Trees of Namibia: A Reader's Request

If there is a reader from Namibia who is knowledgeable about trees and herbaceous plants in Namibia, a reader from New Jersey, who has been to Namibia, is interested in learning more. Please send photos and information to post and I will include it in the blog posts so we can all learn more.

In particular, the New Jersey reader has interest in tree legumes, one with red and one with white pods. If you can recommend a resource, that would be great also. Are these trees used for anything special?

All readers are welcomed to participate in this science education blog. Please e-mail me your requests and posts. shipmanjs at g mail dot com

Using Wiki to find National Parks-Searching as Part of Science Literacy

Finding information is a part of literacy. In science literacy, we have searched for journal articles before, but, today I did a search for myself that I turned into the blog post. I learned from doing this search and thought you would enjoy my journey, perhaps finding a new path for your own searches.

Searching for Kabarega National Park on Google came up with a map, but, not much information. There was a link to Wiki, however, so I took it. Still, I didn't come up with much. So in Wiki, I went to request information and was directed to a page to choose a topic. The closest was, "biology." Under, "biology," I selected, "conservation."

There, I found, "National Parks by Country."

I continued my search for Ugandan parks, and I will post what I found. You can look, however, for parks in the country of your interest.

List of national parks of Uganda Bwindi Impenetrable National Park Kibale National Park Kidepo Valley National Park

Kyambura Game Reserve Lake Mburo National Park Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Mount Elgon National Park

Murchison Falls National Park Queen Elizabeth National Park Rwenzori Mountains National Park Semuliki National Park

One of the links mentions the Uganda Wildlife Authority, which controls the parks and its website (http://www.uwa.or.ug/)provides additional information.

Clicking on the National Parks of Uganda, however, I did not locate, "Kabarega National Park." So, it is possible for me to go back in to Wiki and ask for someone knowing about that park to post an article. Of course, people may also submit comments or send an e-mail to post an article here, too.

Now, you can try to find some national parks. Pick a geographic location of interest to you. Select a country here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Conservation_by_country. Then, try finding a list of national parks in that country. I'll go through what I found for another country, then, let you check out some on your own. Adults may post their or their children's experiences with this exercise.

In Bolivia, for example, we find the following:

Apolobamba Integrated Management Natural Area Beni Biological Station Biosphere Reserve Cordillera de Sama Biological Reserve Eduardo Avaroa Andean Fauna National Reserve

El Palmar Integrated Management Natural Area Manuripi-Heath Amazonian Wildlife National Reserve Template:National Parks of Bolivia Pilón Lajas Biosphere Reserve and Communal Lands

San Matías Integrated Management Natural AreaT Tariquía Flora and Fauna National Reserve Tucavaca Valley Municipal Reserve Ul

Have fun with this exercise, plan travels, or find e-mail friends or pen friends or penpals. Learn about natural science in the region and share information on your country's natural science.

Post script: Another reference on national parks that I came across during my search today is ParksWatch an organization that fosters biological diversity through park systems. You might like to check out what this group does.

Dr. J

Links to Research on Medicinal Plants

Students in today's classes are often from different bckgrounds. Links to medicinal plants show how all cultures have contributed to medicine.

Folklore Medicinal Plants of Mewat, India

South African Medicinal Plants

Anti-diabetes and hypoglycemia plants from Morocco

Dictionary of British and Irish Botanists and Horticulturalists

[under development]

Kipepeo: Build your science vocabulary in Swahili!

http://www.kipepeo.org/ is the site for a butterfly farm in Kenya.

"Kipepeo," is the Swahili word for butterfly. Visit the link to learn more about kipepeo.

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Sustainability through science education is a major theme of this blog. In order to have a global audience, I try to add topics of interest to scientists and science educators, and the general global community. By increasing communication among different people, all over the globe, I hope to enhance global sustainability. So, today, I have chosen to add a link to Kenya. I hope to encourage all of us to get a better understanding of each others' cultures and science applications throughout the World. Please add more links from Kenya or other parts of the World.
Dr. J

For more information on science in Kenya: http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/amed/kenya/resources/kenya-science.html

Recent Visitors have been from many Parts of the World. Thank you.

	Num	Perc.	Country Name
	356	78.24%	United States
	49	10.77%	Canada
	20	4.40%	Unknown	-
	4	0.88%	Japan
	4	0.88%	United Kingdom
	3	0.66%	Mauritius
	3	0.66%	India
	3	0.66%	Australia
	2	0.44%	Serbia
	2	0.44%	Ireland
	2	0.44%	Philippines
	1	0.22%	Sweden
	1	0.22%	Thailand
	1	0.22%	Israel
	1	0.22%	New Zealand
	1	0.22%	Belgium
	1	0.22%	Netherlands
	1	0.22%	South Africa

Source August 23, 2008