“The principal thought was to inspire children, who will be the ones to create gardens of the future.”

~ Claude Pasquer

All the vegetation for the compost is specific to Russia and was collected for the workshop by a team from the Botanical Garden of Rostov-on-Don: Ирина Руденкова, Oksana  Aleynikova and Антон Папков.

The ChampiComposteur was awarded a gold medal by the Moscow Flower Show, which is the largest Russian international garden, art and landscape design festival.

A ChampiComposteur installation and workshop was also held in Voronezh, 600 km south of Moscow. A third workshop and permanent installation will take place in May at Rostov-on-Don, at the Botanical Garden of SFU. Moscow’s 7th Moscow International Flower & Garden Festival runs from June 29th to July 8th, 2018

ChampiComposteurs are of benefit to any garden, large or small, public or private. They perform the process of composting, of decomposing organic matter, to give rebirth and also help reduce the export of “green waste.”

Its grand sculptural form brings a fresh aesthetic to composting, and allows the process of decomposition — instead of being relegated to the bottom of the garden or out of sight — to play an affirmative role in the overall garden design.

Shown here: ChampiComposteurs (center) in Sculptillonnage, by Claude Pasquer and Corinne Détroyat, Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival, 20th Edition: “The Art of Happy Biodiversity or Gardens of the Future.”

This is Gitanjali’s video submission for the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. She is a 2017 National Finalist, and was named “America’s Top Young Scientist” in the competition.

This year, NASA will celebrate Earth Day, April 22, with a variety of live and online activities Thursday and Friday, April 20-21, to engage the public in the agency’s mission to better understand and protect our home planet.

Earth Day in the Nation’s Capital
Thursday, April 20, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Union Station main hall at 40 Massachusetts Ave. NE in Washington
NASA Hyperwall and Science Stories, hands-on activities and demonstrations. NASA scientists will give talks April 20 at the Hyperwall stage following the opening ceremony at 10:30 a.m. Meet former astronaut Scott Altman from 12 to 1 p.m.

Hayden Planetarium Special Event: Earth Day Celebration in New York
Friday, April 21, 7 p.m.
American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York
The program will celebrate Earth Day with a visually stunning tour of our dynamic planet. Beginning with the Earth’s rise above the moon, first seen by the Apollo 8 astronauts and the original inspiration for Earth Day, the program will explore the many ways scientists use satellite instruments and computer models to monitor global change. NASA climate scientist Benjamin Cook, from the agency’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, will co-lead the program using OpenSpace, a new NASA-funded, real-time visualization platform.

“Adopt the Planet” Online Activity
Ongoing
NASA invites the public to learn about our global environment by “adopting” a small part of our home planet. Participants will receive a personalized adoption certificate for their unique, numbered piece of Earth (approximately 55 miles wide) to print and share on social media. The certificate features NASA Earth science data collected for that location.

https://climate.nasa.gov/adopt-the-planet

NASA uses the vantage point of space to increase our understanding of our home planet, improve lives and safeguard our future. The agency develops new ways to observe and study Earth’s interconnected natural systems with long-term data records, shares this unique knowledge, and works with institutions around the world to gain new insights into how our planet is changing.

For more information about NASA’s Earth science activities, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/earth

SOURCE NASA

CONTACT: Sean Potter, Headquarters, Washington, 202-358-1536, sean.potter@nasa.gov

RELATED LINKS
http://www.nasa.gov

Through this lovely video we experience the magic and joy of rivers and their environs through the travels of a young boy, Parker, enjoying the gifts of the northwest’s rivers to the fullest.

For more information: American Rivers

While Pokémon Go has helped to bring augmented reality to everyday life, UBC researchers are using similar technology to teach high school students about climate change.

Based on the community of Delta B.C., the Future Delta video game first lets players see a bleak future where little was done about climate change. Then, exploring challenges facing the Lower Mainland like floods, sea level rise, heat waves, fires, blackouts and our own energy choices, players take on the role of making a better future.

Future Delta 2.0 Climate Change video game, Future Reality screen shot. Credit: UBC

The Future Delta 2.0 team recently received seed funding from the Social Sciences & Humanities Research Council to expand beyond the Delta School District to youth audiences across Canada, and they hope to create an app version for mobile devices.

The team will also be hosting a symposium later this fall on “Cool Tools for a Warming World”, for industry and government partners working on climate action and education, thanks to a new $50,000 research cluster grant from UBC.

A Natural Teacher is anyone who uses the power of nature as an environment for learning – not only about nature, but about any subject.

Professional educators, parents, grandparents, librarians, park rangers, the good folks who operate outdoor programs — can all be Natural Teachers. Here’s a sampling of ways to get going this year, excerpted from “Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life.”

1. Give or assign books for nature inspiration. The books most likely to inspire children to head outdoors aren’t environmental sermons (plenty of time for those later), but about adventure and wonder. Such inspirational titles include Island of the Blue Dolphins, Julie of the Wolves, Tom Sawyer, The Jungle Book, and The Curious Garden. Read about nature together or encourage 
solo reading outdoors. Emphasize books specific to natural history — especially the natural history of your own backyard, city, and bioregion. Writer Sara St. Antoine, writing for C&NN, offer this all-ages list of recommended books for kids and young people.

2. Spend a half hour outdoors; write an instant nature essay.
 Parents, teachers and other adults can do this as well, but it can be especially effective with young people. A California high school biology teacher asked his students to spend a half hour outside — anywhere that they considered part of the natural world, whether it was an urban park, a yard, or a stream outside of town — and then write about their experiences. Recommended book: Keeping a Nature Journal by Clare Walker Leslie.

3. Move the classroom outside. Learn how just about everything can be taught outside. Recommended book: Moving the Classroom Outdoors by Herb Broda. Create a sensory garden, using natural elements to stimulate the basic senses and other, lesser-known senses, including vestibular, proprioceptive, and kinesthetic senses. See the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Schoolyard Habitat Project Guide. Learn about school gardening projects at KidsGardening.org. Tap the knowledge of programs such as the Natural Learning Initiative. Check out the Green Schoolyards for Healthy Communities initiative, a C&NN partnership with the National League of Cities.

4. Study bird behavior. Learn about bird language. Nature connection educator Jon Young’s book, What the Robin Knows: How Birds Reveal the Secrets of the Natural World, explores the ancient discipline of deep bird language, perfected by indigenous people around the world over, and science is finally catching up. Learn and practice bird calls. Recommended regional book series: The Backyard Birdsong Guide, by Donald Kroodsma.

5. Hold a scavenger hunt. You don’t need Pokémon GO to know which way the wind blows. Scavenger hunts require no special materials – not even a smartphone. They’re fun and they can amplify concepts being taught in school. Ask kids to use their senses to find a soft object, something that makes a sound, something that smells good. Gather seeds, plant them later to see what grows. Look for a squirrel nest or insect home (but don’t disturb them). Find ten examples of weathering or camouflage. Scavenger Hunt Guru and the Nature Conservancy offer lists for urban nature hunts. Recommended: Leopold Exploration Cards from the Aldo Leopold Foundation.

6. Create nature-based classrooms in the community beyond the school.
 Schools, families, businesses, parks, and outdoor organizations can work together to encourage parents to organize a family nature club or join an existing one, introduce students to nature centers and parks, and sponsor overnight trips. They can help develop safe, natural learning environments within walking distance of every school.

7. Get Every Kid in a Park. Every child deserves to experience wilderness or nearby urban nature. A White House initiative launched last year focuses on fourth graders, providing free admission for a whole year to all national parks and other federal lands and waters, including ones in highly urban areas. Children, their families, adult chaperones, and their schools are able to use the pass for multiple visits over the course of an entire year. Find out more here.

8. Learn more about the benefits of
 nature-based education. In Finland, which is consistently near the top of the list in math and science testing (the United States is significantly lower on the list), students spend much of the day outdoors — no matter how cold the temperature. Recommended resources include C&NN’s special report on the benefits of natural learning environments, and Green Teacher magazine, available in English, Spanish, and French. Here’s a list of books to inspire Natural Teachers. And another one, too.

Richard Louv is co-founder and chairman emeritus of the Children & Nature Network. His newest book, VITAMIN N, offers 500 ways to create nature-rich schools, libraries, homes, communities — and kids. His other books include LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder and THE NATURE PRINCIPLE.  Follow Richard Louv on Facebook and @RichLouv on Twitter.

Republished with permission from The Children & Nature Network

Copyright Richard Louv. All rights reserved.

These videos and infographic provide some basic information to inform your cloud watching habit.

Infographic by Weather Underground

For More Information

National Weather Service – Ten Basic Cloud Types
Live Science – Types of Clouds
UCAR Center for Science Education
Met Office – Cloud Names and Classifications
TEDBlog – The Joy of Cloudspotting: 10 Incredible Visions in Clouds
The Cloud Appreciation Society

Enjoy these Earth Day Songs for Kids

Enjoy his inspiring story:

Video from KarmaTube

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