by Philipp Hienstorfer

3 Weeks Left To Earth Day! Week 14: Migration

2010-04-06T20:26:00.003-04:00

I’m back in Montreal, after driving up from Florida over a period of four days; even with a one-day stop it seems to knock the wind from my sails! All the more reason to marvel at all those creatures that migrate long distances every year!

Just before leaving Florida I saw a flock of Cedar Waxwings passing through the back yard on their way north, and a couple of hummingbirds that I hadn’t seen before, were hanging out in the old oak tree, pausing on their northward journey. In Virginia, my friend Ingrid awaits the arrival of the hummingbirds and tells me that each year, they almost always arrive on the same date – April 23^rd! Awesome! Last week I read about an Osprey that travelled 10,000 miles to come back to the place where he has started a family before!

Then there’s the annual roundtrip of the Arctic Tern, which is approximately 71,000 km (44,117 miles) not to mention the Monarch Butterfly, whose epic journey south from Canada and the northern United States, to Mexico is one of the wonders of nature! Given all these incredible voyages, my little jaunt up from Florida, in a car, pales slightly!

As I was driving, I began to wonder how warming temperatures and climatic changes are affecting many of these species. Migratory species use up tremendous amounts of energy on their long flights, swims or walks! Pregnant Caribou cows, for example, travel an average of 20 km per day and are totally reliant on the early spring forage, which is obviously dependent upon snow melting. Many migratory birds rely on berries when they are traveling, while in their settled habitats, they might feed mainly on insects. (A recent Science Article reminds us that we could learn a lot about healthy eating from birds' feeding habits!) Colder winters, warmer springs and summers impact wildlife and vegetation in different ways, but there is no doubt that all of life is being affected by these global changes.

Lesson Plans

1. Follow the journey of an Arctic Tern, discover the places they visit on their marathon journey! Here is a National Geographic Lesson Plan for K-2.

2. Caribou are always on the move; learn about these northern ruminants and some of the challenges that they face on these journeys. They can actually smell the lichens that are buried under the snow! Look at some of the Energy Demands and how they have adapted to live in cold climates. Here is another National Geographic Lesson Plan for K-2.

3. Several Whale Species species make long migrations from southern to northern waters. They typically travel to warmer waters to give birth and to cooler waters for feeding; learn about the different species and the geographic locations they travel through.

4. What about Human migrations? Around the world people are constantly on the move and have always been to some degree. Here is a Lesson Plan for Gr. 3-5 about the story of Human Migration.

5. What migratory species pass through your neighborhood? Find pictures of some of these birds or butterflies and post them by the window inviting children to be on the lookout. Create a chart with some of the pictures so that you can post the dates on which they are observed.

Interconnections

We are all intricately connected to species that migrate. How so? Because our lifestyles, our communities and the way we farm and grow our gardens affects the food resources available to many migrant species. The Monarch butterfly, for example, feeds on milkweed, a plant that used to grow prolifically in hedgerows and fields. With the advent of large farming operations and landscaped gardens, the availability of milkweed plants to nourish the traveling Monarchs, has been diminished. Birds feeding on berries and fruits help to disperse the seeds of those plants to new areas, in fact it is believed that many of the plant species in Florida grew from seeds dropped by migratory birds!

Green Action of the Week!

Plant a Monarch Butterfly Garden; plant flowers, bushes and trees that will provide nourishment for migratory species passing through your backyards. Make colorful markers to put beside the plants so that the children learn which plants are important to which species.

Song

Mighty Monarch of the Ocean is a song about whales and since they are one of the migratory species, it should fit in well!

Story

It is only recently that we have been able to track migrating species; long ago people knew that birds departed at a certain time of the year, but did not know where they went to. However, it has long been believed that birds navigate their journeys by the stars and the Milky Way is one constellation that figures in folktales associated with bird migrations. The Legend of the Milky Way is one such story that originated in China.

Thats it for this week! I am off to record a new CD next weekend, in Winnipeg, but I shall try to get my Blog Post up on Sunday! We are almost at Earth Day, so I hope this series has been helpful!

Have a great week!

In gratitude for life and this beautiful Earth!

Rosie

Resources

Monarch Butterfly

Photo of Cedar Waxwing by Ken Thomas.us

Photo of Arctic tern by Toivo Toivanen & Tina Toppila

Photo of Caribou by Dean Biggins US Fish & Wildlife Service

4 Weeks Left to Earth Day! Week 13! Endangered Species: Tigers

2010-03-28T14:44:00.005-04:00

I was saddened this week to read more startling statistics indicating the decline of species, in this case Butterflies. I am not entirely sure what it is that we do not get about all this; maybe we are just in denial because it is too freaky! Joanna Macy spoke up a long time ago about apathy born of a profound despair in the face of impending disaster. I hope that we can shake ourselves out of whatever it is that is blinding us to the catastrophic destruction of planetary ecosystems to somehow rise up and preserve what is left.

Recently I wrote about biodiversity, and the importance of insects such as butterflies and bees; I wrote about Keystone species such as alligators and wolves; so this week I thought I would feature Tigers since they are on the brink of extinction and in need of help from all of us. These Blog Posts are aimed at educating and inspiring us to act on behalf of all species including ourselves, however, I will offer a word of caution. I am a big fan of educator David Sobel who warns: “we need to give young children time to connect to nature before we ask them to save it.” Therefore, I have tried to design the Lesson Plans to include content for the younger ones that focus on the beauty and magnificence of such animals and urge you not to dwell on their possible extinction. Older students can definitely explore reasons for endangerment of species and join in efforts to protect them.

Lesson Plans

1. In the early 1900s, there were around 100,000 tigers throughout their range. Today an estimated total of around 3,000-4,500 exist in the wild. You can see a breakdown of tiger numbers by subspecies and learn a lot more about them, at the Defenders of Wildlife website. With older students, choose a species and research why the animal has become endangered. What are the mitigating factors and what could have been done differently to protect them? The Endangered Species Website is helpful.

2. With young children, simply learn about the different tiger Sub Species! Tigers are carnivores, what are some of the animals in your neighborhood that eat other animals? Tigers are mammals and females typically birth between one to seven cubs. What wild mammals live in your region? Do they give birth to cubs, pups or kittens – what are the names of their offspring?

3. Are there any Wildcat species in your region? If so, how are they similar to tigers? What was the Evolutionary journey of tigers? Many species are now confined to small areas of land, but many of them once roamed on different Continents.

4. One of the primary causes of species endangerment, or extinction is the proximity of Humans in their territories. With older students explore this topic; what could we do in the future to better provide for such animals? Do they think that it matters, or should we just let them die out? Remember that many of these animals are Keystone Species and their demise has consequences.
Interconnections
As a Keystone species, how do Tigers affect the ecosystem in which they live? Is there a keystone species in your neighborhood? Remember a keystone species can be as small as a bee!

Green Action of the Week!

Have a bake-sale, or some other Fundraiser to raise some funds to help preserve some land in your area, somewhere else in the world or both! Acting locally, nationally and globally can be a way to introduce children to the concept of our interconnectedness!
Song

I have uploaded my song, Tiger, Tiger for this post. It might also be fun to share William Blake’s famous poem Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright! (If you do not find the Tiger Song, please check back as I am still trying to upload it!)

Story

Here is a very simple Story of the Tiger and another called the Ungrateful Tiger

I wish you a good week! I hope these posts are being of some help to you! I know that while it may be too late for some species, that awareness will help to preserve others in the future. Education is so important and for all of you out there who are educators, and parents, thank you so much for all you do to provide kids with the knowledge they need to act for all species.
In gratitude for Life, and this beautiful Earth!
Rosie

Resources
Enchanted Learning has some printouts and information about tigers.

Tiger Learning Zone
Teacher-reviewed Lesson Plans on Tigers
Endangered Species
White Tigers
Photo of Sumatran tiger by Monika Betley - from Wikimedia Commons
Photo of Bengali Tigress and cub by Mayankkatiyar - from Wikimedia Commons

5 Weeks Left to Earth Day! Week 12: Food Audit!

2010-03-21T08:37:00.005-04:00

Locavore was the Oxford American Dictionary word of the year in 2007; it means someone who eats food grown within 100 miles of where they live!

I was invited to a wonderful fund raising event this week, where all the food served was local; the envent was inspired by the Earth Charter's encouragement to live in a sustainable manner by reducing our carbon footprint in every aspect of our lives.

We have become spoiled by the ubiquitous availability of foods from all over the world; strawberries anytime, avocados, grapefruit, blueberries, lettuce, absolutely anything we so desire can be purchased throughout the year. In days gone by our bodies were attuned to the foods that were seasonal; in the cooler months root vegetables might have been the staple with fewer fruits and berries, while summer months were celebrated with these luscious delights.

I am not saying that we have to become completely reliant on locally grown or seasonal food, but I am recommending making an effort to learn about it and support it if you can, and in the process I think you will discover the benefits! I do think it is important and relevant to their health, to educate children about where their food comes from and the environmental costs incurred therein.

Lesson Plans

1. Food Audit! This activity can be a geography, science and math lesson too, since children will lean about different places and their topography as well as calculating distances. The complexity of your project will depend upon the grade level of participating children. Invite children to research some or all of following questions about one meal:

· What country, State or Province, did each item on your plate come from?

· How many miles/kilometers did each item travel?

· What kind of transportation was used to bring the food to the store/market?

· Map out the entire journey – from the fields, to the transportation, to the store/market – of how the food arrived on your table. This can be done as a drawing, painting or a collage;

· What people were involved in bringing the food to your table? Who grew it, picked it, cleaned it, packed it and finally cooked it!

· What animals did the food come from? How were they kept? Did they live outside, in a barn, in a cage? Did they have a god quality of life?

· Calculate the total miles/kilometers that all the food for one meal has travelled.

Once you have done all or part of this process, discuss the findings with your students and see what ideas they might have for minimizing the environmental costs. A greater discussion might be how we could a better quality of life for the animals that are eaten and also for the farmers and the workers who grow, pick and transport our food.

2. With older students, watch the film Food Inc. Under the Multimedia section of their website there is a Discussion Guide. http://www.foodincmovie.com/

Interconnections

Brain Over Brawn – this article by David Suzuki is worth the read; he reminds us that while we might have the technology that allows us to cull previously unattainable harvests from the ocean we should beware of acting without thinking of the consequences! Every single living organism on this earth is connected in some way to everything else. Some might like to think that humans have superiority over nature, but I think that we would be foolish to court this line of thinking, for in the end it might lead to our own demise.

Story

A story about greed: Two Brothers, Two Rewards

Song

Well, I figure it could be No Sugar, No Fries! – I wrote this not just about eating healthy food, but also to encourage us to cook again!

Green Action of the Week

See if you can have at least one meal that is completely made up of food that comes from within one hundred miles of where you live. This might be kind of difficult for those of you coming out of the winter months, so if you live in a colder climate then the food should be from within your country. Having said that, even in Montreal, Quebec, I am sure I could make up a meal of local eggs, cheese, meat, fish, potatoes, squash and probably some carrots! Then of course there are preserves; last summer I might have made up jars of cherries, strawberries or peaches, and I might have dried some apples and grapes for raisins!

I hope this Post is helpful to you and that you are having some interesting lessons, discussions and discoveries with your children, students, families or just yourself! Wishing you a beautiful Spring! As the light comes in, may your days be filled with beauty and joy.

In gratitude to life and this precious Earth!

Rosie

Resources

Article about Environmental Costs of Shipping Food

Environmental costs of Meat production

Slow Food USA

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle – Barbara Kingsolver

The Zero-mile Diet– A Year-round Guide to Growing Organic Food

Earth Matters - Sustainable Activities for 4th and 5th Grade

Photos By Rosie Emery and the US Dept. Agriculture

6 Weeks Left to Earth Day! Week 11: Keystone Species!

2010-03-14T14:01:00.003-04:00

Spending time in Florida has allowed me to gain new respect for one of its most famous residents, the alligator! These prehistoric reptiles are quite remarkable, and when you see them up close (not too close!) they give us a glimpse into a past Earth, when dinosaurs ruled the land!

I learned that alligators are important because they are a keystone species; what is a keystone species? I rather like this explanation, courtesy of: Bagheera

“A keystone is the stone at the top of an arch that supports the other stones and keeps the whole arch from falling. A keystone species is a species on which the persistence of a large number of other species in the ecosystem depends. If a keystone species is extirpated from a system, the species it supported also will disappear, as will the other dependent species.” You can read the full description on their website.

Inhabiting the swamps, ponds, creeks, rivers and shallow lakes of Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, alligators play an important role in shaping the landscape. During the dry season, alligators swish their tails around in shallow pools to make “gator holes”; deep holes which retain water when there is little rainfall thus providing a vital drinking reservoir for many other species.

The favored food source for alligators is fish, crabs, birds, snakes and small mammals such as rabbits. They are carnivores with extremely strong jaws that can easily crack a turtle shell. Lurking just below the surface of the water, looking rather like a submerged log, alligators wait patiently for their prey. When they do strike, it is with lightning speed and ferocious precision. However, they do not have to eat all the time, and one good meal for a healthy alligator can last for a few days, weeks or even months.

Female alligators build their nests beside the water, using plants and leaves. When the time is right, they deposit up to 50 eggs into the nest and cover them with vegetation; they do not sit on their nests like birds. It is fascinating to note that the sex of the babies is actually determined by the heat of the nest! If the nest is extremely hot, the babies will be all male; if the nest is cooler, all female; and if the nest is temperate, there will be a mix of both sexes!

Lesson Plans

1. Learn what a Keystone Species is; lessons obviously dependent upon the age group. With young children you could begin with the alligator. Explore which other species depend on the alligator keeping the ponds open during the dry season – turtles and wading birds are an example. What would happen to those species if the alligator was not there and the ponds dried up? This Video shows how alligator mother’s care for their young.

2. For Grade 6-8 here is a selection of National Geographic Lesson Plans on Keystone Species and another Plan for Grades 3-5.

3. Explore some other kinds of keystone species. For example, Prairie Dogs dogs, or wolves; learn how wolves play a Key Role in maintaing the health of ecosystems of Yellowstone National Park.

4. Find out which is a keystone species in your area of the world. Remember that Keystone species are not just important to wild animals or plants, they are also important to us! For example, Salmon is a keystone species for fishermen in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. Make this into a geography lesson and explore species around the world and see how humans also are impacted by their health. Everything is interconnected and it is important that students understand this.

Interconnections

The interactions between a keystone species and others in clearly evident in the example of the wolves and Yellowstone National Park. Once you have discovered which species is key to your local ecology invite students to list all the species that are dependent on it. A very easy one that is pretty much everywhere would be bees! Without bees we would lose a whole host of plants upon which we, and other species depend. Here is a short Video about bees.

Green Action of the Week

Once you have discovered which species in your neighborhood is key to all others, then create an action to help protect it. For example, if you decided to help bees, find out which wildflowers are native to your region and plant some. See if you could begin a petition to ban pesticides locally or nationally – bees and so many other important insects are negatively affected by many common pesticides used in landscaping.

Song

I have uploaded the Alligator Rock! for this post – you could also use the Coral Reef song since corals are a keystone oceanic species.

Story

How Rabbit Fooled Alligator !

Have a great time discovering keystone species and please let me know which species is key in your area!

In gratitude for life, and this Earth!

Rosie

Resources:

Elephants as a Keystone Species

Bullfrog Films has a Video about Keystone Species

Learning about Global Biodiversity

Photos

Alligator Photo By Matthew Field - Wikimedia

http://www.photography.mattfield.com
Alligator with babies By User Catholic 85 Wikimedia

7 Weeks Left to Earth Day! Week 10: Manatees!

2010-03-07T12:00:00.001-05:00

It’s been a lengthy, cold winter in Florida this year and an unprecedented number of manatees have died. Manatees are not able to tolerate water temperatures below 65 degrees and die slowly as their immune systems fail. A record number (5000) of Sea Turtles have also been affected by the cold, stunned into a coma-like state that would have killed them if not for being rescued by state and federal Wildlife Workers . While humans continue to debate the ins and outs of climate change, or climatic instability as I prefer to call it, the planet’s flora and fauna are struggling to adapt, and so are we!

Manatees have long fascinated humans, in fact long ago, sailors thought that they were a kind of mermaid, hence their Latin name Sirenia. West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus), sometimes referred to as sea cows, live in shallow coastal waters, estuaries, rivers and canals. These gentle giants can be found in Florida during the winter months but migrate as far north as Virginia or west to Louisiana during the summer. This species of manatee ranges into the Caribbean and down as far south as Brazil.

Primarily nocturnal, they can be seen resting close to the surface both day and night and though mostly solitary, they do interact with other manatees, especially when the weather is cold. Here in Southwest Florida large groups can be spotted near the Florida Power and Light, warm-water discharge on the Orange River in Lee County. where they huddle to try and keep warm! They can also be seen at Manatee Park

Manatees move in and out of salt water and fresh water habitats following the food trail for the most part! They are herbivores, feeding mostly on sea greases, but will eat most aquatic plants. Despite their vegetarian diet, manatees grow very large and can weigh between 800 and 3,300 lbs (400-1,500 kgs)! They move easily through the water, propelling themselves forward with their tails.

The split upper lip of the manatee allows them to pass food easily into their mouths while they feed and they use their flippers to dig up plant roots. Chewing sea grass wears out their teeth and so they grow new ones which slowly move forward as the old ones wear out!!

Manatees are listed as endangered and sadly this year’s record cold has hurt their numbers even more. Mostly they are harmed by boat propellers; some folks do not adhere to the speed limits in shallow water zones and the propellers cut into them. You can learn more about manatees at this Website .

Lesson Plans:

1. Introduce children to manatees; if you live in a region where manatees live then perhaps they will have see some; if not, then they’re an interesting species to learn about and quite different from other mammals. This Video shows them in their water world and here are some helpful ideas from National Geographic to get you started.

2. Geography: Explore some of the places where manatees and dugongs live. In North America manatees migrate north during the summer months; follow their journey and discover where they go. Do they visit the same places every year? How long does it take them to reach their destinations?

3. Manatees’ primary diet is aquatic plants including sea grass, an important component of estuarine ecosystems. Seagrass beds stabilize the sea floor with their roots; help to filter water by trapping particles in their leaves; slow down wave action during intense storms and provide a nursery habitat for a wide variety of marine species. Unfortunately speeding boats can significantly harm these underwater meadows. Learn more about Seagrass and explore other species live in seagrass beds.

4. World Water Day is coming up; plan some activities related to water. Is there a creek near you that needs protecting? Do you live up-river or down-river? Here are some Resources related to Water that might be helpful to you. Also, there is a campaign called Walking for Water– perhaps you can get your school involved.

Interconnections

Manatees help to control the overgrowth of seagrass beds and they benefit seagrass growth by dispersing the seeds around the sea floor. Because manatees also graze in freshwater habitats, they help to control the growth of nuisance and invasive plants such as water hyacinth.

Story

I couldn't find any stories about manatees, so, since they were often thought to be mermaids here are some stories that you might find enjoyable: The Fisherman and his Soul (quite long) Here is a Collection of Mermaid Tales

Song Well, the Manatee Song seems to be the obvious choice here!

Green Action of the Week!

We are all interconnected, so even if we live far from the ocean, we can still make a difference and help to protect it. Working together for the manatees is a National Geographic Lesson Plan that can help you kick start a program to lend your voices to the protection of these gentle marine species.

Enjoy your week and please let me know if you have any special projects so that I can share them with readers.

With gratitude for life and this beautiful Earth!

Rosie

Extra Resources:

Manatee Lesson Plans Grades 1-5

Lesson Planet: A Collection of Lesson Plans on Manatees:

Manatee Photos: USGS and NOAA

Labels: manatee, water

8 Weeks Left to Earth Day: Week 9: BIODIVERSITY

2010-03-01T11:22:00.001-05:00

Photo By David Ilif

2010 is the United Nations Year of Biodiversity – so hopefully the extra publicity will raise the level of awareness about its importance!

Biodiversity is one of those loaded words that somehow never gets the respect it deserves. I looked up some definitions, and here was my favorite, courtesy of the Environmental Defense Fund

“Most broadly, biodiversity encompasses the diversity of life on the planet. Biodiversity includes genetic diversity, the diversity of information encoded in genes within a species; species diversity, the diversity and relative abundance of species; and community/ecosystem diversity, the diversity of natural communities.”

The way I see it, one of the greatest challenges in educating people about the importance of biodiversity is that the majority of us live in urban centers where biological diversity is not so evident; (well not to untrained eyes). To most, it doesn’t seem to matter that there are fewer species of birds, butterflies, insects or fungi; in fact some might argue that we’re a lot better off without half of them!

Unfortunately many don’t comprehend that, “Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on.” UN Website. Basically, without biodiversity we’re screwed! All the more reason to educate kids about its importance, so that they become informed citizens who recognize the necessity of protecting and preserving all living systems.

Lesson Plans

1. Introduce young children to the concept of biodiversity. Begin with insects like bees; bees are crucial to biodiversity since they pollinate so many different plants including many of those that produce the foods that we eat. Share pictures, or better still, some of the foods that are pollinated by bees such as: strawberries, kiwi, cucumber, broccoli, cashews, brazil nuts or carrots; (there are many more!

Nature's Nature’s Partners, Pollinators, Plants and You has a whole series of activities about our relationship and dependence upon insects and plants.

2. Ecosystem Services: A healthy biodiversity provides us with an abundance of services whose value is not always acknowledged. Invite students to list some of the services that come from a healthy biodiversity. For example, ecosystem services such as: soil protection and formation; soil doesn't magically appear, it takes a myriad of organisms to break it down and keep it healthy! Learn about Soil Basics– how its created, how long that takes! Explore how healthy water resources rely upon a diversity of species living in them. Here is a short Video showing how oysters filter water! Trees and other vegetation help to break down pollution; learn about The Value of trees.

3. Biological resources: Invite students to list some of the biological resources that we benefit from when there is a healthy biodiversity? Some examples would be food; how do we ensure there is enough diversity amongst food sources and protect the integrity of seeds? Here is Cary Fowler in a TED Talk speaking about the importance of protecting the future of food, one seed at a time! With young children look at different seeds, gather a whole bunch of them and talk about why its important to have different kinds of seeds for food. Plant some!

4. What can we do to protect biodiversity? One way is to create native plant gardens; this encourages the diversity of insects in your community; choosing plants with a diversity of colors, shapes and sizes helps to ensure they attract different kinds of insects and birds.

Interconnections

"Coral Reefs harbor more than 25 percent of all known fish and provide our oceans with the highest biodiversity of any marine ecosystem (IPCC, 2007).” Sadly many of the world’s reefs are suffering from Coral Bleaching which is caused by stressful environmental circumstances. Many scientists and marine biologists are seeking ways in which to help reefs and an effort is underway to create Underwater Marine Parks that would offer them some protection.

Green Action of the Week!

Spring is on the way! Plan a Butterfly Garden with your kids! Even if the snow is still on the ground, you can begin by planning the garden out and looking at seed catalogues to choose the right kids of plants not just for butterflies but other Beneficial Insects too.

Song: I Love Bugs! by Bobs & Lolo is a fun song to incorporate into lessons on biodiversity; also the Coral Reef Song and We're All Interconnected both fit well.

Story: Ancient Stories, New Voices is a wonderful collection of animated Aboriginal Stories complete with Study Guides. The Brolga Song and The Be both relate to the importance of biodiversity. (Roll mouse over the circles at the top of the page to see the names of stories.)

Have a great week exploring Biodiversity! What an incredible world we live in! I am continually amazed by it!

In gratitude for life and this Earth!

Rosie

Resources

Diversity Activities

American Museum of Natural History: Biodiversity

Biodiversity For Kids!

Nature’s Partners, Pollinators, Plants and You

Success Stories of Biodiversity

Articles

Biodiversity Decline

Biodiversity at the Point of No Return

Photo of Coral Reef from Wikimedia By Richard Ling

Photo of Waterfall by David Ilif

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hopetoun_falls.jpg

9 Weeks left to Earth Day: Week 8: The FUTURE!

2010-02-21T12:21:00.002-05:00

I have mixed feelings when I think about the future. The optimistic me, holds on to a vision of a kinder world, one in which humans excel in creating sustainable solutions to energy use, agriculture, manufacturing and land use. But the realist me, while seeking to find the good in each person, must acknowledge that human traits such as avarice, selfishness, bigotry and meanness exist and thrive in a culture of entitlement, which in some ways is what we seem to have right now.

Thankfully, there is no question that human kindness and compassion also exist and there are gazillions of examples if one cares to look! I think that the Earth itself will be the fulcrum upon which we will come to our senses; and the necessity of overcoming challenges wrought by climate change will force the cooperation of nations. And since I happen to believe that we become and embody that which we envision, I personally choose to focus my imagination on a bright vision of the future!

The key is to find ways in which to empower young people about the future, to get them excited and engaged in it! We are creating the future every minute of every day and so each time we choose to make a conscious effort to protect and preserve the planet in any way, we are giving a gift to those who come after us. The Indigenous People of the World have always talked about the next seven generations, that it was the responsibility of each person to always consider them in each action taken. So lets teach our youth this, gift them with the understanding of that sacred trust so that children in the future will inherit a healthy and beautiful world.

Lesson Plans:

1. The Little Earth Charter Principle No 8 is the Future. Invite young children to draw or paint their image of the future. Imagine the future as a treasure that we will share with those who come after us. How do the kids imagine the Earth in 100 years?

2. With older students, explore some of the exciting innovations of the future such as the concept of Upcycling – a phrase coined by Cradle to Cradle authors William McDonough and Michael Braungartis - which is the act of creating useful products from waste materials. Here are some examples of Creative Upcycling Projects Here’s a Company that pays you to recycle your waste! Terracycle!

3. Make a class list of things that you can do to try to make sure the Earth is preserved for the next seven generations. Invite each child to commit to at least one action they can realistically carry out. Create a "Time Capsule" and fill it with messages from the kids about what they have done to preserve the planet and make the world a better place. Create a ceremony and together, bury the capsule somewhere it will be found in the future!

4. Imagine cities of the future, what do students think they might be like? Architects Ken Yeang and Ross Lovegrove share their vision in this Video. What kinds of innovations can the kids imagine for future cities. Create a poster of a future city, make it large and beautiful so that everyone can see it! ! Look at some ideas for sustainable cities check out what San Francisco is doing and Chicago

5. Introduce children to Environmental and Conservation Success Stories to illustrate how we can make a difference and help to turn things around. The Nature Conservancy has some inspiring stories, and they also have an innovative program called Plant a Billion Trees .

6. Introduce the practice of seafood conservation through Sustainable Seafood Choices and the Sustainable Seafood Guide Being informed and educated allows us to make choices that are not so harmful to ecosystems. Introduce kids to the concept of Paying it Forward. If you can, rent the movie Pay It Forward, to share with the kids.

Interconnections:

Everything we do today impacts the future. You can choose any ecological or human story to illustrate this. From deforestation to reforestation, pollution to clean up, war to peace, destroying cultures or helping to preserve them – every action we take, each and every moment is impacting the future in some way. Ask students to reflect on this silently and then to write down, or tell, one way to illustrate it.

Song

When I began a cross-Canada school music tour called the Rainbow Road, in 1997. I had only one thought in my mind - to do everything I could to inspire kids to care for the Earth and to let them know that together, we can turn things around. The song that I wrote for that tour is the Rainbow Road Song, and that is the song for this post.

Story: I had a difficult time finding the right story for this post; I am not at home, so my library of books is not readily available! But as I was searching, I came across this short film Make A Difference

It is a simple story, but profound, since we are all given opportunities in which to make a difference in someone’s life and while it is not always possible to know the impact of that small kindness or gesture of compassion, it is surely enough to know that we are always trying.

The Film, “For the Next Seven Generations” tells the story of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers from all around the world, who come together to help people create a new way of life that will be in balance before it is too late.

So here's to the future, to doing all that we can to ensure that those coming after us will be able to witness the beauty that we have; that the wonders of this world, the animals, the ecosystems and the people will be there for them to experience too. I believe in a future that is achievable; I believe we can learn from our mistakes and our triumphs, that we can evolve to become more altruistic and conscious. Will it be everyone? I doubt it; that's just the way it is, but if there are enough of us that become aware of our ability to participate in the co-creation of a more harmonious world for all sentient beings, then I do believe we will reach a tipping-point, and it is that belief that keeps me going! Have a great week!
In gratitude, for life and this beautiful Earth!
Rosie

Other Resources

Earth Charter Youth Groups Wiki Page:

http://ecyg.wikispaces.com/

Animation by JC Little – www.littleanimation.com

10 Weeks left to Earth Day: Week 7: LOVE!

2010-02-14T09:27:00.007-05:00

How appropriate that this week’s post should fall on Valentines Day, and since I am following the Principles of the Little Earth Charter, Principle No. 7 is Love! Beautiful!

Everyone has an opinion about love; a story, a poem, a song or a sigh. I personally think that the word love has been cheapened, that it’s tossed about so frequently in today’s world that the depth of its meaning is diminished, but that is just the way I see it;.(As I said everyone has an opinion!) Since these Blog posts are related to Earth Day, I thought it appropriate to share this poem from Wendell Berry

A Homecoming

One faith is bondage. Two are free. In the trust

Of old love, cultivation shows a dark and graceful wilderness

At its heart. Wild

In that wilderness, we roam

The distance of our faith;

Safe beyond the bounds

Of what we know. O love,

Open. Show me

My country. Take me home

So, for this day, which has become the poster day for the word love, I am going to reflect on how love is related to this Earth.

When I participated in the Council of All Beings workshop in 1989, the purpose of the experience was intended to help each of us hear the sound of the Earth crying. The exercises, songs and poems were crafted together so as to awaken that remembering in the depth of our beings; the recognition of our integral interconnection to this living planet that birthed us. If our mother were hurting, would we not cry?

Most of the Indigenous peoples of the world believe that the Earth is their mother or father; they have a sacred relationship to this planet, which guides all aspects of their lives. Children grow up knowing that they must respect the Earth as they respect their parents.
The Kogi people who live in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta of Columbia call themselves the Elder Brothers and refer to the rest of the people in the world as Younger Brothers. They were one of the only groups of indigenous people in the world, who because of the particular nature of their surrounding, were able to keep themselves apart and sustain their culture. In 1988, they were so concerned about the state of the Mother (Earth) that they sought out a BBC journalist to tell these concerns to the world, endangering their isolation which has since led to terrible consequences for them all. Sadly they are no longer isolated. Video: The Kogi - Journey to the Hearth of the World

Lesson Plans

1. The Little Earth Charter Principle No. 6 is Love!! Acts of Kindness are a great way to show Love! An act of kindness doesn’t have to cost any money, you can give a smile, make a card, sing a song, give good wishes, or just listen to someone who needs to talk. Make a list with younger children of all the good things you can do! The Random Acts of Kindness organization has some good ideas.

2. Invite students to learn about some of the people who have loved this planet so much that in many cases they dedicated their life to protecting it. Examples St. Francis of Assisi , John Muir, Jane Goodall or Wangari Maathai (Green Belt Movement) What was it that inspired these people? Look for others who have been so inspired, there are plenty out there, maybe even some in your own community!

3. What is love for the Earth? How do your students perceive it? Ask them to draw, paint, write or make a video of their interpretations of love for the Earth.

4. Share with older students the literary work of some great writers who have been and continue to be inspired by their love of this Earth. There is poetry by Mary Oliver – (I love Wild Geese) or books like Ecology of a Cracker Childhood by environmental activist, writer and poet, Janisse Ray and the wonderful Alison Hawthorne Deming Here is an amazing interactive book: Thoreau's Legacy: American Stories on Global Warming

5. Watch the Film – The Man Who Planted Trees

Interconnections: Love for this world can translate into incredible actions such as the Green Belt Movement started by Wangari Maathai or Roots & Shoots started by Jane Goodall. Actions that come out of love can last for a long, long time and benefit a lot of people.

Green Action of the Week!

What are your actions of love for the planet? They might be as simple as pledging to do one thing a day, or to join a group like Roots and Shoots. Perhaps there is one in your neighborhood? Here is a LIST of organizations that’s were started by Kids to help others. We are all part of this Earth and each person, being, corner of this planet, we help, is helping a part of ourselves..

Story: The Giving Tree by Shell Silverstein

Song: Bruce Cockburn: If A Tree Falls in the Forest Does Anyone Hear It? Lyrics and Video I would also like to offer my love song to the Earth - Dream of the Earth!

We are living in a Finite World, and we must face the fact that we are fast using up the natural resources of this planet. Here is a very thoughtful article by the founder of the Greenhouse Neutral Foundation, Bob Williamson. Consumption in a Finite World: How can we sustain a Future that isn't Finite?

Valentines Day is special to me because my father passed away on that day in 2002. My father gave me so many gifts and to be with him during this important passage was truly a gift of love, for it helped me to understand my own mortality and the eternal nature of my being! And finally, a valentine message to my son and daughter - I love you D & D!

Happy Valentines to you all!

In gratitude for this Earth and life!

Rosie

Animation by JC Little www.littleanimation4kids.com

11 Weeks to Earth Day: Week 6: Peace!

2010-02-07T22:46:00.001-05:00

“If you with to experience peace, provide peace for another.” Tenzin Gyatso 14^th Dalai Lama

Peace! We all want peace, don’t we? We want it in our lives, in our country, in the world. I have always thought that peace is very relative; it’s easy to want peace, to preach peace when no one is infringing upon our reality. It is a lot harder to espouse peace when someone is breaking down your door, invading your home, your country or attacking your children. It’s rather like “enlightenment”; it’s easy to feel enlightened when sitting atop a beautiful mountain, but when home for the holidays with family, or confronted by an angry motorist in traffic, enlightenment seems to quickly vanish. However, that should not deter us from seeking to nurture peace attributes in our children!

What does peace have to do with the Earth? A lot! One of the aspects that first drew me towards the Earth Charter was the fact that it underscored the importance of reducing poverty and war since those two aspects alone result in so much misery and environmental destruction. Impoverished societies are often not sustainable simply because people are struggling to survive by any means available. The ecological footprint of developing nations, however, is not likely to be the size of developed ones, quite the contrary in fact! The Earth Charter seeks to provide a framework from which all societies can aspire to become more sustainable through the eradication of poverty and war.

Lesson Plans:

1. The Little Earth Charter Principle No. 6 is Peace. Do the children know anyone who is lonely, angry or upset? These feelings can make someone feel separate from the rest of the group. Sometimes giving someone a card can bridge the distance between themselves and others. Invite the children to make a Peace card for someone they would like to reach out to.

2. Creating empathy both for humans and non-humans. Depending on the age of your children/students create a lesson in learning empathy. With younger children, tell them that you have discovered a new plant, called a “Feeling Plant”, which demonstrates different feelings. Invite the children to draw what they imagine a Feeling Plant would look like and then share the drawings with everyone.

Ask students to explain what emotions their plant expresses and how it does that. For example, do the leaves of their plant droop when they’re sad, or do they flap when excited? Does it use its roots to express feelings? If so, which ones? Do its flowers change colors when it feels certain emotions, or does it bloom, or wilt? Finally, ask the children whether they think plants really have feelings or not and challenge them to support their answers with reasons. (From the Giraffe Classroom by Nancy Sokol Green

3. With older students, expand the previous discussion to look at whether, in fact, the community of life as a whole emits feelings! If this sounds too absurd, read this article, Is There An Ecological Unconscious? - by Daniel B. Smith about scholar Glenn Albrecht who coined the term Solastalgia which he defined as “the pain experienced when there is recognition that the place where one resides and that one loves is under immediate assault...a form of homesickness one gets when one is still at ‘home’.” What do your students think about this? Have they ever had an experience of feeling distraught over an environmental destruction?

By introducing these conversations to young people, we might broaden their field of compassion.

As Einstein said so eloquently: "A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest... a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

4. Volunteering locally and globally. Learning to volunteer in the community can be both fun and rewarding and it fosters a sense of responsibility to others in children. Ask students if they are volunteering anywhere? What has been their experience? Invite them to write an essay about it. Is there something that they could do to help kids in another country? PBS Kids has some good tips on volunteering.

5. What is a vision of peace? What does a sustainable world look like? Invite students to create drawings, paintings, even a mural of their vision of peace and of a sustainable world. Everything begins with imagination! Challenge them to write poems or short stories about peace and sustainability. The Seeds of Peace Summer camp brings together children from different regions of conflict, to help empower them to resolve conflict. If peace begins with each one of us, what are some ideas the children can suggest to engender peacefulness in their own lives?

Interconnections:

Ultimately we are all affected by conflicts, because war creates poverty and misery for the people of a country, and impoverished people are hard pressed to think about anything except where their next meal is coming from. Haiti is one example of a country where the environment has suffered because of internal conflict and corruption. Locked in a vicious cycle of environmental disaster, hunger, poverty and reliance on international aid, it's perhaps the most extreme example of what is happening to many of the world's poorest countries.

Song: Imagine, John Lennon LYRICS to Imagine YouTube Video of Imagine

Story: One of my favorite stories: The Monk and the Samurai and A Tale for All Seasons

Green Action of the Week! Have a clothing drive – collect clothes, shoes, toys, old computers, anything that might be useful for people in need. Donate them either to Goodwill, or an organization that is accepting such items for places like Haiti. Giving away used items helps to keep them from the landfill and provide others with items that are useful to them.

Have a great week finding Peace!

In gratitude to the Earth, for life!

Rosie

Resources:

Where Peace Lives

Zoomlab– Creating Virtual Playspaces while connecting with other Cultures

Kids Connect!

Earth Charter Resources

Center for Nonviolent Communication

Roots of Empathy

Animation by JC Little of www.littleanimation.com

Photo: By Edward Emery

12 Weeks to Earth Day! Week 5: The Earth!

2010-01-31T17:16:00.002-05:00

“The Earth is what we all have in common.” Wendell Berry

I have always loved this Earth. I come from it; it cradles me, sustains me, perpetually amazes and inspires me! But I do not see this Earth through rose- colored glasses; I know it can be a dangerous and forbidding place. And yet I also relish those moments that catch my breath; the shaft of sunlight illuminating the green universe of a leaf; a group of black skimmers gliding across a calm, turquoise ocean at sunset; the Rocky Mountains rising crisp and clear into the bluest of skies. Earth’s beauty can lift me up, throw me out into a place only poetry can describe.

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing or right doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the Soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other” doesn’t make any sense.” Rumi

There is a teaching story out of the Norwest Indian Tradition that I learned of from poet David Whyte. This would be told to every young person who asked “What do I do if I get lost in the forest?” Which is really a metaphor for “What do I do when I forget who I am?”

“Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you are not lost. Wherever you are is called “Here”. And you must treat is as a powerful stranger; must ask permission to know it and be known. The forest breathes. Listen. It answers: ‘I have made this place around you. If you leave it you may come back again saying, here, no two trees are the same to Raven, no two branches are the same to wren. If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you, you art surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows where you are. You must let it find you.”

What would your children or students do if they were lost in the woods? Would they be afraid? Have they ever practiced “noticing” the landscape of a forest, or a place in nature? Perhaps you could go out into the nearest wooded area and walk through it together noting the different features – what kinds of trees, spaces, clearings.

How do we impart this sense of belonging to young people growing up in this fast, urban, technological age? I am not really sure, however, any opportunity to take youngsters out into nature should definitely be seized upon! As I’ve mentioned before, seeking ways in which to cultivate a sense of awe and empathy in children is important since:

“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

Lesson Plans:

1. The Little Earth Charter Principle No. 5 is The Earth. Plant seeds of something edible – tomatoes, sunflowers, beans or peas! Watching seeds grow into something they can eat helps children to connect to the source of that which sustains them! It can be the seed which grows their Amazement!

2. How much life could you find in one cubic foot? To answer this question, photopgrapher David Liittschwager took a green metal frame, a 12 inch cube, to disparate environments – land and water, tropical and temperate. Look What He Found!

Show this to your students and, depending on where you live, ask them to create a similar experiment in the nearest natural habitat. Even if it's a snowy winter wonderland, you can find plenty of LIFE around!

3. Show your students some Awesome examples of Nature; like this Golden Cloth made from the silk of 1 Million Golden Orb Spiders! Look at how some Animals View the World! Learn how Scientists now believe that Dolphins are the second smartest Animals: Ask them to write about their most Awesome experience of nature; ask young children to draw theirs. Watch the Video: Wisdom of the Wild.

Video: Full Episode - Wisdom of the Wild | Nature

4. The Secret Life of Dead Trees . There is no such thing as a “dead” tree, since the organic matter is simply being transformed into something else, and used in the meantime as habitat for some species or other! Look for trees in your neighborhood that are standing dead. What wildlife can your students observe living there. Are there any birds, such as hawks, owl or woodpeckers that frequent the snags?

Interconnections: The Dangers of Plastic Bags Watch this slide presentation with your students. There are hundreds of islands of rubbish floating in the Pacific Ocean Gyre; made up of plastics and other debris, these horrible masses of junk are a testament to human waste.

Green Action of the Week: Challenge students, your children and your family to not use one single plastic bag for at least a week! Already many stores around the world are charging for plastic grocery bags and San Francisco was the first US City to ban them.

Song: I have uploaded Friends with the Earth for this post. A friend of mine, film maker Anne-Marie Miles, just recently posted a video she made using this song. You can see it here on YouTube

Story: One of my favorites: The Lorax

I Hope this Post is helpful to you. I wish you a meaningful, joyful week!

In gratitude to the Earth for Life!

Rosie

Photo of Earth: NASA

Animation by JC Little of www.littleanimation.com

13 Weeks to Earth Day: Week 4: The Past

2010-01-24T16:41:00.000-05:00

This Post is dedicated to Dave Boynton

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment. And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new. Right now!" Anonymous

For the most part, I try to live in the present; however, I believe that I am not only the sum of my personal life experience, but of life in its entirety. I think that it’s important to look and learn from the past both from our mistakes and our achievements. We humans collectively seem to have a somewhat short memory when it comes to both!

When it comes to the environment there are certainly lessons to be learned from the past! The story of Easter Island is one good example and there are many more; some are stories of destruction, as in Latin America and the Caribbean ,Africa and other places, but there are plenty of Success Stories too, proving that increased education is helping us to mend our ways when it comes to environmental damage. There is still a long way to go, but every step counts.

Lesson Plans

1. The Little Earth Charter Principle No: 4 is The Past! With younger children, 4 – 8, explore people living in the past, how they lived, what their lives were like. Are there any things that we do today that are similar? What can we learn from them? One example of how we have recently learned from the past is recycling. Recycling has become almost universal in many developed countries; before recycling, all those products went to the landfill. When did we begin to make all those products? How did people in the past dispose of their garbage? What kind of garbage did they have?

2. For older children take a look at some of the species that have become extinct. China’s rare River Dolphin is one of the most recent animals to disappear; the Hawaiian O O Bird bird is another. On the other hand there are quite a few success stories showing that when people discover something is wrong, they can work together to reverse the situation. The Blue Butterfly is one example, and the Osprey, another. Ask your students to research some recent environmental success stories and examine why they were successful. Are there any examples in your community of changes that people have made to protect the environment?

3. Invasive or Introduced species can completely change ecosystems, for the most part in a negative way. The Hawaiian Islands were once a flourishing haven of biodiversity and all the species that lived there came by wing, water or air. The only native mammals were the Hawaiian Hoary Bat and the Hawaiian Monk seal. The arrival of the first humans brought pigs, deer and other species that soon began to devastate the ecosystems. Ask students to find other examples of species that have been introduced into a region in the past, thereby affecting change to the present day ecology. What do the students think about this? Some people argue that it is just nature taking its course, while others say humans must intervene, so it provides an interesting debate topic. However, in many instances humans transport species to new countries or regions. Here is a rather scary example of how a venomous Huntsman spider hitched a ride.

Interconnections: The global impact of Deforestation is a good example of how past actions to the environment are now impacting the present. From desertification to climate change, cutting large swaths of forest impacts everyone. Ask students to write a list of how deforestation impacts the world, from the local to the global. You can also use this as a History Lesson since deforestation in Europe and the United States began a long time ago!

Story – The Animal's Lawsuit is a story from long ago that has lessons that pertain to many of our present-day circumstances. This organization in the UK has turned it into a Play and they are workshopping it in schools around London. I highly recommend buying the Book; it is a remarkable read.

Songs: I am always cautious about sharing too much information about extinction with young children, however, it is a fact of life and therefore I have written songs about this subject. One is the O O Bird

and the bird-song featured at the beginning of the song, was given to me by Dave Boynton, a great naturalist and photographer who lived on the Island of Kaua’i. Dave played this recording up in the mountains, after a hurricane devastated Kaua’I in 1985. The song, which is sung by a female bird, attracted a male looking for the female. Sadly this was the last bird to be seen, and Dave was the last person to see it, in 1987. Dave Boynton died in a fall along Kaua’I’s Na Pali coast in 2007. The other song I have uploaded is Survivors which is about species trying to survive extinction. These songs bring up a very important question; are we willing to stand by and allow so many more species to disappear because of our Unsustainable lifestyles? 2010 is the United Nations Year of Biodiversity, so perhaps you can talk with your students about what each one of us can do to try and mitigate this terrible decline in species.

Green Action of the Week: Plant a tree (if you can) or support an organization that plants trees, or have a fund drive to raise money to buy trees. Learn about people like Wangari Maathai the Nobel Prize winner who began the Green Belt Movement, or watch the delightful film: The Man Who Planted Trees

Additional resources: This is kind of cool for students to see: Maps Changing How We See the World

Hope you have a great week and that these ideas might help bring some fun and interesting discussions into your classroom or your home.

As always, in gratitude to this Earth for Life!

Rosie

Drawing of the Hawaiian OO Bird by John Gerrard Keulemans from Wikipedia Commons

Animation by JC Little of www.littleanimation.com

Trivia: There is a mistake in the lyrics of the song - the OO bird was last seen in 1987, so it wsa not after the hurricane of 1992.

14 Weeks to Earth Day! Week 3: Family!

2010-01-17T11:13:00.000-05:00

The family is one of nature's masterpieces.  - George Santayana

I am back in Florida, with my southern “family” of friends, who, like my northern family nourish my being with their kindness and inspire my soul with their dedication and joy. My biological family has been scattered across this Earth from early on; aside from being sent off to boarding school, we all emigrated from the UK before we were twenty! Boarding school taught me that family is not just a biological construct; it is larger than that, it is the whole human family and the more we are open to that concept, the more we are blessed to discover brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, mothers and fathers everywhere.

Today, we are a connected world; we receive instant feeds of information from around the globe and we form friendships and bonds with people we have never even met. The tragic earthquake in Haiti this month demonstrated how people and governments from all corners of the Earth can mobilize to help when necessary and there is hope that together we will collaborate in the future to overcome the certain challenges awaiting us all.

So this Post is about the human family and how we might learn to celebrate our differences and learn to cooperate even more.

Lesson Plans:

1. The Little Earth Charter- Principle No. 3 is The Family. The Principle of Family means doing everything that you can to make sure everyone in the human family is well treated. What do the children think that this means? Ask them to draw pictures of themselves; collect some photographs of children in other countries and discuss how their lives are different, or the same. Since Haiti is in the news right now, that might be a good place to begin; younger children might talk about what they would like to do to help the children there. For older students, understanding Teachers Without Borders has a Teachers Guide to Earthquake Science and Safety.

2. Earth Day originated in the US but is now celebrated around the world as a day which broadens support for environmental concerns, raises awareness and rekindles public commitment to protect the environment. You can learn all about Earth Day, register your event, or find our about other events at the Earth Day Network. 2010 is the 40^th anniversary of the first Earth Day! Plan something with your class, at your school or in your community. It doesn’t have to be complicated, it could be something simple like

3. “Sustainability is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Brundtland Commission Report of the United Nations. Teaching children about sustainability will help them to become better stewards of the Earth. The US Environmental Protection Agency has some good Teaching Resources.

4. Dolphins, like humans, are very social animals; they travel together in pods and females give birth to live calves and are sometimes helped by other females called aunts. Elephants are another species of animal that lives in a very structured social order. Invite students to learn about both of these animals and to look at how their Family Structures are similar to those of humans. All About Dolphins has some interesting information about dolphin species as does EarthTrust Scientists say that Dolphins should be treated as “Non-Human” persons. What do your students think about this? Do they think that animals have feelings? If so, is there a line to be drawn between say dolphins and ants?

5. For younger children, play Rosie's Heart This interactive game shows kids how dolphins are connected to them through tuna fish.

Action of the Week: In celebration of Earth Day’s 40^th Anniversary write up 40 Things You Can Do to Protect the Earth! Make this into a poster and hang it in the entrance of our school!

Story: I found these personal stories of Compassion and Collaboration which illustrate the notion of the human family and people helping each other.

Songs: There are two songs that could complement the subject of Family; one is Dolphin Teach us to Play! And the other is The Rainbow Road. Both of these are uploaded to my MySpace page. Have fun exploring the concept of Family! I am certainly most grateful for mine both the biological and the larger one; they sustain me and help me to be a better person. And remember..."You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."   Desmond Tutu

Animation designs by JC Little at Little Animation
If you would like to purchase a copy of the Little Earth Charter DVD you can do so at Little Animation Shop

15 Weeks to Earth Day! Week 2: We're All Interconnected!

2010-01-11T12:24:00.000-05:00

“To hear within ourselves the sound of the Earth crying.” John Seed

I was privileged to grow up in a magical place, Sherwood Forest; for me there was never any doubt that I was intricately connected to this Earth. But it wasn’t until I met John Seed in 1989, and participated in the Council of All Beings (developed by John, Joanna Macy , Arne Naess and Pat Fleming) , that I really began to hear the sound of the Earth crying. I was simply too busy being a mother and provider too see the destruction going on around the world.

After that workshop, I began to research what was happening to the planet and was devastated by what I uncovered. So much so in fact, that I plunged into a deep depression, which left me feeling hopeless about the future. The Council of All Beings was developed to awaken our inner ear; to tune it to the primal sounds of this earth and then to transfer any sadness into action. Thankfully, my despair was turned into determination to inspire in children a curiosity to discover, protect and preserve this earth, our home.

I wrote my song, We’re all Interconnected back in 1989; since then the phrase has become almost a cliché and I fear that it might be devalued. I hope that we can work together to strengthen its authenticity and inclusion in the vocabulary of early childhood.

Conveying the understanding of interconnectivity to children can be as simple or as complex and you wish it to be. Since absolutely everything is interconnected you can begin to incorporate the phrase on a daily basis, and the more you do, the more you will discover!

Lesson Plans:

1. The Little Earth Charter: Principle No 2 - Interconnected - Watch this clip and then ask children to name some of the different things they think are important on our planet. I suggested creating Food Energy webs in the previous Blog post; this time create a Food Audit linking the food that you eat to the places that it grows, the transportation that entails it arriving at your grocery store; the people who helped to bring it there. You can do the same with clothes and other household items; for example what are the components that make up computers or cell phones. Absolutely everything that we eat, wear or use comes from the Earth in some way.

2. The Air connects us all; it circulates around the planet and moves in and out of our bodies. I often tell kids that the air molecules they are breathing could have passed through the bodies of dinosaurs, or someone really famous like Elvis, their grandparents, or the girl or boy sitting next to them! When we prevent air pollution it is protecting ourselves as much as it is all of life. This Website has some fun Clean Air Activities!

3. Water connects us. Learning about water is a great way to teach about interconnectivity – there are some Lesson Plans about water in the Only One River, Only One Sea Blog Post I wrote in December 2009. Coral Reefs provide insight into interconnections; there are so many different symbiotic relationships there and the reefs are crucial habitat for so many fish. Just for fun, show these amazing photos of Snowflakes just to marvel at how water crystallizes!

4. People! How are we connected to each other? The Connected Earth website has some interesting Lesson Plans for children 7-16 showing how technology has evolved and connects us. Apart from technology, why is it important for humans to physically interconnect with each other? We are social beings and we need to connect to each other for comfort and community. Ask the children to create their Family Tree, to see who they are connected to. The Ancestors are important to many cultures and there is much to be learned from them. Here is a 4^th Grade Native American Lesson Plan that you might find interesting. The Journey of Man is a NOVA documentary that follows the genetic markers of humans to investigate how we are all connected.

Interconnections!

Well, this whole Post is about interconnectivity, so I am not going to dwell on more of it here. However, I will share some interesting articles I found recently that demonstrate the subtle ways in which nature is connected! The first is about how Star Fish suck up carbon from the sea the second is about the relationship between Ants and the Acacia Tree Here are some interesting Ocean Facts and did you ever wonder why the sea is Salty ? All good subjects for lessons!

Songs: I have uploaded two songs to my MySpace page to go with this blog – We’re All Interconnected and the Coral Reef.

Story: The story that I have always used to convey the understanding of interconnection to kids is: How Grandmother Spider Stole the Sun!

Resource: The book about the Council of All Beings is: Thinking Like A Mountain

Enjoy the journey of discovery with your children, your students and yourself! I am constantly AMAZED by the interconnections that I discover; I love it! Every time I find something new, I am replenished with awe! If you enjoy the Little Earth Charter, the DVD is for sale on the website at The Little Animation Shop and if you enjoy my songs, they are also available at a variety of Online stores.

Please do share your comments - I am here to help you and your feedback helps to guide me. I thank each one of you for following or reading this Blog and I sincerely hope that it serves you well.

In gratitude for life and this Earth,

Rosie

Design by JC Little www.littleanimation.com

Photo of Spider Web from Wikimedia Commons

16 Weeks to Earth Day! Week One: LIFE!

2010-01-04T12:51:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone!

I decided that the focus my Blog for the next 16 weeks will be on ideas that might help teachers create Lesson Plans to celebrate the Earth with their students, for each week running up to Earth Day. The first week of this Series begins today, January 4th, 2010, and will culminate on April 19th, the week of Earth Day! I hope that it can provide some useful and inspiring ideas! Each Blog will have a Green Acton of the week as well as songs and stories.

I will be incorporating the principles of the The Little Earth Charter, (which I co-created with JC Little), into each post. The Little Earth Charter is a fun and effective resource that provides a foundation, or springboard, for education on sustainability; it will tie this Series together nicely. The DVD of the Little Earth Charter is available for purchase on the website and the educational outlines for each principle (in eight languages) are also posted there.

Life! There is so much to do everyday and our lives are full and busy, so in the hustle and bustle of it all we can sometimes forget that life is a precious gift sustained by the Earth! When the first astronauts looked back at our tiny blue planet they were in awe; and still now, when we see those images of the Earth from space it is a breathtaking reminder of the fragility and uniqueness of this special place.

This is our home and it‘s an incredible one! Lets show every child what an amazing place this is and foster in them the kind of Earth Stewardship that lasts a lifetime! Perhaps in a few hundred years humans will look back and call this the time of the Great Turning .

I am going to begin this series with the smallest of creatures. I think it’s kind of ironic that the large animals tend to become the poster critters for the environment, when in fact it is the tiny, and the microscopic organisms that form the foundation upon which all life is built. We don’t often see posters asking us to save worms, ants, bacteria or fungi and yet the truth is that without them, dead organic matter would pile up high on the earth’s surface and there wouldn’t be much of anything to eat.

Lesson Plans:

1. Watch the Little Earth Charter Principle: One is Life!

The Principle of Life, means respecting and caring for all living things, no matter how big or how small. All life is important, not just human life, so let’s treat all living things with respect and consideration. Invite kids to take the Pledge for Life.

2. Microorganisms rule the world! This Activity from NASA demonstrates how millions of microorganisms live in a handful of soil, and how these tiny species eat organic matter such as grass clippings, fallen plant leaves etc. and in doing so reduce dead organic matter on Earth’s surface and release nutrients from the decomposing matter for living plants to use.

3. Food Energy Webs! Demonstrate how we are all dependent on the sun, the soil, the air and water by creating food webs. Make a list of everyday food items such as apples, cheese, bread and eggs; invite the children to draw food energy webs for them so they see the connections clearly.

4. Seeds: From a tiny seed can spring a mighty tall tree! Most plants come from seeds and seeds come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Some are small, like radishes or large like sunflowers. Seeds remain dormant until they receive the magic ingredients of water, soil and light! Sprout some peas; buy some whole green peas (not split peas); rinse them and soak overnight in a wide mouthed jar. Rinse and drain the peas, return to the jar keep in a cool location away from sunlight, rinsing every 8 to 12 hours for 2-3 days until the sprouts reach the length you want. Then eat them!

5. Wiggly Worms: bring some worms into class and let the kids observe them. Ask questions - do they have eyes? How do we know which is their head or tail? How do they move? Why don’t they suffocate under the soil? (Worms are usually available at a Fishing store) A good way for children to understand how worms break down matter is by having a Vermicomposter in your classroom. Not only will you be able to compost your class food scraps, but also you will have lots of nutritious soil for your plants! Here is a Video on making a Worm Farm .

6. Earth Day Journal: Help the children to create Journals in which to record all the things they do related to nature and the environment, during the next 16 weeks, and beyond! These journals can be simple, or more fancy! Here is a Video on How to Make A Recycled Journal.

Interconnections: Everything that lives on Earth is connected through the air, the water and the soil and nothing can live without the sun. I have uploaded the song This is Me to MySpace. The lyrics illustrate how each person is composed of these elements in addition to being an unfolding story of their own.

Songs: Dolphin Teach us To Play is one of my favorite songs, and it celebrates the joy of being alive! I have also included the Ant Song, to celebrate one of the tiniest creatures. You can listen to it them on MySpace.

Stories: I have chosen two stories: Apple-Seed John and The Ant and the Dove

Wherever you are, if you can take kids outdoors to play each day and introduce them to the wildlife in your neighborhood, that is the greatest gift to them. Obviously it depends where you are located, what the temperature is and so many other factors, but here are a couple of websites that might be helpful:

http://www.beoutthere.org/

http://digg.com/d31ED4Q

Green Action! Focus on water: Conserving water is something we can all do! By saving water we help to do all the following: 8 Tips on Conserving Water ! So this week’s Green Action is to make an effort to use less water. At the end of the week ask children to list all the ways in which they saved water.

Have fun celebrating Life!

In gratitude to the Earth.

Rosie

The Picture for Life created by JC Little: www.littleanimation.com

Photo of Earth fron NASA

Friends With The Earth!

2009-12-30T12:28:00.000-05:00

It’s the end of another year, the end of a decade actually! Is it just me, or does time seem to be speeding up? Our lives appear to be cushioned with timesaving devices and yet everyone claims to be more stressed than ever. The paradox of this modern day life unfolding! The Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen left many, including myself, feeling somewhat disheartened, but after the initial disappointment I picked myself back up and reflected on the next steps. And hence this Blog!

A few years ago someone gave me Jane Goodall’s book. Reason for Hope; it’s a soul-searching journey which ultimately reminds us that there is a deeper mystery that connects us all; that the human spirit is capable of great good; that we live on a phenomenal planet and that we always have the power to affect the lives of those we come in contact with. As Wayne Dyer so aptly puts it, “when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

In my recent research for a new program I’m developing, I discovered Marshall Rosenberg’s work in Nonviolent Communication Marshall’s preoccupation with two questions incited his lifelong pursuit to develop tools with which we can teach children (and adults) the language of Compassionate Communication. The two questions are: “What happens to disconnect us from our compassionate nature, leading us to behave violently and exploitatively? And conversely, what allows some people to stay connected to their compassionate nature under even the most trying circumstances?”

What intrigued me about these questions (and his subsequent response to them), is how they can just as easily be asked of (or applied to), our relationship to the natural world. How do we become friends with each other, and friends with the earth? Since my life is focused on educating children, my response is quite simple, begin at the beginning. Young children are filled with wonder, they marvel at a snowflake, a flower, a bird, an ant or a song; so let’s keep that awe alive and help them to see it in each other and in the world around them.

Lesson Plans:

1. Cultivate Awe! There are so many ways in which to do this, depending on the age of the children you are working with. Here are a few ideas: begin the day with a circle gathering in which you celebrate something different each day! Name ten things daily that you found beautiful. Begin Gratitude Journals – there is so much to be grateful for. Put up a bird feeder where everyone can see it and learn about each bird that visits. Learn about the human body – how many muscles does it take to smile, to frown? This Website about the Human Body has some great links

2. Cultivate Kindness and Compassion:

a) We all want to be accepted and loved it’s a shared human need. Learning about our needs and how to express a request to fulfill them is a large component of Marshall Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication work. Download the List of Needs and the List of Feelings from that website.

b) Create Needs and Feelings cards that children can fill out (young children can use simple drawings or smiley faces); make a Zone of Peace box and invite children to place cards in the box. When in a circle, share some of the cards with everyone (with permission from each individual), or invite children to act out, or mime their card so that everyone can guess what need or feeling they have identified. Discuss each others feelings and needs; by doing this we begin to see that we share similar ones and this helps to open our compassion for others.

c) Practice Random Acts of Kindness Get to know some of the people at a local Seniors Residence; maybe you could write letters to some of them who do not have grandchildren, or invite them to a concert.

d) Support a local, national and global charity thereby broadening the horizon of your compassion.

3. Cultivate Empathy!

"In The End  We will conserve only what we love  We will love only what we understand  and we will understand only what we are taught"  Baba Dioum (Senegal)

a) Learn about the wildlife that lives close to you; in the city, in the suburbs or in the country there is an abundance of life to study. What happens to them when it’s cold, or hot? Where do they go when their habitat is destroyed?

b) Nancy Sokol Green shares an activity called The Feeling Plant which is good for young children. Tell the children that you have discovered a new plant, called the feeling plant, which demonstrates different feelings. Ask them to draw what they imagine a feeling plant looks like; then share the drawings with the whole class and invite them to explain what emotions their plant expresses and how it does that. For example do the leaves of your plant droop when they’re sad or do they flap when it’s excited? Does it use its roots to express any feelings? If so, which ones? Does it use its leaves to express feelings? Which feelings? Do its flowers change color when it feels certain emotions, or does it bloom, or wilt? Finally, ask the children whether they think plants have feelings or not and challenge them to support their answers with reasons.

c) Introduce your students to Koko the gorilla, who learned sign language! When Koko’s kitten was killed she apparently mourned for a year! What does this tell us about animals? Do they have feelings?

Canada Geese are known to mate for life and there are stories about how when one is hurt, it’s mate will not leave it alone. The Love Canada Geese website has some interesting thought about this

Interconnections: Research into the relationship between human wellbeing and the environment is still in its early stages. However, there is increasing evidence that emotional wellbeing is beneficial to our physical health and that an appreciation and Unstructured Experience of the natural world is very important in the developmental growth of young children. We are inextricably connected to the natural world, and it is an extraordinarily beautiful place that sustains us in this precious life, let's teach this to our kids.

Story: I have chosen two stories for this Blog. : The Stars Inside celebrates the beauty and uniqueness of each precious being and The Wolves Within reminds us that we become what we think.

Songs: I have uploaded two songs to my MySpace: that reflect the content of this Blog: Friends with the Earth - this song is beautiful when “signed” and I have shed many a tear watching hundreds of students singing it on Earth Day and Sasparilla’s My Gorilla – which is the story of a gorilla who grows up in a circus. I’d also recommend Red Grammer’s song: See Me Beautiful

I try to keep the songs posted for a couple of weeks after I write each Blog, but if they are no longer there they can be purchased at a variety of on-line stores including iTunes and Amazon

I wish everyone a peaceful and joyful new year and I hope that you will be able to find the time to get out to enjoy this beautiful world. Good health is such a precious gift and a loving community of family and friends a true blessing.

With gratitude for this precious life and beautiful planet.

Rosie

Photo of Mountain Guerilla by Chemainus, BC, Canada

Animation Picture of Rosie and Friends, created by JC Little www.littleanimation.com

There's Only One River, Only One Sea!

2009-12-21T17:18:00.000-05:00

Like millions of others around the world, I am feeling very disappointed in the outcome of the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. I am an optimist who nearly always sees the glass half full, however, having extensively studied the science of global warming and climate change, I know that it does not bode well for us, nor future generations, that these leaders have not been able to act more decisively.

I do, however, think that this lack of strength in leadership will fuel the biggest grass roots movement of all time, and that people everywhere will come together to act locally and globally to mitigate the human impacts that contribute to global warming.

And so, with these thoughts in mind, I am choosing to write about water, (the precious element that covers most of this planet – one of the reasons it is often referred to as the Water Planet), because many of the global effects of a warming planet and climate change relate to water. From rising oceans, to intensified storms systems, droughts and floods, water is inevitably implicated in some way.

Fresh water is a precious resource that millions of people on this planet still have no access to, and many of us who do continue to waste it. In 2008, when Florida was experiencing extreme drought conditions and the city of Atlanta, GA was announcing only 60 days of water left in its reservoir; I was giving a series of workshops in schools about water conservation. I was shocked to find that no one attending those classes knew there was a drought in Florida, not even the teachers. This was astounding to me since it had been constantly talked about in the media. But like our health, we tend to take for granted the precious elements that give us life, until something happens.

Teaching children about water can help to introduce them to the phenomenal essence of life on this planet, which obviously includes us! I always think that it is about wonder; if we can see the wonderment in things then that inspires in us a constant curiosity and delight in the simplest of things.

Water attracts us, draws us to watch it and feel it; who isn’t awed by a perfect rainbow, a magnificent waterfall, a turquoise blue ocean, perfect snow crystals gently falling, or a glass of fresh, cool water on a hot summer’s day? So let’s teach kids how amazing it is, how valuable and important it is to all of us.

Lesson Plans:

1. For older children: How does sea ice form? We hear so much talk these days about the arctic ice melting, but what are the conditions for its formation and why does it float? How does it form in rough water? This Arctic Theme Page has some of the answers that you might want to share with your students.

2. Earth is often referred to as the Water Planet with only one ocean. I produced this short Video for the Curious Kids Nature Club that provides some insights.

3. Learn about your watershed. Everyone lives on a watershed, and that watershed affects the streams, rivers, lakes and of course, the ocean. Many who live inland do not realize that they are intricately connected to the ocean. Here are a list of Links about watersheds.

The Canadian Wildlife Federation also has some good information.

And here is a Watershed Game !

4. Do a water audit with the kids! This means that they have to look at all the ways in which they use water and figure out how they can use less. For example, how long is the shower they take? Here’s a List of 25 ways in which to conserve water at home and in the yard. Play the Footprint Game

This USGS Website has some interesting insights about water!

Interconnections: Tell the story of a river. What is the closest river to you? Find out and learn about it with your students. Who lives up-stream? Who lives downstream? A River Reborn is a really inspiring film about the restoration of Fossil Creek – it clearly demonstrates how a river impacts so many Water connects us all and therefore it is in all of our interests to protect it.

Song: I have uploaded two songs to my MySpace page for this Blog: There’s Only One River, Only One Sea was recorded with my kids twenty years ago! The message remains today. The second song is The Rainbow Road – I wrote this song for a music tour that I organized – it traveled across Canada and the US for five years visiting hundreds of elementary schools. The message was one of collaboration, of working together to heal the wounds that have been inflicted on all life. That spirit is needed today and always; we cannot face the up-coming challenges alone, we must work together and help each other.

Story: Since the rainbow is such a beautiful manifestation of water, I have chosen the Legend of the Rainbow Warrior, which is one of my favorite legends.

On this eve of the Winter Solstice here in the northern hemisphere, the light will begin to return and with it, I hope, the wisdom and clarity that we need in this world, as we move forward.

I would like to thank my followers – I hope that these pages bring you some useful ideas. Thank you also for your comments, which are greatly appreciated.
In gratitude for life and for water!
Rosie

Photo of the River Brahmaputra in Assam by Deepraj (From Wikimedia)

The Seagull

2009-12-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

One of the most ubiquitous birds found in urban centers is the seagull, specifically the herring gull; so, not surprisingly, this very graceful bird is oftentimes seen as a pest rather than the beautiful creature that it is.

As I continue the process of developing an educational resource package for early childhood educators, I am exploring ways in which to introduce young children to urban critters. Birds are fairly easy to spot in cities, and are therefore a good place to begin when introducing children to local wildlife.

We can become blind or uninterested in more pervasive species such as sparrows, pigeons, crows and seagulls; maybe just because they are so common. But for a child, a living creature can be a thing of wonder so drawing their attention to the smallest of our feathered friends can lay the foundation for a lifetime love of nature.

The book, Jonathan Livingston Seagull remains one of my favorite reads for I think that it contains great wisdom. I once rescued a seagull that had been hurt by some kids at a park in Montreal. My children, who were with me at the time, found a cardboard box, and we placed the injured bird inside and took it back to the country with us. Of course we named him (we presumed it was a he) Jonathan!

Jonathan stayed with us for a few weeks while his wing healed. He wasn’t the friendliest fellow, but given the painful experience of his attack one could certainly forgive his ornery beahavior! One day I just knew that it was time for him to go, so we took him outside and he lifted off into the air and disappeared. We felt a little sad, since he had become a familiar presence in our kitchen, where he held court from his box.

Later that morning, as I was cleaning upstairs, I heard Sam, our goose, making a huge kerfuffle outside. I ran down to see what was going on, and there was Jonathan circling low over the house. I called the kids and we waved, calling, “goodbye, be well”; after one more circle he took off and we never saw him again. For us it was a beautiful gift because it seemed that he had actually returned to let us know he appreciated what we had done for him.

There is good information available on herring gulls at the Hinterland Website

Herring gulls usually lay their eggs in mid-late April, depending on their location and the young chicks leave the nest around the end of June, early July.

I found an interesting tidbit about gulls: biologists recently observed that herring and ring-billed gulls not only watch their neighbors, they mimic their behavior to assure their survival. A University of Montreal study found that when their immediate neighbors were alert, the gulls closest to them were less relaxed, and when the neighbors were relaxed, so too were the others.

Lesson Plans:

1. How many bird species can the children see in one day around your class or your home. Create Bird-watching journals so they can note down which species they see; what kinds of behavior do they observe in the common species such as gulls, sparrows and crows.

2. What do the birds in your neighborhood eat? What about in winter, how do the seagulls survive? Do they migrate south, or do they stay in the cities?

3. Get the children involved in a local or national : Bird Count

4. Here is a good lesson plan from National Geographic about Arctic terns; these incredible birds travel over 22,000 miles each year from the Arctic to the Antarctic!

5. Many people have bird feeders, and there are plenty of small birds that benefit from the food they receive, especially in cold climates. So why should we not feed birds like seagulls? One reason is that they can become quite aggressive and have been known to dive-bomb people. What do your students think?

Interconnections:

Unfortunately seagulls have become adept at dumpster diving meaning that they have become accustomed to feeding in landfills and dumpsters. This has resulted in an explosion in their populations causing them to be seen in many areas as pests. One of the more dangerous aspects of this habit is the fact that many dumps are located close to airports since people do not want to be close to either smell or noise! The Federal Aviation Administration is concerned about this and they have funded a number of studies, which have shown some interesting results. You can read more about this here: Loafing at the Landfill

Song: I have uploaded The Seagull song onto my MySpace page.

I wrote this song after Jonathan’s visit, and it is still one of my favorite songs.

Story: I could not find a story about a seagull, apart from Jonathan Livingston Seagull! But I discovered a sweet story about another common urban bird, the sparrow; this one is a Cherokee Legend called: Why The Trees Lose Their Leaves

My father was a birder, and while I don’t go out specifically to bird watch, I am very connected to birds and can immediately hear a new call in my neighborhood, or feel joy at the sound of a cardinal calling in the morning. A friend used to laugh at me because I could spot a hawk in a tree on the side of the highway from afar (while I was driving)! If you are not already inspired by these feathered creatures, I hope that this Blog might encourage you to discover more about them with kids.

In joy and gratitude for the beauty of this earth,

Rosie

Photo of Herring Gull: Kurt Kulac Wikimedia Commons

Photo of Herring Gull chick – John Haslam, Wikimedia Commons

Everyone Is Special!

2009-12-09T21:52:00.000-05:00

In the run up to Christmas, I had been pondering about what to write in my Blog. Years ago, I recorded a song with my kids and step-kids, called Everyone Is Special. I remember a magic moment with snow falling, and all the kids in the car, Christmas lights everywhere and suddenly there was our song on the radio! I pulled over to the side of the road and we listened; it was magical. To this day, tears come to my eyes as I listen to their sweet voices ringing out and I’m just so glad that they got a chance to hear it playing on the radio!

So then last night, on my way to bed, a book fell off the shelf at my feet…it was the Snow Goose by Paul Gallico. Needless to say, I read the story into the wee hours of the night, my heart opened once again by the beauty and poignancy of this tale. Hence today’s Blog unfolds, guided by the deeper current that carries us all along on this journey of life.

It’s a snowy night outside, and as I write these words I think of the hunchback, Rhayader, the protagonist of the story; of the young girl whose fear of him is overcome by her curiosity and of the beautiful snow goose, whose visits bring comfort and friendship to a lonely man whose deformed body has ostracized him from society.

I believe that everyone is special in some way; not necessarily in an egoic way but rather from the Tibetan Buddhist perspective that every human life is a precious birth. I think we all bring something to the table, each person’s life a unique thread in the tapestry that binds us all.

Snow geese are incredible birds that can make non-stop flights of up to 1000 km. Like the Canada goose they are believed to mate for life. They spend the winter months in the southern United States where they live in coastal wetlands, marshes and grasslands feeding on grasses and grains. At the end of the spring they gather in large numbers before migrating north to their summer breeding grounds on the Arctic tundra. Females usually lay between two to six eggs and when chicks hatch, they are able to swim within 24 hours!

Lesson Plans:

1. Celebrating our differences can help us to become more conscious of our commonalities. At times like Christmas, it is a great opportunity to learn about other people’s celebrations. Kwanzaa is one such celebration, another is Hanukkah and the Solstice yet another

Invite the children to research these and share what things are similar to their own tradition, or not.

2. For younger children, tell them the story of the Snow Goose. Do they know of anyone who is “different”? Can they share what it might feel like if no one liked you, or if people avoided you because of the way you appeared? What could they do that would be kind in a situation like that?

3. How can we help each other? At this time of year there are so many people in need, many who are lonely. Is there something that the children could do, perhaps write some letters to people at an old age home, or have a food collect for the homeless.

Interconnections:

The snow geese link the north and the south; they spend time in both places. What are some of the similarities between these regions? Ask children to investigate this. One example is the abundance of grasses and coastal wetlands. What about predators? Hawks, foxes and eagles are found in both regions, but may not necessarily be exactly the same ones.

Information about Greater Snow Geese

Song: Everyone is Special: I have uploaded it onto my MySpace page up until Christmas. The song is in English and French.

Story: The Ballad of the Snow Goose

Snow Geese Flying Video

Another video of Snow Geese

May you have a beautiful Christmas or holiday season; I personally love to celebrate the Winter Solstice as well as Christmas; for me it is about connecting to a celebration that is linked directly to the season; a time to honor the darkness and welcome the light back into our days and our lives. Whatever you celebrate, may we all reach out with compassion to those less fortunate than ourselves and rejoice in giving kindness and love.

Blessings and light,

In gratitude always, for this precious life.

Rosie

Photo: Snow geese flying: Chris Hazzard Wikimedia Commons

Photo Geese on ground: Walter Siegmund

The Mating Game!

2009-12-05T20:41:00.001-05:00

This Blog is inspired by a song that I wrote many years ago, called the Mating Game, which was in turn inspired by the bower bird, that lives in Australia! When I first began to write songs for kids about animals, I was always searching for fascinating creatures to write about. Well, there are certainly plenty of amazing critters living on this earth and the bower bird is definitely one of the more colorful characters!

Male bower birds have a complex mating behavior. Unlike other birds who might rely on a pretty tune, or a fabulous plumage display to entice the opposite sex, the male bower builds a great house! And, not only does he build it, he decorates it with colorful items; everything from feathers, to shells and berries, even colorful flowers or feathers, anything to spice up the décor! The iridescent blue Satin bower birds

(pictured above) even paint the walls of their structures, mashing up berries for pigment and using twigs as brushes! Apparently female bower birds like the color blue!

What really grabbed my attention (as if that wasn’t enough), was the fact that these elaborate constructions are not to used as family homes but rather as a bachelor pad from which the males can attract a bevy of females! Hello! Sorry, but images of guys cruising in their cars sprang to mind!

So then I began to look at other birds and their mating rituals and of course I found plenty more cool characters! Male weaver birds, for example, build elaborate nests (like the ones pictured here) and then hang upside down from the structure, flapping their wings, to grab the attention of females. Watch a Video of male weavers building their nests.

The lyre bird actually clears a space, like a dance floor, in the forest and then proceeds to imitate the calls of other birds he hears around him! They can copy the sounds of at least twenty other species as well as a variety of sounds they hear in the forest. If you watch This Video you will hear one imitating a camera shutter, a chain saw and an alarm signal!

When the argus pheasant throws up his wings to impress a female, an incredible display of eyes greets her! This photo shows an argus pheasant, but not the display – you can find photos on-line to show the kids, but I could not find one in the public domain other than this one.

Lesson Plans:

1. For older Grades, there is a very interesting evolutionary genetic consequence that could possibly result from the bower bird’s architectural prowess. It would have to do with the fact that it is the bird with the most elaborate bower who attracts the most females, not the bird with the brightest feathers! The result of course night be that other genetic strengths, such as color, weight might be affected. Here is an interesting Article on bird body language.

2. Show younger kids the videos of a bower bird Making His Bower, or find pictures to show them. Then invite them to draw or paint a picture of what their bower would be like!

3. How do humans attract the opposite sex? What are some of the similarities between humans and these birds? That could be a fun discussion!

4. It is the male weaver bird that build the nest; what other male animals demonstrate good mate behavior? A hint – penguins, sea horses and emus.

Story: A Tale of Two Birds ofParadise

Songs: I have uploaded two songs to my MySpace page – The Mating Game and the Boys do Their Share!

The natural world never ceases to amaze me, and I still believe that by introducing children to its splendors we are providing them with the greatest environmental lessons available.

"In The End  We will conserve only what we love  We will love only what we understand  and we will understand only what we are taught" ~ Baba Dioum (Senegal)

As a child, I was fortunate enough to have a governess called Jo (mainly because there were no appropriate schools close to my home) and she began each day by opening National Geographic! Together with my three classmates, we would explore the world, article by article! As you can imagine, my young girl’s imagination flourished as I traveled the globe. Looking back, I can appreciate now the magnitude of the gift that she gave me.

Have fun exploring with your kids!

In gratitude to the earth and all life,

Rosie

The photos I use in most of my Blogs come from the Creative Commons at Wikimedia

The Satin Bower Bird photo is by Brett Donald

The Lyrebird photo is by Attis

The Argus Pheasant is by Stavenn

I thank all the photographers who share their work with us in this way.

Slip, Slitheree Dee!

2009-11-30T16:53:00.001-05:00

Photo: Andei9174

Yep, you got it, snakes! This blog is all about snakes and how we can teach kids about them in a responsible way! If a snake crosses my path when I am in the garden, I jump – I think it‘s just a normal human reaction! Snakes can be dangerous and our survival response is flight!

But snakes can also be fascinating, and there are so many different species of snake in the world to learn about! Snakes are important inhabitants of natural ecosystems, helping to maintain balance and health within habitats. All snakes are predators and, depending on the size and species, they feed on a variety of invertebrates from insects, worms and slugs to lizards, birds, fish and even some small mammals.

Since I am currently in Montreal, I’ll begin with a snake that is found here in Quebec and then go to one found in Florida! Quebec is home to a couple of species of Garter snakes, the Eastern Ribbon snake (pictured above) and the Common Garter snake (pictured below).

The Eastern Ribbon snake is similar in appearance to the Garter snake, but it has a slightly longer tail. Their preferred habitat is wetlands, or the edges of lakes, ponds and streams especially since frogs are their favorite meal! They are good swimmers and are quite at home in or out of the water.

Photo:NPS US Gov

The Common Garter snake is found right across Canada and in many of States of the USA including Florida. The eastern Ribbon snake is only found in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec and is Threatened in Nova Scotia.

Garter snakes are the most common of snakes and are completely harmless, though they might give you a nip if you pick them up and they are likely to secrete a foul-smelling fluid from anal glands if they are frightened! When hunting for prey they primarily use sight, however they combine their taste and smell by using Jacobson's Organ which is located in the roof of their mouth. They feed mostly on earthworms and amphibians and their saliva appears to be toxic to these species, though not to humans.

Garter snakes hibernate through the winter and generally mate after emerging from hibernation in the spring. Females give birth to live young in the late spring/early summer and may birth up to 40 in a litter.

The Florida Cottonmouth snake is a poisonous snake; it lives in the swamps, rivers and wetlands of the southeastern United States. Often called simply cottonmouth or water moccasin, these reptiles range from Virginia west to Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and around the Gulf States to Texas. This is a fairly large, thick-bodied snake, which can grow up to four or five feet long. They live along streams, rivers, edges of lakes and ponds and roadside ditches. If you come across one, leave it alone because they can be aggressive. Cottonmouth’s are sometimes confused with other snakes such as the Banded Water snake; the body of the Cottonmouth is dark brown though young snakes are more brightly colored with reddish-brown bands on a brown base.

Like rattlesnakes, cottonmouths have two facial pits on either side of the head, which enable them to detect their prey by detecting the heat of the body. All snakes that have these sensory pits are in the pit-viper family. Cottonmouths feed mostly on frogs, amphibians, fish, turtles and small mammals like rats. They are more active at night and their heat detection system helps them to seek out prey.

Cottonmouth females also give birth to live babies and usually births about 15 baby snakes that measure about 7 inches at birth.

Lesson Plans:

1. Ask your students to draw a Food Web that includes a snake. Remind them that all food webs begin with green plants.

2. Snakes live in almost every region of the world. Your students are going to become amateur herpetologists . Invite each student to choose s particular species of snake to study. They can use the library or the internet, and their final report should include: physical characteristics; behavior; biology; prey; country and range where they are commonly found. When all the students have completed the project, collect the reports and include them in a binder that can be shared with the whole class.

Interesting fact: snakes cannot crawl backwards – they can only go forwards!

Interconnections: Snakes are an important component in ecosystems and also in Food webs. An example food chain might look like this: a green plant >an insect>a frog>a snake>a hawk. Snakes prey on a variety of species thereby helping to maintain a balance in ecosystems.

Story: The Boy and the Rattlesnake

Song: I have uploaded two songs to my MySpace page about snakes – Wanda the Anaconda and Slip, Slitheree Dee!

Here is a short Video of Garter snakes swarming together in a backyard.

Remember, snakes are not slimy, they have dry skin! I hope your journey of discovering snakes will be an interesting learning experience! Snakes play such an important role in habitats and I think it's important for people to understand it so that snakes are not just killed for sport, or needlessly vilified.

With gratitude for life!

Rosie

Mighty Monarch of the Ocean!

2009-11-27T16:09:00.001-05:00

Photo of Humpback whale from Wikipedia by Zorankovacevic

It is the eve of American Thanksgiving, and I am thinking about being thankful, giving thanks for all that we have. For some reason the Whale song, popped into my head. First Nations people often refer to whales as the Record Keepers, the ones who have been here since time began.

I was lucky enough to visit Kuujjuaq in northern Quebec a few years ago. The Inuit people who live there were very gracious to me, and during my stay, some of the Elder women took me with them to visit nearby islands which are a special place to them. Whales are sacred to the Inuit, and their livelihood in times gone by was totally dependent on these majestic animals. When I left, the women gifted me with an ulu necklace made from whale bone. An ulu is a kind of knife, shaped like the tail of a whale; it is usually made from bone. I felt deeply honored to have been given this gift.

A few years later, I decided to write a song about whales. I was having a hard time finding the melody and just couldn’t find the song! I suddenly remembered the ulu necklace and thought it might help me find the inspiration I needed!! I went looking for it, but couldn't find it anywhere. Finally I gave up and went to bed. The next morning when I awoke, the necklace was lying on the floor. I kid you not! I put on the necklace, went into the living room, picked up my guitar and Mighty Monarch of the Ocean just flowed right out! That is the magic of whales; they are ancient creatures that have watched this world unfold from the depths of their watery kingdom.

Whales are Cetaceans, aquatic mammals that include whales, dolphins and porpoises. There are two types of cetaceans, those that have teeth and those that have baleen. The order Cetacea is again divided into three subgroups:

Ondontoceti: Otherwise known as toothed whales this group includes over 65 different species of dolphins, porpoises and whales such as the belugas, narwhals and sperm whales. All of these have teeth and toothed whales feed mostly on squid and fish.

Mysticeti: otherwise known as moustached whales, this group includes ten living species of baleen whales including the blue whale, which is the largest animal on earth – 100 ft! Also included are the minke, humpback and grey whales.

The Archaeoceti: these were the ancient whales that are now extinct.

There is so much to learn about whales and there are some great websites from which to learn. Whales, like all ocean creatures are impacted by the health of the ocean and whales and dolphins are particularly impacted by sonar.

We all have an effect on the ocean, even if we live inland, because everyone lives on a watershed - this is the area of land from which the rivers, canals, streams and underground aquifers feed into the estuaries and then the ocean. When it rains, all that water runs into one or other of these aquatic systems. Harmful pollutants such as pesticides, herbicides, oil, paint, car oil and pet waste all mingle with that water and eventually end up in the ocean. Minimal, if any, use of such products, coupled with responsible disposal of hazardous and pet waste can help to minimize pollutants reaching the ocean.

Lessons Plans:

1. The Blue Whale is the largest mammal on earth and they have been seen in every ocean. What are the names of the different oceans? Explore on a globe, the possible routes that Blue Whales might travel.

2. Whales sing to each other and their songs echo through the water for hundreds of miles. Find a CD of whale songs and invite the children to sit quietly with their eyes closed and listen. Look at some pictures of different whale species, then invite the children to write a story about a whale; or paint a picture. I heard a biologist tell of two whales communicating to each other over a thousand-mile distance!

3. Watch the film The Whale Ride ; it is quite beautiful and very inspiring.

4. Whales are sometimes found beached, meaning that they are washed up on the shore. It is still a mystery as to why this happens, but when it does people come together to do everything they can to help. This Video shows a group of people in Australia doing this.

Story: The story of Finbo the Blue Whale:

Interconnections: Because many of them travel such large distances, whales have some interesting interconnections. They interact with very different habitats, for example grey whales travel from Alaska to Baha, California. The relationship between whales and krill is remarkable; blue whales and humpbacks are dependent on these tiny, shrimp-like marine invertebrates. Such large creatures feed on such a tiny organism!

Song: I have up-loaded my song, The Mighty Monarch of the Ocean to MySpace along with the lyrics – this is the song that was inspired by my ulu necklace! The song begins with whales singing.

Other ideas:

David’s Book The Thousand Mile Song is quite fascinating!

David Rothenberg plays music with belugas in Russia on this YouTube Video

I hope you have enjoyed this short exploration of whales. I am so grateful that I have actually seen them in the ocean and been close enough to hear the sound of the water spouting from their blowholes. It is an awesome sound, evocative of ancient times!

With thanks to the Earth and all life!

Rosie

Hitching a Ride!

2009-11-22T17:24:00.000-05:00

This is an exciting Blog-day for me since the subject matter is closely connected to the source that ignited my passion for teaching through songs!

My lessons in interconnectivity likely began (unbeknownst to me) as a child; I was fortunate enough to be able to roam the mystical Sherwood Forest on my pony for hours on end. In those days of innocence, I wandered freely through the countryside with no worries or fears, only a thirst to explore, to discover new things, and a fierce curiosity for a landscape that beckoned with exciting possibilities.

I could gaze timelessly into a pond, watching the water spiders and tadpoles skimming and swimming about; lie under the horse chestnut trees pondering the rays of light illuminating the green of the leaves and imagine myself the heroine of the Pony Express as I zipped across fields and glades. I realize now how much those unconstructed ramblings were the curriculum that fuelled my life, grounding in me a core understanding of my own interdependence to the earth and a cosmology that fostered an inherent sense of belonging.

It was in 1989, after attending a workshop called A Council of All Beings , given by John Seed, that I decided to devote this life to teaching children how all of life is interconnected. We’re All Interconnected was my first song for kids about nature, and the rest is history!

Not long after those moments, I discovered a little book called The Medusa and the snail by Lewis Thomas This fascinating tale follows the life cycles of a particular jellyfish (the medusa) and a snail (the nudibranch). The two creatures, living in the Bay of Naples, are thrown together in a bizarre symbiotic relationship that results in them both ingesting each other with the survival of their species literally depending upon this act!

Biologists studying the medusa had observed that it swallowed the spawn of the nudibranch, as it would other marine creatures. However, they saw that the nudibranch spawn was not digested by the medusa but rather lodged itself inside the body and began to eat it from the inside out until the medusa ended up as a tiny appendage near the mouth of the enlarged nudibranch!

Under controlled observation it was established that neither the medusa nor the nudibranch would spawn if they did not undergo this process of ingestion and growing; in fact they seem to actually seek each other out in order to play out this bizarre life cycle!

I was quite captivated by this relationship and it sparked in me a voracious appetite to discover more about symbiosis and interrelationships in nature! I thought that by introducing children to such incredible adventures of life, I could perhaps spark their curiosity and thirst for learning!

Therefore, in this Blog I would like to share with you some examples of species that hitch a ride and hopefully ignite your curiosity, so that you too might be moved to explore the subject with your students or children!

I wrote the song Hitching a Ride about the Giant Harlequin beetle, (pictured above) which lives in the Panamanian rainforest. Tiny creatures called Pseudoscorpions, also live in these forests and they feed on the wood of decaying fig trees. In order to travel to new trees in search of fresh food sources, they have developed a clever strategy; they hitch a ride under the wings of the Giant Harlequin beetle! But wait, the story gets even better! As the beetle flies off with the pseudoscorpions on board, an intricate mating game begins, with the males competing in a sexual dance for the most females! The song describes it all in a fun way and I am sure older students will get a kick out of it!

Of course there are many other examples of species hitching rides that are not quite so colorful and which in fact have rather dire consequences for other species. Some familiar ones would be ticks and chiggers both of which might have ended up on any of us as we trail out in the woods of many States and provinces in North America.

Then of course there are the invasive species, which wreak havoc on ecosystems in which they are introduced. In Florida, for example, the introduction of giant boa constrictors is causing devastation to many native species. Often these snakes are bought as pets and then released after owners find them to be too much to handle. Here is some more information on Invasive Species in America.

Hawaii provides plenty of opportunity to study species that have hitched a ride; aside from the monk seal and the Hawaiian hoary bat, there are no mammals that are actually native to the island. All living species that live in Hawaii arrived there by boat, wind or water. Unfortunately, species like the feral pig, the rat and the mongoose hitched a ride in the boats of the first human inhabitants. Today the fear is that the brown Guam tree snake will hitch a ride on a boat; if it does then many bird species would be at risk from predation by this snake.

There are plenty of examples in the ocean of species hitching a ride on another species. This photo shows remoras that are attached to a giant manta ray. (Photo by Mila Zinkora/Wikipedia Commons)

It is commonly thought that the their relationship is one of Commensalism since the remoras feed on the scraps of food left by their host, and there does not seem to be a benefit to the ray.

Another story I discovered this week is one about a sea horse– it seems that this one hitched a LONG ride on some floating weeds!

Lesson Plans:

1. I have mentioned several species in this article that hitch a ride; ask the students to discover some others. Can they list the advantages for to these species of seeking rides on others species; for example the pseudoscorpions are freely transported to new food sources by riding on the harlequin beetles.

2. Tell younger children the story of the sea horse or the Legend of the Hermit Thrush (below). Invite them to draw some pictures of these animals that hitchhike on another!

3. Here are a bunch of Lesson Plans that I found, so rather than repeat them I am going to share the links: Invasive Species - Growing Native Plants – Invasive Species Gamel – More Lesson Plans

4. Planting native plant species is a good way to protect the ecosystems and habitats of your region. Invite the kids to find out which plant species are native to your area and then have a fundraiser to raise funds to allow you to purchase some, and then plant them!

Interconnections! The subject matter for this particular blog is really all about interconnections! The study of Mutualism is quite appropriate here; Clown Fish provide an excellent example of mutualism.

Interconnections between plants and the species that pollinate offers more insight into interdependence. On a trip to Kauai I had the good fortune to meet an incredible man, called Steve Perlman, a botanist who works with the National Tropical Botanical Gardens. Steve literally hung out from a helicopter to pollinate the alula plant (Brighamia) which was endangered due to the demise of a particular species of moth which had co-evolved with the plant and was, I believe, it's sole pollinator. I have posted a video on my MySpace page Blog of Steve climbing the cliff face to reach the plant! The views of Hawaii are quite spectacular and what he does is just incredible! He is a truly Hero of our Planet! Steve once shared with me that he spent the night camped out beside a loulu tree on the island of Molokai because it was the last of its kind and he wanted to keep it company! I was really touched by that, and it made me think deeply about what it is to be endangered! But that is for another Blog!

Story: The Legend of the Hermit Thrush – When I walked in the forest near my home in the Laurentian Mountains, I would hear the most beautiful song early in the morning and at dusk. I could never see the bird singing this exquisite melody even though I tried my hardest to find out who it was! Then one day I discovered this story and therein lay the answer. The song of the Hermit thrush is beautiful; I am sure if you have heard it, you know what I mean!

And finally, the song! I have uploaded Hitching a Ride to my MySpace page along with the lyrics. It is a free download for as long as it is up there, otherwise it is available for purchase on iTunes. (Rosie Emery/We’re All Interconnected)

I hope you have fun with this subject – please let me know if I can be of any help and also if you have any feedback I would welcome it. How can I make this Blog more interesting for you – suggestions etc. I invite you to become a Fan of my Facebook page - I have just started it and intend to use it to explore further ways of incorporating songs and music into education.

“The goal of life is to make your heartbeat

Match the beat of the universe,

To match your nature with nature.” Joseph Campbell

In joy and gratitude to the earth, and all life.

Rosie