April 2011 Archives

Starting Earth Day 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners are sharing stories about how accelerating climate change is impacting or may impact fish and wildlife where you live.

As detailed on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife blog, Open Spaces, where the stories are being posted, "Each weekday for 50 consecutive weekdays we are rolling out a new story from a different state. Our aim is to show the broad scope of changes and emerging trends we're just beginning to understand, as well as collaborative efforts to respond across the nation."

Earth Day was last Friday. For those of you who are counting, that means that this Friday marks the sixth days of climate change stories. A good time for a little Five for Friday feature, I figured.

The first five stories posted on the Open Spaces blog are:

1. California: Incorporating Climate Change into Planning California's Bay-Delta Future
2. Idaho: Streamflow Responses to Climate Change - Why Elevation and Geology Matter
3. Louisiana: Re-planting Forests, Reducing CO2 and Saving Wildlife
4. Missouri: Climate Concerns Add to Challenges Facing Sturgeon Recovery Efforts
5. Massachusetts: Changes at Walden Pond

I remember reading a book about a young girl who wanted three things out of life: 1) to travel to faraway lands, 2) to live by the sea, and 3) to make the world a more beautiful place.  
She traveled the world and bought a house by the ocean, but she didn't know how to make the world more beautiful. For a while she was unsure what to do to make the world more beautiful, and then she had an idea.  Her neighbors all thought she was crazy when they saw her scattering seeds, but then in the spring beautiful lupine flowers bloomed everywhere, bringing smiles and beauty to the neighborhood.

I think all of us at some point in our lives want to make the world "more beautiful." There are ways of making the world a better place other than by enhancing its physical beauty, however. For example, the boy who organizes a bake sale for the local Red Cross...the high school volleyball team that volunteers to play bingo at a nursing home across town...  

...Can you think of someone you consider a hero?  Do you want to reward them for their kindness and courage and initiative?  Why not nominate them for The Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes?

Well, faithful readers craving geographical knowledge: The time has come for me to bid you farewell.

It has been a fun ride, and I have enjoyed each and every moment immensely.  I remember quite clearly January 17 when I rode the Washington, D.C. mass transit system known as the "Metro" for the first time by myself and walked through the doors of the National Geographic Society's M Street Building to meet eight other Geography Interns "under the stars"  (that is, in the building's main lobby, which has a ceiling display of lights that looks like stars). Today, I will exit the way I came in--but with many new friends and a mountain of new memories to accompany me on my next adventure.

View Larger Map Map of Cinnabon stores created by Google Maps.

Tax Day: A day each year that most anticipate as one of stress and strain and pocketbooks being relieved of funds.  What can offset such feelings of doom and despair?  How about a massage or a scoop of ice cream or free copies of your tax return?  

Let's take a look at some Tax Day deals that are sure to have you grinning from ear-to-ear.

Food

What better way to perk up than a nice, sugar-filled snack?  Maggie Moo's Ice Cream is serving up three-ounce sundaes from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.  The ice creamery is owned by Global Franchise Group, LLC, which is headquartered in Fulton County, Georgia. Stores can be found in 43 states, Puerto Rico, and Singapore.  If you can't find a Maggie Moo's near you, look for a Cinnabon (all locations in the U.S. are mapped above). The pastry providers are offering free bites of yummy cinnamon goodness on Tax Day!

This week, April 10-16, 2011, is National Environmental Education Week, also known as EEWeek.  EE Week is held every year the week before Earth Day to promote environmental learning and stewardship among primary and secondary school students.

This year's theme is "Ocean Connections."  There are many activities for students to participate in, including the 2011 Photo Blog Contest, and an electronic field trip about pollinators taking place on April 13. Additionally, broadcast meteorologists have put together presentations explaining how the ocean affects weather patterns, which are available for students to view online.  If you want to participate, register today and begin learning about your surroundings!

Unless you have been living in a hole in the middle of the Pacific on an uninhabited island with no communication with the outside world, you have probably heard about this year's NCAA men's college basketball tournament (fondly known as "March Madness").  Each year during the tourney betting pools are created, brackets are filled out, and many hours of passionate, tense, but oh-so-exciting basketball action are watched--and it all leads up to the FINAL FOUR!  

This year the last four teams left standing were: University of Kentucky (Lexington, KY), University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT), Butler University (Indianapolis, IN), and Virginia Commonwealth University (Richmond, VA).  In a classic David-versus-Goliath kind of showdown, Goliath (a.k.a. UCONN) prevailed over the small but mighty (and sadly unsuccessful) Butler Bulldogs.  However, what I would like to bring to your attention today has more lasting impacts than a trophy.  This year the NCAA Final Four took one for the team and played it ecologically and environmentally friendly.

1. Cleaning products
Bracket Town hosted thousands of fans this year who flocked to Houston to watch the grand finale of college basketball.  Thousands of fans equates to millions of nasty little microscopic germs just waiting to find a host--Germ-X please!  This year all of the cleaning products used at Bracket Town were certified by Green Seal.  Instead of adding more toxic substances to the environment, Green Seal products lessen toxic exposure. Clean, but not harmful--the perfect combination for slightly germophobic people like me.

Teachers are highly adaptable creatures. For example: The vinegar required for the volcano demonstration in science class today spills--students have to watch the experiment online instead.  While discussing Uncle Tom's Cabin in English class, a political debate ensues and there is nearly an all-out brawl that must be resolved.

While some might consider these extreme examples of situations requiring innovation, many teachers would tell you they are an everyday reality of life in the classroom. Since flexibility and creativity are constant requirements for survival as a teacher, why not be rewarded for your professional agility?

"Nature's first green is gold, her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf's a flower, but only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf, so Eden sank to grief. So dawn goes down to day, nothing gold can stay."  

That is the only bit of poetry I have ever been able to memorize.  It is a poem by Robert Frost titled "Nothing Gold Can Stay," and I read it when I was in eighth grade in Mrs. Milton's English class.  Why have I remembered it all of these years?  I really couldn't say.  It might be because I read it as a passage in the book, The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and I found it fitting and descriptive of the story at the time.  Plus, we spent weeks memorizing it and reciting those short eight lines of verse in class.  April is National Poetry and National Humor Month.  Today, let's take a look at what poetry and laughter have to offer in educational settings.

More teaching resources

When we asked educators to review our old education site, they asked for more diverse types of teaching resources.  Indeed, this website has numerous teaching resources ranging from classroom activities to multimedia to reference and news materials.  My personal favorite right now is the Current Event Connection that links to all sorts of information about the Japan earthquake.  There is never a better time to teach geography than when you can connect it with a current event that is happening in real time.

Answers

It's okay. You can say it. Despite following this blog religiously, you don't know exactly what geography is, at least not in a way that you can explain succinctly. What is geography? Why geography? Nat Geo Knows! At NatGeoEd.org, you can get answers to these and many other questions on educational topics. Check out our fun "Nat Geo Knows" videos, which highlight some of the ways our new website can help you find the answers you seek.