Have You Thanked a Tree Today?

Reciprocity

Reciprocity is an exchange with equal benefits for all parties. This is a concept that I am thinking about a lot more these days for a number of reasons but primarily because I'm listening to the book Breading Sweetgrass by biologist Robin Wall Kimmerer.

KristinReiberHarris

Learning about Trees and More:  Braiding Sweetgrass

Braiding Sweetgrass is a beautifully written thesis featuring her sensibilities as a woman, scientist and a Citizen of the Potawatomi Nation. It has been a delightful, informative experience with almost 4 hours of listening to go. She has a beautiful voice which makes the it even more enjoyable. I am quite sure no actor could imbue her work with the enthusiasm she feels or pronounce the Potawatomi language correctly.

Artist's Intuition Meets Science Fact

Falling Leaves

I love watching leaves falling. I created this short animation last Fall to celebrate this annual event. In the process, I researched why leaves fall. Something I had never really questioned before...it just happened. Turns out, trees release their leaves because they are a liability during winter. Maybe everybody else knows this, I just had not wondered. I was too caught up in enjoying the show.

I believe my anecdotal experience indicates that focusing on even brief phenomena in the natural world can generate questions and substantive learning experiences. A new resource is providing evidence from science educators that this is true.

NAAEE

My stumbling onto the North American Association for Environmental Education website, via Twitter was a very fortuitous event. I am discovering a treasure trove of opportunities and resources for my project Anim8Nature, helping children connect to nature.