3/31/2020 April is Ohio Native Plant Month! The white Trillium, and other Ohio State Symbols, that Are Also Native Plants!Read NowStarting in kindergarten, Ohio students begin learning about the importance of national and state symbols. Here in Ohio, we have many state symbols of significance. From the Ohio state wildflower the White Trillium to the state native fruit the Pawpaw, here are some fun facts about Ohio state symbols that are also valuable native plants!
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As we celebrate the legacy of Aldo Leopold, the father of wildlife ecology in the United States, I wanted to share an amazing resource for teachers: The Leopold Education Project. The LEP is an interdisciplinary environmental education curriculum. Targeted mainly to middle school and high school students, it can also be adapted for use with families, adults, and elementary age children. Its goal is to create an ecologically literate citizenry by heightening student awareness of the natural world; fine-tuning the skills necessary to read the landscape; and instilling a love, admiration, and respect for the land so that each individual may develop a personal land ethic. The objectives of the Leopold Education Project are:
The LEP curriculum is distributed by a volunteer network of State Coordinators, who organize workshops to train formal and non-formal educators throughout the country. LEP State Coordinators also have access to discounted rates on the LEP curriculum, so workshops are an excellent (and economical) opportunity to add Leopold’s land ethic to your teaching toolbox. To learn more and to find a state coordinator or purchase this LEP curriculum, visit The Aldo Leopold Foundation. As we find ourselves half way through the 2019-2020 school year, teachers and educators are still reaching out to schedule classroom programs for their students. While this is a service that WCSWCD is privileged to provide, sometimes schedules do not align to physically bring an education specialist in. But do not fret! We are still here to help supplement your students' curriculum in a variety of ways. One great resource we offer is our Program Loan Portal. We can provide many education tools including research and hand out materials, posters, and entire program kits available for loan free of charge to entities in Warren County. Program materials must be requested in advance and may be borrowed for up to seven days. Materials can be picked up at the Warren County SWCD office located at 320 E. Silver St., Lebanon, OH.
These kits provide lesson instructions and materials to use in your classroom or with your student group. Topics available for loan include fossils, water cycle game, water ecosystems, and more! For a full listing of available loan kits visit our education page! The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) promotes and defends accurate and effective science education because everyone deserves to engage with the evidence. NCSE works with teachers, parents, scientists, and concerned citizens at the local, state, and national levels to ensure that topics including evolution and climate change are taught accurately, honestly, and confidently. They also support parent groups that are active in promoting responsible science education to their children. One of these groups is Climate Parents. Sierra Club's Climate Parents is a diverse national movement of parents and families mobilizing for bold clean energy and climate solutions. "NCSE was pleased to collaborate with Climate Parents in resisting legislation aimed at undermining the integrity of science education in states across the country, supporting a scientifically accurate and pedagogically appropriate treatment of climate change in revised state science education standards in a number of different states, and in criticizing misleading material about climate change in social studies textbooks submitted for adoption in Texas."...
It is up to all of us to ensure that the next generation has the tools and knowledge to succeed and thrive in a sustainable way! Read full article HERE. 11/22/2019 Giving Schools — And Students — The Tools They Need In The Fight To Save The PlanetRead NowThere are so many connected issues in the realm of environmental science and stewardship. As so aptly addressed in a recent conference on climate and education, one way to engage students in this discipline is from the standpoint of solutions. As Katharine Wilkinson from Project Drawdown says, "The classroom is such a powerful place for bringing together the multiple dimensions of this topic." Schools, she adds, "are places where all of these different facets of human beings come into one place, and I think teachers have an incredible capacity for helping students grapple with and understand these dimensions."
To read full article from NPR, click image below The Ohio Area 4 Envirothon is a competitive, academic, outdoor team event for high school students which tests their knowledge in five areas: Aquatic Ecology, Current Environmental Issues (CEI), Forestry, Soils and Wildlife. The event is designed to stimulate and reinforce the students interest in our environment and our natural resources while encouraging cooperative decision making, team building and problem solving.
Students who participate gain a greater awareness of natural resources and environmental issues, a better understanding of interrelationships between living and non-living components of the environment and an increased interest in further science study. Teams consist of five members from the same school and though each student contributes his or her personal best, the score that counts at the end of the day is the TEAM score. The four top scoring teams then progress on to the State Envirothon Competition where the winning team then goes on to compete in the North American Envirothon Competition. The Area 4 Envirothon encourages young people to become action-oriented members of society and promotes the spirit of inquiry, competition and excellence. Team preparations are starting for the 2020 competition! For more information or to learn how to register your team(s) click HERE In today's world, a complex myriad of environmental issues exist. From habitat and biodiversity loss, water and air pollution, climate change, and deforestation, the next generation will have multiple challenges to face. As youth activists organize strikes and demonstrations about current issues like climate change, we educators are poised to help give them the knowledge and tools to address these challenges with innovation and solutions. And there are many resources available to help us help them! Several different agencies and organizations have copious amounts of lessons and information to support educational curriculum designed to educate our students about these issues. Promoting scientific literacy in students strengthens their ability to problem-solve and address these global challenges. Ohio Soil & Water Conservation Districts, like us here in Warren County, provide free educational programming to local schools to supplement teachers' lessons. Many environmental education curriculum exists to provide lessons and activities for all age levels. The Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies has a series of curriculum called Project Wild. According to AFWA, Project WILD's mission is to help students learn how to think, not what to think, about wildlife and the environment. All curriculum materials are backed by sound educational practices and theory, and represent the work of many professionals within the fields of education and natural resource management from across the country. Any educators interested in having or attending a Project Wild or Growing Up Wild workshop or Project WET workshop can contact our education staff at Warren County SWCD as we are certified facilitators of this training! Other established curriculum include Project WET, Project Learning Tree, and Project Underground. The United States EPA also has educational hands on activities to teach about air quality and climate change. Through Particulate Matter Air Sensor Kits and interactive games, teachers can help students learn about how climate change is affecting our air quality and health. These and other climate change resources can be found at U.S. EPA. Today's youth are preparing to be tomorrow's leaders. Education is vital to best prepare them to succeed in an ever changing world. The school year has begun and as we educators head into the classroom, we are ready to help engage, challenge, and inspire our students. Visit our Education page for more information on our environmental education programs.
"Believe it or not, you have a bee to thank
for every one in three bites of food you eat."
Each day, pollinators are responsible for 1 out of 3 bites of food we intake on average. Many pollinators are at a critical point in their own survival; there are various reasons contributing to their decline. One thing is for certain, providing more pollen and nectar sources from native flowering vegetation will improve the health and numbers of our pollinators. Pollinator-friendly gardens and landscapes also revive the health of bees, butterflies, moths, birds, bats and other pollinators.
What is the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge (MPGC)?
The Million Pollinator Garden Challenge is a nationwide call to action to preserve and create gardens and landscapes that help revive the health of bees, butterflies, birds, bats and other pollinators across America. As we explore and enjoy the "great outdoors", take time to make connections between pollinators and the healthy food we eat. http://millionpollinatorgardens.org/partners/
Annual Milkweed Pod Collection:
September 1st and goes until October 30th (pods accepted thru November 1st)
The Ohio Pollinator Habitat Initiative is calling on all Ohioans for another year of Milkweed pod collections! This project started in 2015 as a 7 county pilot and since that time hundreds of Ohioans have worked together collecting thousands of pods across the state.
Milkweed is the host plant for the Monarch butterfly for egg laying and caterpillar rearing. It also serves as a food source for Monarchs and many other pollinator species. . The disappearance of milkweed across the U.S. has contributed to the 80% decline of the eastern monarch butterfly population over the last 20 years. We are working hard in Ohio to change this, and you can help! Here are helpful and simple collection tips: • Before you collect seed pods, become familiar with the common milkweed to avoid harvesting pods from similar plants such as hemp dogbane (a poisonous herb) or swamp milkweed. • It is best to collect the pods when they are dry, grey, or brown. THIS is IMPORTANT! Pod collection starts Sept 1 and runs through Oct 31… please use September as the benchmark time to locate milkweed plants and to keep an eye on the pods while they ripen; then pick them once they look like the picture shown below. • If the center seam pops with gentle pressure, they can be harvested. • Store the pods in paper bags (vs. plastic bags collect unwanted moisture). • Place the date and county collected on the bag when you turn them in. • Keep the pods in a cool, dry area until you deliver them to the nearest collection site as with Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District located in Lebanon, Ohio or you can find the nearest collection site at: www.agri.ohio.gov/wps/portal/gov/oda/divisions/soil-and-water-conservation/find-a-local-swcd/swcd-list
Numerous pollinator species are at risk; many are listed as federally endangered or threatened. Disturbances such as habitat loss, climate change and application of pesticides contribute greatly to diminishing populations and disrupting ecological interactions.
Become a Bee Spotter...The Cincinnati Zoo has teamed up with Bee Spotter to learn more about the bees in the greater Cincinnati area, and we need your help! Simply snap pictures of bees that you see and submit it with a date and location to beespotter.org/cincinnatizoo. An expert will identify the species and add it to the database.
Native & Local Plant Sale:
Visit the Zoo’s EcOhio Farm and Wetland in Warren County, Saturday September 29th, 2019
Learn more about native local plants and about the group "Pollen Nation" that supports pollinator conservation. Multiple beehives on EcOhio Farm are home to thousands of honeybees that help pollinate the entire ecosystem. Observe honeybees up close through an observation frame, and learn how these busy creatures keep people, and their hives, fed.
EcOhio Farm is located at 2210 north Mason-Montgomery Road, Lebanon, OH 45036.
National Geographic - Honeybee Apis mellifera:
animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/honeybee/
It's A Rap! Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District wishes to thank our Earth Team Volunteers, Staff, Interns, Partnerships and OCVN's for assisting with Bat Acoustic Surveys this past July. We will highlight some of our results at a "Tech Free Tuesday" Event held on August 6th at Landen Deerfield Park. Come learn about our beautiful, native bats, real bat biofacts and build a batty craft! These programs are FREE to the public! Programming starts at 10:00 am. Address: Deerfield Township 2258 W. St. Rt. 22/3, Maineville, Ohio 45039 What Bats Do For Us One of the most important things bats do for us is consume vast amounts of insects each night; many of these insects are damaging agriculture pests. In fact, pregnant or nursing mothers of certain bat species can consume their body weight in insects each night. Scientists estimate that throughout the United States bats help save farms $3.7 billion a year in reduced crop damage and pesticide use. Bats also save over $1 billion in the corn industry alone. Ohio's bats are "insectivores". Controlling the pest population is not the only thing bats do, they are also pollinators of certain plants and disperse seeds. "Bats are an important part of the ecosystem and do more for us than we even realize." - Sidney Thomson Acoustic Bat Survey photos from the Caesar Creek/Warren County route that also ventures into Clinton and Greene Counties. What You Can Do Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District partners with the Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODNR) to perform acoustic bat surveys in July; this is a perfect way for people to get involved in tracking populations of bats. In addition, ODNR trains others, county-wide, to perform bat monitoring surveys throughout Ohio. Look on ODNR's website for more information. Another great way to help bat populations is to build a bat house and count the number of bats that use the house. Being mindful and minimizing the disturbance of bat habitats or places that bats are known to hibernate helps their over-all population and ecosystems. A big factor that increases bat populations is to avoid the possible spread of White Nose Syndrome by people. Bats slowly reproduce, female bats typically have one pup at a time, so it is important for us to do whatever we can to protect our bats.
Data from this project allows the Division of Wildlife to monitor population changes for bats through long-term assessments. As potential threats to bat populations increase in Ohio (e.g., White-nose Syndrome, habitat destruction), it is imperative that we continue to monitor and assess our Ohio bat populations. White-nose syndrome (WNS) is a disease caused by a fungus that affects bats. It is considered one of the worst wildlife diseases in modern times; the fungus, called Pseudogymnoascus destructans or Pd for short, has killed millions of bats across North America. Pd grows in cold, dark and damp places; it attacks the bare skin of bats while they are hibernating in a relatively inactive state. Pd sometimes looks like a white fuzz on the faces of bats, As the Pd fungus grows, it directly causes changes in bats, making them become more active than usual. Bats with white-nose syndrome may do strange things like fly outside during daytime in the winter. The infected bats burn up fat that is crucial to survive the winter. Besides, Ohio's Bats are nocturnal. In 2007, Biologists first noted bats were sick and dying from white-nose syndrome in caves near Albany, New York. Cave explorers had taken a photo of bats with a white powder on their noses the year before in this same area. Thus, white-nose syndrome has been in North America since at least 2006. WCSWCD Volunteer Opportunities: https://www.warrenswcd.com/volunteer-opportunities.html Acoustic Bat Survey photos from the Little Miami State Park route. Other WCSWCD Wildlife/Ohio's Bats Blog publications: https://www.warrenswcd.com/education-connection-a-blog/sleep-all-day-stay-out-all-night-no-wonder-we-love-our-ohio-bats https://www.warrenswcd.com/education-connection-a-blog/help-protect-bats-and-their-habitats Authors and Contributors; Sidney Thomson, Ben Haynes and Marta Farrell
Since the 1995 reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone, wolves are causing a trophic cascade of ecological change, including helping to increase beaver populations and bring back aspen, and vegetation. Wolves are highly social animals that live in packs; pack sizes depend on the size and abundance of prey. In Yellowstone, ten wolves is an average pack size. The pack is a complex social family including older members (often the alpha male and alpha female) and subordinates. Each wolf has individual personality traits and roles within the pack. Packs defend their territory from invading packs by howling and scent marking with urine. Wolves Feed Other Animals: The remains of a carcass left behind, unfinished by wolves, help feed grizzly bears, bald eagles, wolverines and many other scavengers. Wolves consume a wide variety of large and small prey. They efficiently hunt large prey that other predators cannot often kill, like Bison. In Yellowstone, roughly 90% of their winter prey is elk and 10–15% of their summer prey is deer. Other animals benefit from wolf kills. Like when wolves kill an elk, ravens arrive almost immediately. Coyotes arrive soon after, waiting nearby until the wolves are sated. Bears are usually successful to chase the wolves away. Many other animals, from magpies to invertebrate, consume the decomposing remains. Discover the history of wolves in Yellowstone, including what happened to the ecosystem when they were eradicated and when they were reintroduced Jan 12, 1995: https://www.yellowstonepark.com/park/yellowstone-wolves-reintroduction The loss of a breeding wolf can affect the fate of the pack: In 2012, biologists at Denali National Park and Preserve noted a drop in wolf sightings following the death of a breeding female from a pack that lived along the Denali Park Road. This was one of several instances where the death of an individual wolf from legal trapping or hunting sparked widespread attention. "The death of a breeding wolf could harm the packs that provide the greatest opportunities for park visitors to see a wolf in the wild, either through a lack of reproduction or the loss of the entire pack." www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/07/140708103107.htm Biotic (living) and nonliving (abiotic) resources are linked by energy that flows through an ecosystem. Each tropic, or energy, level plays a role in an ecosystem. Food Webs demonstrate the flow of energy through an ecosystem; this helps illustrate how energy is lost between the tropic levels. Energy Pipeline shows how energy from the sun affects top predators such as owls and humans.
Wolves Strengthen Ungulates: Wolves cull sick, old and genetically inferior elk and deer, allowing the healthiest individuals to breed and perpetuate their species. Wolves Improve Riparian Areas: Wolves have redistributed the elk herds, allowing vegetation to recover along rivers and streams. More willows and aspens provide food for beavers. More beaver ponds benefit aquatic plants and animals. Shade from the trees cools the water, making the habitat better for trout. Wolves Decrease Coyote Populations: Wolves kill coyotes, so rodent populations increase, benefiting struggling birds of prey. Also, with fewer coyotes, pronghorn antelope calves are less likely to be preyed upon. Wolves Boost Ecotourism: The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone has attracted thousands of new visitors each year, adding millions to the local economy annually. Educational Materials ODNR/Ohio Division of Wildlife: http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/education-and-outdoor-discovery/conservation-education-project-wild/education-materials
Mammals of Ohio Field Guide: http://wildlife.ohiodnr.gov/portals/wildlife/pdfs/publications/id%20guides/pub344.pdf "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -Maya Angelo
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