Saturday, April 30, 2016

The Double Mystery of the Missing Bees

Houston, we have a problem.  Actually 2:

Case 1: Buzz is Missing!

Who's Buzz, you're wondering?  Buzz is the name of the bee on the Honey Nut Cheerios box.  And he's visibly absent!  On purpose.

In part of General Mill's Honey Nut Cheerios new awareness & marketing campaign, Buzz is not a smiling feature on boxes in Canada.  #BringBackTheBees and the missing Buzz are to bring awareness to the plight of the pollinator.  Bees are vital to many food sources, and they too seem to be disappearing.  There's a cure for that--planting flowers that bees love!  It really is that simple!

Here's their powerful video about how our buzzing friends need our help.



But wait...there's more:

Case 2: The B's are Missing!

Another company is reporting a case of a missing person.  Er, well...not person, but actually some missing letters to highlight the same plight. Burt's Bee are missing their "B's!"  As they said, it's "A _ig idea from _urt's _ees!"  Add in, they are challenging all to take to social media and share out posts with more missing b's along with the same #BringBackTheBees.


It's exciting to see 2 companies take dramatic marketing moves in order to make a difference. Wouldn't it be exciting if more companies did the same thing.  For the bees and other ways to bring about a better, healthier planet!

Here are 2 infographics that will help you see how vital bees are to us, and how we can do something vital for them!


Honey Nut Cheerios video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fbMQUVYuRQ; Burt's Bee's video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5L_VSb9rJ_0; plants for bees pic from https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cdj26z3UEAAiJTZ.jpg; Honey Nut Cheerios pic from http://brandchannel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/honey-nut-cheerios-bring-back-the-bees-600.jpg; food from bees pic from https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CdjNHTJW4AAAqWs.jpg; Burt's Bees pic from https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/corporate-responsibility/blog/bringbackthebees/ 

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

"If the World Were 100 People" Video

 "Films for Action" always posts some pretty amazing shorts.  Here's another one (from Good Magazine) that fits the bill. Both produced and written by the team of Gabriel Reilich Animation and Jake Infusino, "If the World Were 100 People" visually captures what our global numbers would be if based on the number 100.

In a world where political noise is loud, obnoxious, distasteful, and vitriolic, this is what we really should be listening to.



Film s For Action logo from https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/303042924.jpg?mw=1920&mh=1080&q=70; Video from http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/if-the-world-were-100-people/

Friday, April 22, 2016

Happy Earth Day 2016


Sending you my very best 

this Earth Day...
with a few more inspirational ideas 
(this time, visually) 
to add to the ones from my last post.

What's something special 
you're doing today 
to make the world a little brighter 
and a little better?




Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Earth Day 2016: Trees For The Earth

This Friday, April 22nd is Earth Day.  The 47th Earth Day.  We've been around awhile trying to do this "help our planet" thing.  Looks like we're still doing it.  But, as I've said before, every little step is a step in the right direction, and together we are strong.  So let's keep doing those little steps.

All of us!

This year's theme is "Trees for the Earth."

To get you in that spirit, here are some resources for this 47th Earth Day:
Interestingly enough...Earth Day just so happens to fall during Climate Education Week (April 16th--23rd) and National Environmental Education Week (April 17--23).



Images from: http://www.earthday.org/https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/c4/eb/f5/c4ebf578c32cc330a9683258eb8bde91.jpg, and http://alldonemonkey.com/2014/04/21/10-creative-acts-of-kindness-for-earth-day-the-good-long-road-random-acts-of-kindness/

Saturday, April 16, 2016

MidMonth Climate Manifesto: "Racing Extinction"

Earth Day is around the corner.  Might be a good time to watch an #eco documentary to get you in the right brain space.

"Racing Extinction" might be just the documentary!

In this movie, the production team details the potential of the 6th mass extinction and the first to be driven by human decisions and activities that are driving climate change. I first learned about the making of this movie by seeing something over at OneGreenPlanet.org about the "Racing Extinction" team displaying images of endangered animals on Vatican City's St. Peter's Basilica.  More amazing images and video footage for that are available here.  In the same manner of projected images, the team has shown similar images on the Empire State Building and NYC's United Nations Building.

Of course, from the beginning of this trailer, it's not for the faint of heart. But, important messages that need to be hear sometimes are like that.  The exposé scenes just in the trailer alone show crimes to endangered species. Those startling nature of that makes you mad, and it is often through anger that people take action.  I'm sure this is the exact emotion that the "Racing Extinction" team is going for!


To get the movie in front of you, check out RacingExtinction.com for a multitude of ways of where you can get it.  Likewise, there are a lot of resources, videos, and action steps also available at their website.  Excellent things to think about this Earth Day ahead, making plans on how we can start turning things around for our planet through both education and action!!


Panda image from http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/racing-extinction-team-displays-animals-in-vatican-city/; Trailer from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwxyrLUdcss

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Recycling Right... & Reiterating the Order of the 3 R's

"Recycling" is a household word these days--or at the very least, it should be.  We've been talking about it long enough, that yes indeed it should be. (Though I will say it still startles me when I am somewhere like a shop or a store that only has one bin, but I digress.)

I think most of us feel like we are wearing our white hats like "Scandal" gladiators, doing good for the world, when we recycle.

Well, maybe they are green hats!

But recycling is tricky.  It's this seductive idea that makes us feel like we are all out there on "TeamGreen," but there's still so many items with those triangular chasing arrows on them that really can't be recycled.  So we feel like we are recycling like a champ, keeping items from the trash bin, when what really happens.... things wind up in the landfill.

It's rather deflating.

These 2 videos help you get more personal with the plastic products you are bringing into your homes--items which you may ultimately "get rid of," one way or another.  It brings up the point that your decision starts with your dollar and what you spend your money on, so make your monetary vote count.  It also reminds us that the motto "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" is purposely written in that order.  (Some people even start with "Refuse!")




Pics from https://pixabay.com/static/uploads/photo/2013/04/01/10/59/recycle-98854_960_720.png and https://c1.staticflickr.com/9/8383/8558569053_aa89a5f01d_z.jpg;
Videos from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qTelxi3MjU and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HuZ6_LOxY8

Saturday, April 9, 2016

Going on Walk-About With A Walking Curriculum


From the First Family to your family, getting outdoors and taking a walk is good for you.  It's a great way to commune with nature, get some fresh air, deal with whatever stressors are working through you, and just take advantage of the calming effects of nature.

Not surprisingly, the same holds true for the classroom, and it's a great way for educators to reach your students in new ways and connect them with the natural world.

There probably is "an app for that," but more importantly, there's a K-12th grade curriculum for it created by Gillian Judson. Additionally, any of these ideas might be some great tools in your parenting toolkit, spurring some great conversational focuses for your own family walk. Spounds like the perfect thing to do here as the weather turns nicer each day!

The benefits are many, as Gillian points out on her webpage:
"These walking activities can...engage the body, emotions, and imagination in ways that can increase familiarity with the local and natural contexts of school and learning; increase attention to detail, particularity and their attunement with place; connect place-based learning activities with cross-curricular goals; serve as examples for your own, place-inspired teaching ideas."

Where to start:

Diving In:   Each of the 4-parts of the curriculum features "5 Focused Walks"

  • Part 1:
    • Shapes Walk
    • (Sur)faces Walk
    • Motion Walk
    • Texture:  How This Place Feels
    • Where is Here?
  • Part 2:
    • Line Walk
    • Weather(ed) Walk
    • History Walk
    • Synethesia Walk (= humans have multi-perceptual modes working simultaneously to experience the world)
    • Letter Walk:  What Squiggles or Lines Fill This Place
  • Part 3:
    • Borders Walk
    • Vertical World Walk
    • Tracks, Prints, & Marks Walk
    • Riddle Walk
    • Searching for the Aliens Walk (= looking for Invasaive Species)
  • Part 4:
    • What's Underfoot Walk
    • What's Overhead Walk (or Crick' Neck Walk)
    • Growth Walk
    • Lovely/Unlovely Walk
    • The Walk(ing) Walk


Images: President Obama's Family pic from https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Obama_family_walks_with_First_Dog_Bo_4-14-09.jpg; Family walk pic from http://www.public-domain-image.com/free-images/people/a-family-enjoys-a-leisurely-walk.jpg; Walking Curric pic from 
http://gillianjudson.edublogs.org/2016/02/03/a-walking-curriculum-part-3-walking-learning-k-12/

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Chesapeake Bay Foundation's "Save The Bay" Video

Being a Maryander now, these 3 words are ones you hear often:  "Save the Bay."

The health of the Chesapeake Bay is something a lot of us are concerned about.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has done a nice job of creating a powerful and beautiful video that makes you want to do just that:  Save the Bay.


Save the Bay from Chesapeake Bay Foundation on Vimeo.



Video from https://www.cbf.org/about-cbf/discovery-video or https://vimeo.com/158501858