environmental education
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We Need to Protect Our Watersheds. But What Exactly Is a Watershed?
You’ve see the signs along the highway, “Entering the XX Watershed.” But what does that mean? Maybe you’ve also read about or seen signs for a watershed association. But what, exactly, is a watershed? Simply defined, a watershed is the area of land between ridges where precipitation collects. As you may remember from Science class, most of this precipitation runs off through rivers and their tributaries, but some of it seeps into the ground, adding to the water table beneath the surface. This water table is where most of our drinking water comes from. No matter where you live, you are an essential part of a watershed. These areas are…
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Lessons from Rachel Carson for a New Generation
Middle-schoolers and their families looking for engaging ways to learn about nature and ecology concepts will enjoy Rachel Carson and Ecology for Kids: Her Life and Ideas,with 21 Activities and Experiments. The book follows Rachel Carson’s life, from her childhood adventures growing up in the woods along the Allegheny River, through her environmental work for the United States government and her successful and sometimes controversial writing career during a time that the concept of a “woman scientist” was unthinkable. Credited by many to be the inspiration behind the modern-day environmental movement, Carson was a true ecologist, before ecology was widely recognized as its own discipline. Her work led to government…
