The first Arbor Day was held on April 10, 1874 , after proposal by J. Sterling Morton, a Nebraska pioneer and lover of nature.  He knew trees were needed to keep soil in place by serving as windbreakers, for fuel and building materials, and to provide shading from the sun.   So he encouraged planting trees, and it is estimated that more than one million trees were planted in Nebraska on the first Arbor Day!

Over the years, Arbor Day has become a national holiday, with many states celebrating at different times to coincide with optimal tree-planting weather for their area. But whether Arbor Day is observed on the last Friday of April or another day, the idea is the same; support nature and beauty through planting trees.  

To learn more about Arbor Day, visit https://www.arborday.org/

Trees provide many benefits and services for both people and other wildlife. They provide shelter and food for multiple species of birds, mammals, and insects.  Many useful products are provided for human use from lumber for building, wood to make baseball bats and rocking horses, and paper products.  Trees also improve habitat areas, reduce soil erosion, supply oxygen, and provide aesthetic beauty.

 Trees can be identified based on leaf characteristics, bark type, and flower color.

The structure of trees is fascinating and supports their functions.  As a tree grows, a new layer of wood is added to the trunk and limbs,  These rings each have two parts: early wood which grows in the wet, spring season, and late wood which forms during the slower growing season of summer.  These rings can offer insight into the climate of the area, and indicate disturbances such as flood or fire.  The ring sizes vary year to year based on growing conditions.  These tissues also draw nutrients and water for the tree up from the roots.

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Index of Ohio Trees from Ohio DNR Division of Forestry:

Once your plant a tree, think about registering it with Taking Root, a collaborative, broad-based campaign to address the current historic loss of our region’s tree canopy by planting trees, better managing our local forests, promoting the many benefits of healthy trees, and fostering a sense of stewardship among individuals and communities.    http://www.takingroot.info/

Planting Trees Is a Virtuous Act: 
His Holiness, The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

"Trees are extremely important. A healthy tree purifies the air and supplies oxygen for living beings to breathe. It harmonizes the elements and increases life expectancy. Its shade provides a refreshing place to rest. It brings rain at the right time. It nourishes crops and livestock, and balances the temperature. It contributes to an attractive landscape and
continually replenishes its surroundings. It brings about natural developments in the spheres of education, economics and so forth. The drawbacks of a polluted environment include a decline in the pure, cool qualities of the oceans and lakes, so that the creatures dwelling in those places are disturbed. The loss of vegetation and forests causes degeneration in the Earth's nourishment. Rain does not fall when it is needed. Unprecedented fierce storms rage. There are many disadvantages. Planting and nurturing trees are virtuous acts. It is beneficial to plant various types of trees. In particular, fruit trees provide nourishment predominantly for humans, as well as benefit to many other sentient creatures. They help to improve health. The whole of society needs to take an interest in
planting various kinds of trees and flowers around monasteries, schools, offices, hospitals,
factories, restaurants, hotels and residences, on both sides of thoroughfares. May the attractive and healthy forests be increased in all the one hundred directions! May sentient creatures be freed from untimely death and live happy lives!"

From a message that was delivered on Tibetan Democracy Day, September 2, 1994.

To learn more about trees or find tree activities/projects/lesson plans, check out Project Learning Tree!

Voyage of the Turtle
By Carl Safina
"As Carl Safina’s compelling natural history adventure makes clear, the fate of the Leatherback Turtle is in our hands.  The only surviving species of its genus, family and suborder, the Leatherback is an evolutionary marvel: a “reptile” that behaves like a warm-blooded dinosaur, an ocean animal able to withstand colder water than most fishes and dive deeper than any whale.  The distressing decline of these ancient sea turtles in Pacific waters and their surprising recovery in the Atlantic illuminate the results–both positive and negative–of our interventions and the lessons that can be applied, globally, to restore the oceans and its creatures." - http://carlsafina.org/book/voyage-of-the-turtle/

Last Child in the Woods: "Last Child in the Woods: Saving our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder has spurred a national dialogue among educators, health professionals, parents, developers and conservationists. This is a book that will change the way you think about your future and the future of your children."
- richardlouv.com/books/last-child/

Fossils and Fossil Hunting in Ohio
Once covered by vast tropical seas and later by giant glaciers, Ohio's landscape features an abundance of fossils. The glaciated portions of Ohio are home to Ice Age fossils, including plants and ancient mammals. But southwestern and northwestern Ohio boast a wider variety of much older marine fossils, including the official state fossil Isotelus maximus. In fact, the greater Cincinnati region lures paleontologists, fossil collectors, and rock hounds from all across the country and beyond who seek and have discovered some of the best fossil specimens in the world.  
- geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov/major-topics/fossils-in-ohio

Public Sites in Southwest Ohio - Visitors should contact park management staff prior to collecting to obtain any permits and/or rules that may apply.
Caesar Creek State Park (Clinton/Warren Counties) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old found in limestone forming the crest of the Cincinnati Arch. Collecting rules apply and a permit must be obtained at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's Visitor Center, which also features a display of fossils found at the park. For more information about fossil hunting at Caesar Creek, call (513) 897-1050.

Cowan Lake State Park (Clinton County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old found in limestone forming the eastern edge of the Cincinnati Arch. Special permission to collect fossils must be obtained from Ohio State Parks. For more information, call (513) 897-3055.

East Fork State Park (Clermont County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in interbedded shale and limestone. Collecting rules apply. A permit must be obtained at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Visitor Center. For more information, call (513) 734-4323.

Hueston Woods State Park (Preble/Butler Counties) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in limestone and dolomite forming the western edge of the Cincinnati Arch. For more information, call (513) 523-6347.

Oakes Quarry Park (Greene County) – Geology: Silurian; fossils around 425 million years old. Located in city of Fairborn, northeast of Dayton.  For more information, call (937) 754-3090 or see ( Ohio Geology, 2008 No. 2[800 KB PDF].

Stonelick State Park (Clermont County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in interbedded shale and limestone. For more information, call (513) 734-4323.
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Trammel Fossil Park (Hamilton County) – Geology: Ordovician; fossils ranging from 450 to 500 million years old in interbedded shale and limestone. For more information, call (513) 563-2985.

drydredgers.org/caesar_creek.htm
​www.fossilguy.com/sites/caesar-creek/caesar-creek-fossils.htm#trilobite

What are the oldest fossils?
The earliest evidence of life on earth is of marine animals, during the Precambrian era. But there is only sparse evidence of life before the Cambrian era. The oldest known Precambrian rocks, found in Africa and Australia, are believed to be more than three billion years  old. The fossils found among them are of the oldest known organisms on earth. Usually, fossils found in these old rocks are microfossils, such as elongated bacteria, Eobacterium and other water environment fossils. Bacteria represents the first stage of recognizable organized life and scientists have found well defined remains of algae and bacteria from nearly two billion years ago.

Where are most fossils found?
The most common fossils are found in sedimentary rock. Sedimentary layers act as evidence of the changing climate or movement of the continents during the passage of time. The Law of Superposition or Steno's law states that in a pile of undisturbed sedimentary rock, the oldest bed will lie at the bottom and the youngest on top. Layers of strata in different locations may have the same composition but carry fossils of a different time period, therefore a technique of zoning or an index fossil is used. Index fossils are specific animals or plants that had a broad geographical distribution but existed for relatively short periods of time. These fossils allow geologists to establish a parallel between layers of sediment. Some excellent guide fossils are ammonites; each species lived for relatively short periods of time but had such a broad geographical distribution. They can be found today in stratigraphic rock layers often separated by great distances. The appearance of the same ammonite in different layers in different localities gives evidence that those layers were deposited at the same time. Each time period is marked by an abundant radiation of many new life forms or the mass extinction of past life forms.
- www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/paleo/fossils/index.html

​​"Many world-famous paleontologists—geologists who study fossils—began their careers as youngsters collecting fossils in their native Ohio. Fossils from Ohio are important constituents of museum collections throughout the United States and Europe." - Fossils Collecting in Ohio ODNR GeoFacts
- geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov/portals/geosurvey/PDFs/GeoFacts/geof17.pdf

Types of Fossils:
Fossils undergo a variety of different fossilization processes, depending on the characteristics of the particular organism. There are various levels of fossil preservation, each containing its own clues pertaining to the organism. Fossilization at the cellular level varies in all organic compounds since not all cellular types are equally resistant to decay and decomposition. The same hold at the tissue level, where some tissue types are more susceptible to fossilization. The other two kinds include the organ level and organism level which provide information in the field of morphology and biology of the ancient organism. Although there are an endless number of categories, we will focus on the broader mode of classification.
Permineralization: is the occurrence of decay of organic substances and filling of mineral material into every cavity of the organism, still retaining most information about the fossil.

• Compressions: the two-dimensional compression which retains organic matter of the organism.
• Impressions: the two-dimensional imprint most commonly found in silt or clay, without organic material present.
• Casts & Molds: caused by deposits of sediment in cavities of organism, resulting in a three dimensional model.
• Compactions: preservation of organic material with slight volume reduction.
• Molecular fossils: deals with chemical data, preserving organic material, but providing no information concerning the structure of the organism.
• Freezing: ideal fossils that are rare, everything up to internal organs are preserved in cold storage.
• Amber: biological specimen that is encased in the hardened resin of a tree, in which the entire body may be preserved.
• Drying & Desiccation: fossils that have been thoroughly dried.
• Wax & Asphalt: almost as good as freezing, but with the usage of natural paraffin.
• Coprolites & Gastroliths: these categories deal with the indigestable remnants of meals.
• Trace fossils: typically formed when an organism moves over the surface of soft sediment and leaves an impression of its movement behind.

Additional Links:

Visit one of these websites to learn and research more about Ohio's Fossils. This can assist you in identifying your own fossils. Schedule a trip to fossil hunt or tour a museum to explore fascinating exhibits and examine rocks, minerals, and fossils from Ohio and around the world....plus much more.

DRY DREDGERS – A CINCINNATI-BASED ASSOCIATION OF AMATEUR GEOLOGISTS AND FOSSIL COLLECTORS

CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY & SCIENCE – AT CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER
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ORTON GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM – AT THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF EARTH SCIENCES

Ohio's Geological Walk Through Time
Located at the Natural Resources Park on the Ohio State Fairgrounds, this exhibit offers a unique learning experience for anyone interested in Ohio's natural history, including fossils, rocks & minerals, and more.  www2.ohiodnr.gov/ohio-state-fair/geological-walk

University of Cincinnati Department of Geology

Covered in Shells (Greater Cincinnati):
thenaturalhistorian.com/2011/09/14/covered-in-shells-how-many-fossils-are-there/

Smithsonian Natural Museum of Natural History - The Department of Paleobiology:
http://paleobiology.si.edu/index.html

Virtual Museum of Geology:  www.virtualmuseumofgeology.com/
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Other State Geological Survey Web Sites (via AASG)

Geology Departments at Ohio Colleges and Universities

Ohio Rock and Mineral Clubs—Listing from the Midwest Federation of Mineralogical & Geological Societies.

Geology and Science Education Web Sites

Science Education Associations

​AGI Classroom Activities for K-12 Students

​"This is a typical flexicalymene retrorsa minuens trilobite fossil that can be found at Caesar Creek. Flexicalymene trilobites in the Caesar Creek area are reduced in size and most often found enrolled. They are usually the size of a fingernail or smaller. When searching for them, they superficially look like tiny brachiopods, so take your time, look closely, and you may find one!"

​Bryozoans are tiny colonial organisms, often mistaken for corals. The individual bryozoan is usually less than 1 mm in size. Bryozoan colonies can be branching, twiglike, fan-like, or encrusting. The entire colony is referred to as a zoarium. Some bryozoan colonies are smooth and others have monticules or bumps covering them. Each small opening or aperture was the home for an individual bryozoan or zooecium. The small animal seals the hole with a “door” or vestibule. They are difficult to identify without microscopic study. Sometimes the pattern of the apertures, size, or shape is characteristic and can be used for generic identification.

​Brachiopods are marine animals that have a shell made of two valves, which usually differ in shape and size. Brachiopods are closely related to the bryozoans. Brachiopod comes from Latin and means "arm" + "foot" and bryzoan means "moss animal"

Brachiopods are solitary marine organisms that live between two valves or “shells.” They are very common in the Cincinnatian rocks of Ohio. They are externally different from the pelecypods (clams) in that the left and right halves of the brachiopod shells are usually mirror images of each other (see picture below). Internally, brachiopods are completely different from the pelecypods. Brachiopods feed with a special filtering organ called the lophophore which is located between the valves and attached to the brachial valve. The pedicle extends through a small opening or hole in the pedicle valve and is used as an anchoring device. The interior of the brachial valve is important in taxonomic differences between various species.

​Crinoids are echinoderms that live on a long stalk, or column. Their crown is similar to an upside down starfish. Cross sections of the column usually have a tiny star within them. Columns and columnals are the most common parts found, although occasionally a crown or calyx can be found. It is rare to find the entire crinoid preserved. Crinoids are classified taxonomically by the characteristics of their crown, which makes identification of individual columns and columnals difficult unless the crown is attached.

The gastropods, or snails, are extremely diverse inhabiting marine, fresh water and terrestrial environments. Their shell can coil in a conical (conispiral) or in in single plane (planispiral).

Cephalopods are members of the phylum Mollusca and include squid, octopi and the pearly nautilus. Cincinnatian cephalopods were straight shelled squids. The siphuncle connects the cameras (chambers) together. The squid could pass air to the chambers via the siphuncle to make it float higher in the water or sink as it swam.

Phylum Cnidaria contains the corals, jellyfish, and anemones. Corals can be solitary or colonial. Corals have a rich fossil record because they excreted a hard calcium carbonate exoskeleton that preserves well. The Cincinnatian solitary corals are quite large, and are “horn” or “tooth” shaped. Individuals in the colonial corals are usually quite small, coralites being 1-3 mm in diameter.

What is Amber?
Amber is fossilized resin of a coniferous tree of early Tertiary. One of the differences between resin and sap is the latter's solubility in water since most of it is water from the xylem (water transporting system) of the tree.

In this type of fossilization, the organism is entrapped in a biologically inert environment and preserved as a whole. Intact insects are often found in amber, though they may be altered slightly. Many physical and chemical agents of abiotic environment (the oxidative air and temperature) and biotic factors (bacteria and scavengers) accelerate the decomposition of a dead organism. Avoidance of these factors aids in preserving the organism and in the amber formation.

The Process of Amber Formation:
Organisms fall or drop into the resin when it first exudes out of the tree. Essential oils, called Oleoresins, compose most of the first deposited resin. This substance is volatile and is often lost through the years. Additional resin then falls on top and gives the organism its typical suspended appearance. The resin then hardens through a process called polymerization and becomes less vulnerable to destruction. This hardened resin, called copal, has a higher chance of being fossilized than pliable resin.
As the copal ages, concentration of the essential oil decreases while the copal progressively oxidizes the resin and polymerization continues. The copal slowly turns into amber millions of years after the first entombment of the organism. The only way to differentiate between the two elements would be to put them through many physical and chemical tests such as UV light testing, burning, and various other tests.
The most famous examples of amber have come from the Baltic Sea region (Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Denmark, the former Soviet Union, Great Britain, Estonia, Latvia, and Holland). Because of the presence of microscopic air bubbles, Baltic amber tends to appear cloudy or milky. The hue varies with quantity and quality of the bubbles.
www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/paleo/fossils/amber.html

You can also make decisions every day to live in a more sustainable manner!
 http://theartofsimple.net/tips-to-go-green-at-home/

​Learn more about protecting our waterway - keep our watershed and our drinking water safe from pollution:
https://www.epa.gov/environmental-topics/water-topics#our-waters

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
unfccc.int/paris_agreement/items/9485.php

Climate 101 - The Climate Reality Project:  www.climaterealityproject.org/climate-101
​
​Tree Planting Challenge "Taking Root": 
http://www.takingroot.info/tree-planting-challenge/

Visit our ​Conservation Blog for more ways to help out planet.

Earthworm Facts to Research:

• There are approximately 2,700 different types of Earthworms.
• “Earthworm” refers to any species of terrestrial annelid worm that burrows in the soil. 
• Earthworm bodies are made of  rings, or segments.
• Each segment is surrounded by a set of muscles that help earthworms move.
• An Earthworm has no teeth, arms, legs or eyes. Even though worms don’t have eyes, they can sense light, especially at their anterior (front end). They move away from light and will become paralyzed if exposed to light for too long (approximately one hour). Earthworms possess light- and touch-sensitive organs (receptor cells) to distinguish differences in light intensity and to feel vibrations in the ground.
• Worms have specialized chemoreceptors or sense organs ("taste receptors") which react to chemical stimuli. These sense organs are located on the anterior part of the worm.
• ​An earthworm can grow only so long. A well-fed adult earthworm will depend on what kind of worm it is, how many segments it has, how old it is and how well fed it is. An Lumbricus terrestris (Night crawler) will be from 90-300 millimeters long.
• The largest earthworm ever found was in South Africa and measured 22 feet from its nose to the tip of its tail.​                     ​                               

extension.illinois.edu/worms/facts/
http://www.biologyjunction.com/earthworm%20facts.htm

​​More Earthworm Fun Facts to Research:​

• Worms live where there is food, moisture, oxygen and a favorable temperature. If they don’t have these things, they go somewhere else.
• In one acre of land, there can be more than a million earthworms.
• Worms tunnel deeply in the soil and bring subsoil closer to the surface mixing it with the topsoil. Slime, a secretion of earthworms, contains nitrogen. Nitrogen is an important nutrient for plants. The sticky slime helps to hold clusters of soil particles together in formations called aggregates.
• Charles Darwin spent 39 years studying earthworms more than 100 years ago.
• Worms are cold-blooded animals. As with invertebrates, their body processes or metabolism slow down with falling temperatures. Earthworms will hibernate at near freezing temperature. If frozen they will die. Earthworms react to advancing colder winter weather by burrowing deep (up to two meters) in the soil to avoid the extreme cold.
• Earthworms have the ability to replace or replicate lost segments. This ability varies greatly depending on the species of worm you have, the amount of damage to the worm and where it is cut. It may be easy for a worm to replace a lost tail, but may be very difficult or impossible to replace a lost head if things are not just right.
• Baby worms (wormlets) are not born "live". They hatch from cocoons smaller than a grain of rice. The bump is the clitellum, the saddle shaped swollen area 1/3 of the way back containing the gland cells which secrete a slimy material (mucus) to form the cocoon which will hold the worm embryos.
• Young worms hatch from their cocoons in three weeks to five months as the gestation period varies for different species of worms. Conditions like temperature and soil moisture factor in here...if conditions are not great then hatching is delayed.
• ​The Australian Gippsland Earthworm grows to 12 feet long and can weigh 1-1/2 pounds.​
• If a worm’s skin dries out, it will die. Earthworms respire (breathe) through their skin, and therefore require humid conditions to prevent drying out. They coat themselves in mucus to enable the passage of dissolved oxygen into their bloodstream.
• Worms are hermaphrodites. Each worm has both male and female organs. Worms mate by joining their clitella (swollen area near the head of a mature worm) and exchanging sperm. Then each worm forms an egg capsule in its clitellum. (The term "hermaphrodite" derives from the combination of the names of two Greek gods: Hermes, a male and Aphrodite, a female. So, something with both male and female characteristics is a "herm-aphrodite".)
• Some research indicates that earthworms can eat their own weight each day while other research suggests that earthworms may eat about 30% of their weight each day. Earthworms derive their nutrition from many forms of organic matter in soil, things like decaying roots and leaves, and living organisms such as nematodes, protozoans, rotifers, bacteria, fungi. They will also feed on the decomposing remains of other animals.

​ extension.illinois.edu/worms/facts/
​http://www.biologyjunction.com/earthworm%20facts.htm

Discover things that worms and all animals need to survive when setting up and/or caring for earthworms in a composting bin:

• Water- ex. water spray and wet food
• Air- create air holes
• Food - make a list (The worms eat my organic garbage- banana peels, paper, coffee grounds, etc. Worms recycle food scraps turning it into compost/plant food a.k.a. worm poop or castings.
• Shelter- the box and the paper bedding
• Space- If the worms have too many babies or wormlets, there will be too many worms for the size of the bin and for the amount of food, etc., so they will cut down on having womlets.

Soil Supports Life:  The living systems occurring above and below the ground surface are determined by the properties of the soil.  Organism types displayed below: bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, arthropods, earthworms.  Their roles & benefits include:  decomposition, release, nutrients, create pores, and stabilize soils.

Search for other Earthworm links on the World Wide Web -
Just click on these link names below.



USDA
THE LIVING SOIL: EARTHWORMS
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Science Museum of Minnesota Online Worm Project 
See first graders at the Museum Magnet School exploring the world of worms.
Worm Words Glossary for Teachers 
Learn the words that pertain to worms and worm composting.
Worm Supplies 
List of worm sellers in the United States and Canada

A Guide to Worm Composting 
Tips for making and using a worm bin