especially for teachers

February 9, 2009April 25, 2015

Focus on Feeders

After the kids left on Saturday, I spent some time outside laying in the snow near the feeder, camera in hand. That’s when I saw the little fellow in the photo above, a pine siskin; another first for my backyard! Incredible what you will SEE when you actually take a minute to LOOK.

Anyway, I thought I’d share the Focus on Feeder report data that I am about to submit to MassAudubon. All told, we saw fourteen species of birds over the weekend:

4 American Goldfinch
6 Black-capped chicadees
2 Blue Jays
1 Carolina Wren
5 Dark-eyed Juncos
2 Downy Woodpeckers
2 Hairy Woodpeckers
6 House Finches
14 Mourning Doves
2 Northern Cardinals
2 Pine Siskins
1 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Tufted Titmice
4 White-breasted nuthatches

Not bad for one backyard!

If all this bird talk and citizen science talk has got your juices flowing, visit the Great Backyard Bird Count webpage to learn how you can conduct a bird census of your own this weekend, February 13-16, 2009. We Burnses are in, which is why I am off to fill my feeders again …

February 3, 2009April 25, 2015

A Royal Cure for Winter Blues

Winter got you down?

Dreaming about meadows and sunshine?

Want to plan something outdoorsy and fun that doesn’t require four layers and heavy boots? (Maybe something like this or this?)

Well, then, I have good news for you. Tagging kits for the 2009 monarch tagging season are now available at the MonarchWatch Shop. Get ‘em now and start planning for the fall!

If you’re not sure what monarch tagging is all about, spend an afternoon cruising the MonarchWatch website; you’ll find everything you need to know. (You can also leave me a comment; I’m happy to answer whatever I can.)

And if you are a veteran monarch enthusiast, you’ll want to read this important update from MonarchWatch director, Dr. Chip Taylor. MonarchWatch needs our help.

February 1, 2009April 25, 2015

Got Birdseed?

I spent part of today traipsing around the yard filling our seed feeders and suet holders. We’ve had an incredible diversity of bird species this year (fifteen at last count*) and I want to encourage all my avian visitors to stick around. I’ll need them during the next two weekends as I host two big citizen science activities here at the Burns homestead:

On Saturday, February 7 we’ll be counting birds for MassAudubon’s Focus on Feeders event. If you live in Massachusetts and you’d like to get involved in this simple citizen science project, here’s how.

On Saturday, February 14 we’ll be counting birds again, this time for National Audubon Society’s Great Backyard Bird Count. You can find more information here.

Both events are S-I-M-P-L-E: (1) go outside (2) for each species of bird you see, count the largest number of birds you see at any one time (3) record your data. Later, when you’re back inside sipping hot cocoa, you can compile and submit your data. These projects are designed for citizen scientists of any age or experience, so–QUICK!–get outside and fill your feeders.

*We’ve spotted these species in our yard this winter: cardinals, black-capped chickadees, white-breasted nuthatches, downy woodpeckers, hairy woodpeckers, dark-eyed juncos, mourning doves, tufted titmice, goldfinches, blue jays, crows, chipping sparrow (I think!), purple finches (I think!), red-tailed hawks and our new favorite, a red-bellied woodpecker.

January 9, 2009April 25, 2015

Project Budburst

Got flowers, shrubs or trees?

Sick of winter?

Into science?

Well, then, what are you doing here? Head on over to the Project Budburst website and learn how you can gather important information about the plants in your own backyard … and help scientists understand climate change in the process.

I’ll be leading the Burns household in a three-pronged Project Budburst study*: we plan to choose one flower, one shrub, and one tree in our backyard, watch it closely throughout the year, and report the date of each major phenophase. (That’s a fancy word for the life cycle stage of plants. Drop it into conversation today and impress your friends!)

For the record, the phenophases (catchy, isn’t it?) of interest are First Leaf, Full Leaf, First Flower, Full Flower, End Flower and Seed/Fruit Dispersal. Spring is a great time to begin your observations, and Project Budburst is a great way to get outside and see spectacular transformations that we (and I include myself here) mostly forget to notice.

My first task is to identify plants from the BudBurst study list, preferably ones growing in my backyard. This will make my observations as simple as a walk in the yard. Sounds easy enough but, um, I’m not so good at plant identification. Which is why I borrowed this from the library:

I’ll let you know what plants we decide to study. You let me know if you decide to jump on the phenophase bandwagon.

* By “three-pronged Project Budburst study” I mean, of course, more research for my new book on citizen science!

January 2, 2009April 25, 2015

Year of Science 2009

Teachers and parents take note: 2009 is the Year of Science!

Several organizations have joined forces to create a vehicle through which to generate excitement about science. The project is massive, as far as I can tell, and there are an overwhelming number of ways for any one person to participate.

Firstly, you can visit the Year of Science website. It is a portal to all sorts of information on science, why it is important, how it is practiced, who practices it, and how you can be more involved in it. One of the cooler gems I stumbled across while wandering around there was the Flat Stanley Project, a simple idea with an amazing ability to help students explore worlds beyond their classroom. (The project was inspired, of course, by the Flat Stanley books.)

The organizers have also created a separate website dedicated to fostering a better public understanding of science. Although the Understanding Science website doesn’t officially launch until later this week, you can see a preview here. Teacher resources seem plentiful and I look forward to exploring this site more when it launches.

Finally, the twelve months of the Year of Science have been assigned themes:

January: Process & Nature of Science
February: Evolution
March: Physics & Technology
April: Energy Resources
May: Sustainability and the Environment
June: Oceans & Water
July: Astronomy
August: Weather and Climate
September: Biodiversity and Conservation
October: Geosciences & Planet Earth
November: Chemistry
December: Science and Healthy

In thinking of ways that I might join the celebration, I have decided to adjust my reading for the year. I’d like to explore these topics each month through the books I read, and I will share the best of them here on my blog.

So, dear readers, go forth and celebrate science. I’m off to the library in search of books about its nature and process!

October 14, 2008April 25, 2015

Happy Earth Science Week!

What’s that? You didn’t know it WAS Earth Science Week? No worries. You have until October 18 to celebrate and this Earth Science Week website is chock full of ideas on how to get started.

We Burnses celebrated at Purgatory Chasm, a quarter-mile long gash in the surface of the planet that happens to be located near where we live. The chasm is believed to have formed when melted glacial waters burst from its foundations 14,000 years ago. Now it is the main attraction of the Purgatory Chasm State Reservation and a heckuva lot of fun to hike through. If you are very brave (which I am not), you can even poke around in the caves formed when giant slabs and boulders of disrupted granite re-settled themselves in the chasm. Sadly, I didn’t bring my camera to the Chasm.

But I did bring my camera to the top of Lenox Mountain, which turned out to be another fine place to contemplate the Earth:

And now that you know where I’ve been for the past few days, I’ll show you where I am going:

Only three weeks left to make the bee book perfect!

June 27, 2008April 25, 2015

International Coastal Cleanup 2008

On September 20, 2008, beach guardians and environmentally motivated men, women, and children around the world will gather to pick up trash on their favorite shore. In the spirit of citizen science and ocean advocacy, they will also count each and every item of trash they find. That’s right, each ketchup packet, bottle cap, plastic fork, paper napkin, and cigarette butt will be recorded, and the tallied results will be published in a massive marine debris report.

Last year, 378,000 people from more than seventy countries participated in the International Coastal Cleanup … and they cleared more than six million pounds of trash from their local beaches. In Massachusetts, 1,998 people participated in ICC/COASTSWEEP and collected 18,957 pounds of trash. And right here in my own community, 92 of my friends and neighbors gathered to clear Indian Lake of 656 pounds of debris.

Astounding, yes? So much trash. And so many motivated humans doing something about it.

If you are inspired to get involved, visit the International Coastal Cleanup website, where you will find everything you need to know.

If you’d like a little motivation, the complete 2007 ICC report can be read online here.

Massachusetts residents can check out our local Coastsweep website for information on local ICC cleanup events, and Massachusetts students in grades 4-12 can also participate in a statewide poster contest.

More soon, but in the meanwhile do spread the word!

April 30, 2008April 25, 2015

Kim Norman, a children’s picture book author herself, has recently launched the Author School Visits By State website. Her goal is to help educators nationwide find children’s authors who visit schools.

If you are an author who visits schools, contact Kim to be included. And if you are a teacher or librarian looking for authors near you, go ahead and browse. (You’ll find me under Massachusetts!)

Tag: especially for teachers