Desert Ideas from Australia

Alice Springs Desert Park

We recently talked about dreaming big. An example was given of a high school student who went to Australia. Maybe that whet your appetite for an excursion to Australia. Here is some information about one of Australia's many parks and research centers. Take a virtual tour, or, plan a real one to Alice Springs Desert Park. Here are some pictures, quotes and links to the park's website.

• Home Page for Alice Springs Desert Park
  
  • Information for teachers planning field trips
    
  • Ideas for student planning to visit
    
  • Research and Conservation at Alice Springs Desert Park
    
• There are employment, work experience and volunteering opportunities at the park.
• Contact Alice Springs Desert Park

Some quotes from the Alice Springs Desert Park Website:

"Hundreds of species of plants and animals found across Central Australian deserts can be seen, smelt and heard.

"You will even have the opportunity to experience desert habitats as they are at night, seeing some of the animals near impossible to see in the wild.

"...When you leave the Desert Park you will go away with new stories, skills and some of the secrets of the desert."

[Under development]


Source: http://www.alicespringsdesertpark.com.au/ Accessed Mar. 4, 2009.

Another website shows these pictures from the desert region: http://asdpeducation.wikispaces.com/Desert+Rivers+Habitat

New Desert Rivers shelter available for School Groups

"Desert Rivers is a great place to study the diversity of life, as many animals and plants can be found due to the availability of water."


Desert Rivers Habitat

Source: http://asdpeducation.wikispaces.com/Desert+Rivers+Habitat Accessed: Mar. 4, '09

Solar power leads to sustainability... What do you think?

Watch this video and think about it. Compare and contrast your life to what you see in this video. Evaluate it based on what you know of science of solar power and on your own value system. Try writing about it. Do you know of other ways to use science to improve sustainability of the Earth and concurrently end poverty? Does charity overlap with science? Reflection using your science skills helps make informed decisions...


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I have added another video that I found later:

Using "EOL" and...being Part of the Global Effort to Add Plant Species to the Encyclopedia of Life

People all over the world are adding plant species to the Encyclopedia of Life. If you know of someone with a database of plant species, encourage them to add their database of plant species
http://www.eol.org/

If you are from Bolivia, or Morocco, or South Africa, or, the USA or, Canada, or the UK, or Japan, or Iraq, or Australia, or, Eritrea, or Somalia, or, anywhere in the world, contact botanists where you live and see if they have added their data to the EOL. Or, perhaps you know a plant that hasn't been added. You can add it.

It is exciting to be a part of this world wide peaceful effort.

You can also use the Encyclopedia of Life.

THE CROW AND THE SEA GULL

Dr-J'S FABLES

THE CROW AND THE SEA GULL

by Dr-J

In the nearly empty lot of a McDonald's not far from the coast one stormy summer's day a Sea Gull was trying to open his lunch sack. It had been conveniently left there by the previous guest, Mr. Litterbug. A Crow passed by, then alighted on the nearby macadem, pausing to say, "Hello," to Sea Gull and then watching him.

The Sea Gull picked up his lunch bag and flew up in the air. When he was high enough, he dropped the bag. Then, quickly flew down to look at it. Again and again Sea Gull flew up in the air, dropped his lunch sack and flew down again. Ever so patiently Sea Gull tried again and again. Finally he gave up, said Goodbye," to Crow and decided to fly farther in-land since the clouds over the sea looked ominous.

"Do you want help with your lunch," asked the Crow before the Sea Gull left?

"No, I'm going to find something else to eat," and the Sea Gull flew away.

"Why bother to look elsewhere?" said the Crow; "We have plenty of food right here." But the Sea Gull was already too far away to hear. The Crow walked over to the lunch sack and using the long toes as a hand, gently unfolded the top of the bag and then tipped the bag over and ate the lunch. Then the Crow knew:

It is better to wait patiently than to give up before reaching your goal.

THE END

This is a true story, except for the anthropomorphism at the end (And of course, the talking.) The actual incident, which the author watched, took place around 1999. Of course there are many other morals that could be drawn by the reader, such as...

• "Then the reader knew:
  • 'Littering is frustrating to wildlife and drastically alters their diet," or,
  • "Sea Gulls eat shell fish that they drop from the air, smash on the rocks and then, nibble on the pieces, while Crows use there feet and their minds to help them get their food," or,
  • "Old technologies need to be updated as situations change, or,
  • "Science education helps us preserve our environment, save our wildlife and sustain the Earth."
• Related articles
  • Smashing clams on rocks and Theseus...
  • Sea Gulls being fed our food and now...
  • Seagull plays golf...
  • Here's another story about a Crow watching a Seagull that I found after writing my story independently. My story is based on my own observations of an actual incident
  • Seagulls become flying "fatties"...
  • The Crow Society
  • One more Gull in a World of Gulls
  • More on crows and songbirds, too...
    

(c)2007 J S Shipman
used by Read-about-it.blogspot.com TIBU with the permission of the author.

Cool: You go to MIT!

Build up your math, science and engineering skills!!!

http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/web/home/home/index.htm

Botany: Key to Clean Air (and fun!)

There are great items for everyone at the Botanical Society Website...students, teachers, families, scientists, photographers...
Here's a 2007-2008 School Year Resource Link: http://www.botany.org/outreach/weblinks.php

Here's a web site on a talk from the Botanical Society of America meetings 2002 . People keep requesting it, so I posted it here. If it doesn't link automatically type in the address. http://www.noblenet.org/bhcc/league/BSA2002ShipmanSmith.ppt