Science Current Events | Science News | Brightsurf.com
 
Email a Friend Send to a friend
Printer Friendly Print Ecologists work to link kids with nature

Ecologists work to link kids with nature

August 08, 2007

Symposium will feature 'Last Child in the Woods' author Richard Louv

"Cable television and video games are winning out over more traditional outdoor recreation for the time and interest of our young people. Our kids need fewer adventure games and more actual adventure in their lives and we need to make that happen." So said Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Chairman of the National Parks, Forests and Public Lands Subcommittee during a hearing held this past spring. A line-up of invited witnesses, ranging from the Chief of the Forest Service to the Chairman of the Board for the American Sportfishing Association followed, each testifying on aspects of the trend away from outdoor activity for America's youth.




Now ecological scientists-well positioned because of their field of study-are stepping up to do their part. The symposium "No child left indoors: Ecologists linking young people with nature" co-organized by the Ecological Society of America's Vice President for Education Margaret Lowman (New College of Florida) and Bob Pohlad (Ferrum College) will be held during the joint meeting of ESA and the Society for Ecological Restoration.

Richard Louv, whose 2005 book "Last Child in the Woods" called nation-wide attention to the nature deficit in U.S. children, is keynote speaker for the symposium. The session will feature eight case studies offered by ecologists of different ages, races, and cultures and employing different outreach tools. Case studies will range from outdoor laboratories in Montana, to inspiring kids via tree canopy walkways, to community restoration activities on Catalina Island in California.

"Knowledge of nature is vital if young people are ultimately going to make good decisions about personal health, climate change, and land-use management," says Lowman. "Kids need to touch flowers and know why some plants can't survive without pollinators such as bees. It also doesn't hurt to know the difference between a harmless king snake and a venomous coral snake!"

Richard Louv notes in his book that children growing up over the last 20 years have increasingly limited experience of the outdoors, which is contributing to decreased understanding and appreciation of the environment on which humanity depends. National statistics show that visits to national and state parks have fallen off by as much as 25 percent in the last decade. Across the 'pond', a recent survey of British school children found that more children knew the characters of the electronic game Pokemon than could recognize an oak tree or an otter. Biological, health, and economic data also indicate that children who connect with nature perform better in school and exhibit fewer behavioral challenges.

Lowman and her colleagues in the symposium hope that other ecological scientists will join them in seeking creative activities to link kids with their environment. In conjunction with April's Earth Day, the Ecological Society of America released a statement in support of the No Child Left Indoors initiative (http://www.esa.org/pao/newsroom/pressReleases2007/04182007.php). The Society's 2007 and 2008 annual meetings will feature informal science education sessions, focusing on ways in which ecologists can make citizen science education part of their work ethic.

Ecological Society of America



Related Ecologists Current Events and Ecologists News Articles Ecologists Current Events and Ecologists News RSS Ecologists Current Events and Ecologists News RSS
First Holistic Guide to Primate Disease Covers Critical Gap in Global Health
Why are so many infectious diseases jumping from animals to humans? Why do we have so little capacity to predict epidemics, or avoid them?

Ecologists use oceanographic data to predict future climate change
Ecologists and oceanographers are attempting to predict the future impacts of climate change by reconstructing the past behavior of Arctic climate and ocean circulation.

Studies of small water fleas help ecologists understand population dynamics
A study of populations of tiny water fleas is helping ecologists to understand population dynamics, which may lead to predictions about the ecological consequences of environmental change.

Inmates conduct ecological research on slow-growing mosses
Nalini Nadkarni of Evergreen State College currently advises a team of researchers who sport shaved heads, tattooed biceps and prison-issued garb rather than the lab coats and khakis typically worn by researchers.

Brown Scientist Finds Coastal Dead Zones May Benefit Some Species
Coastal dead zones, an increasing concern to ecologists, the fishing industry and the public, may not be as devoid of life after all. A Brown scientist has found that dead zones do indeed support marine life, and that at least one commercially valuable clam actually benefits from oxygen-depleted waters.

Evaluating ecosystem services
Environmental conservation efforts have traditionally focused on protecting individual species or natural resources. Scientists are discovering, however, that preserving the benefits that whole ecosystems provide to people is more economically and environmentally valuable. At the Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), ecologists will explore the application of ecosystem services approaches to conservation.

The emerging scientific discipline of aeroecology
In the history of science and technology, there is an infrequent combination of empirical discoveries, theories and technology developments converge that make it possible to recognize a new discipline.

Saving our bees
Most of the world's plant species rely on animals to transfer their pollen to other plants. The undisputed queen of these animal pollinators is the bee, made up of about 30,000 species worldwide, whose daily flights aid in the reproduction of more than half of the world's flowering plants.

Parasites Outweigh Predators in Pacific Coast Estuaries
In a study of parasites living in three estuaries on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California, researchers have determined that biomass of these parasites exceeds that of top predators, in some cases by more than 20 times.

Scattered nature of Wisconsin's woodlands could complicate forests' response to climate change
If a warmer Wisconsin climate causes some northern tree species to disappear in the future, it's easy to imagine that southern species will just expand their range northward as soon as the conditions suit them.
More Ecologists Current Events and Ecologists News Articles


Spatial Analysis: A Guide for Ecologists
by Marie-Josée Fortin, Mark R. T. Dale

The number and variety of statistical techniques for spatial analysis of ecological data are burgeoning and many ecologists are unfamiliar with what is available and how the techniques should be used. This book provides an overview of the wide range of spatial statistics available to analyze ecological data, and provides advice and guidance for graduate students and practicing researchers who are...



Ecologists and Environmental Politics: A History of Contemporary Ecology
by Stephen Bocking

Ecologists, like other scientist, have for decades debated their role in society. While some have argued that ecologists should participate in environmental politics, others have focused their attention strictly on scientific issues. In this book, Stephen Bocking explores the context of this debate by recounting the history of ecology in Great Britain, the United States, and Canada since the...



Stream Hydrology: An Introduction for Ecologists
by Nancy D. Gordon, Thomas A. McMahon, Brian L. Finlayson, Christopher J. Gippel, Rory J. Nathan

Since the publication of the first edition (1994) there have been rapid developments in the application of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology to stream management. In particular, growth has occurred in the areas of stream rehabilitation and the evaluation of environmental flow needs. The concept of stream health has been adopted as a way of assessing stream resources and setting management...



Early Spring: An Ecologist and Her Children Wake to a Warming World
by Amy Seidl

Foreword by Bill McKibbenAn ecologist and mother brings the overwhelming problem of global warming to a personal level, with a mix of memoir and scienceAs Michael Pollan and Barbara Kingsolver examine food issues through their own families' meals, Amy Seidl looks at climate change through family walks in the woods, work in her garden, and seasonal community events throughout the year. She brings...



Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood
by Sandra Steingraber

As an ecologist, Sandra Steingraber spent her professional life observing how living things interact with their environments. Now, 38 and pregnant, she had become a habitat-for a population of one. Having Faith is Steingraber's exploration of the intimate ecology of motherhood. Using her scientist's eye to study the biological drama of new life being knit from the molecules of air, food, and...



Living Downstream: Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment
by Sandra Steingraber

Published more than three decades after Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" warned of the impact of chemicals on the environment, this book offers a critique of current thinking on cancer and its causes. It argues that the evidence has been wilfully ignored, and that the environment is still being poisoned. Throughout her study, the author weaves two stories - of Rachel Carson and her battle to be...



Sampling and Statistical Methods for Behavioral Ecologists
by Jonathan Bart, Michael A. Fligner, William I. Notz

This book describes the sampling and statistical methods used most often by behavioral ecologists and field biologists. Written by a biologist and two statisticians, it provides a rigorous discussion together with worked examples of statistical concepts and methods that are generally not covered in introductory courses, and which are consequently poorly understood and applied by field biologists....



Ecology for Non-Ecologists
by Frank R. Spellman

Written for anyone who works with chemicals or has a general interest in ecology, this book examines the interrelationship of life forms in our environment and provides straightforward explanations about the complicated interactions among nature and humans. Emphasizing basic concepts, definitions, and descriptions, the author presents illustrative problems in terms of commonly used ecological...



Greenpeace: How a Group of Ecologists, Journalists, and Visionaries Changed the World
by Rex Weyler

Greenpeace: The Inside Story is the first comprehensive eye-witness account of the human drama behind the creation of the world's largest direct-action environmental group. Greenpeace founder and Pulitzer Prize-nominated author Rex Weyler brings us the amazing story of an idea that changed the world, and the adventures, clashes, pitfalls and heroics of the people who fought for it. The book...



Rachel Carson: Ecologist And Activist (Great Minds of Science)
by Mary Gow

© 2008 BrightSurf.com