Stars, Stripes, and Sustainable Strides

July 4th, 2026 marks a memorable day: 

America's 250th birthday. 

We've all seen the snippets coming our way regarding this semiquincentennial birthday & American anniversary: patriotic parades ahead, firework events, festivals & celebrations.... and even down to sales galore at all the stores, with decor red ♥️, white 🤍, and blue 💙, and discount signs everywhere!  

I've been around long enough to lightly remember the 1976 U.S. Bicentennial. "Lightly" because I was not quite 7 years old. And now here we are.... 50 years later. 😱 If 50 is a lot, what about 1/4 of a millennium?!

Yes, 250 years is a big deal! 

Imagining back to 1776 and the era of quills, cannons, and candlelight, we've come a long way, baby! Can you imagine our forefathers even trying to fathom televisions, computers or live-streamed shows on smartphones? Then think about all that goes with all of that: from microchips to electricity to Google (or Amazon or Best Buy) to drones to satellites to AI. They wouldn't even be able to wrap their head around a fraction of all that. 

250 years of inventions and innovations have carried us far! A LOT has changed since that very first Independence Day.

Since the very beginning, we have been a nation that "shoots for the stars ⭐️." In 1776, that looked like freedom and the birth of a nation. It was centered around ordinary people breaking free from a king (or other ruler), with the idea of equality and voting for folks to shape their own future. From its inception, democracy has counted on the dynamic balance of the the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the government. 

From there, our country soared by the way of life-changing innovations: railroads and telegraphs, light bulbs and airplanes, radios and televisions, rockets and moon landings, computers and the internet. Each invention launched us into a brighter, shinier future of possibility. 

Much like the stripes on our national flag, with each decade we see the stripes of history and the timeline of change progressing us forward. Advances in agriculture, transportation, energy, production, communication, and more moved us forward in a multitude of ways. 

Not surprisingly, along with these new solutions came some environmental and social issues that needed to be solved. Air/water/land pollution, overcrowded cities, climate challenges, and other issues became the next problems to solve. Yet again, we made strides to solve those new problems. A sweeping stripe of environmental stewardship took place with the first Earth Day in 1970 and other environmental and health protections getting put into practice, policy, and law. We see these layering stripes of progress, advancement, enlightenment, and future success sometimes layered with the dark stripes of history where we aren't always proud of our past choices. This right here is in part the philosophy backing why I became a teacher: we need to learn from our past mistakes in history in order to not repeat it. 

So as we go forward with our democracy, our nation, and all the inevitable inventions and innovations ahead, we need to make sure our future strides are sustainable ones. I tell my students all the time: we are problem solvers. So it is part of our jobs as American citizens, global citizens, digital citizens and decision makers, and future changemakers to factor in forward thinking as we go. Maybe that is in the future of hybrid or electric cars. Perhaps it is in alternative energy such as wind, solar, hydropower, or geothermal. Maybe our throwaway-culture will grab hold of a model more focused around circular design to reuse and reinvest materials. Perhaps communities could be designed with the climate in mind to help create flood-resistant cities and build in protections to help offset our warming planet in areas that are prone to heat-waves and droughts.

I'm a big proponent of small acts making a big impact. As we think about new shining star innovations as we continue to move forward in the stripes of the future, let's factor in those sustainable strides. In doing so, we can truly celebrate the longevity of our history and the distance we have traveled as a nation. Likewise, we can proudly take on an inspiring future. In doing so, it will set the precedent for our kids to watch our country grow stronger each step of the way, where one day they will take on that same challenge as adults! Let's create a fireworks-worthy celebration as we craft the best possible answer to the question: Where do we want our country to be in 50, 100, 250 years from now?

For more information about America's 250th birthday, click the first link above or go to: https://america250.org/

Images from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:America250_flag.svg, 1976 image (A float during the American Bicentennial Grand Parade in Washington, D.C. Photo via National Archives) from https://www.reuters.com/pictures/how-america-celebrated-its-200th-birthday-1976-2026-06-03/?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us

1776 first 4th graphic created using Perplexity.com and using this prompt: "Create a graphic image of what the 1st 4th of July might have looked like in 1776, showing the simplicity of the times. Include stars in the sky, and make sure to show the flag at the time." American Innovation graphic created using Perplexity.com and the following prompt: "Make an interesting graphic showing the progress of time with these inventions, with stars in a flag blue sky: railroads and telegraphs, light bulbs and airplanes, radios and televisions, rockets and moon landings, computers and the internet." The future "Circle City" graphic created on Perplexity.com using the bulk of the next-to-last paragraph. The Independence Day/4th of July banner created at canva.com

From Freedom to Future: Juneteenth, Father's Day, and the Obama Presidential Center

What do fathers, freedom, financial planners, and forward thinking spaces like Obama's Presidential Center have in common?

They all are tied to this weekend ahead, at least here in our house. Simultaneously, they all point to the same big question: What will we leave behind?

Here at home, my husband and I started the weekend with a Zoom call with our financial planner. This has become a relatively regular occurrence every month or two. Looking at longevity, legacy, and long-term care ultimately has us staring at that “someday” end date. 

We all have one, and no one gets out of this life without landing on one. Of course, we all hope it's later versus sooner. Add in the reality of parenting near-adult kids, and Father’s Day starts to feel a little different too. Aging, watching medical concerns trickle into our friend groups, and quietly wondering how on earth we got here so soon!

Then add in all the news of our first African American President, Barack Obama, unveiling his beautiful Presidential Center. More than a library, this community-centered campus includes outdoor green spaces for learning, playing, organizing, and creating together. It's a place to learn about civic engagement and democracy, serving as a place to honor the stories of those behind us as well as a springboard to build and imagine a future greater than the world in which we live. As I watched the speeches and unveiling, I felt the hope and optimism of building a collectively great place. That for me completely memorializes the power of our 250 years here in America.

It also highlights the vision and importance of Juneteenth, and feels powerful that the Center's opening was on June 18th. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865 when the last group of enslaved Black people were finally told they were free in Galveston, Texas. This happened more than 2 years after Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation that put an end to slavery on January 1, 1963. Juneteenth became an official national holiday in 2021. It is seen as the "second Independence Day," celebrating freedom, equality, resilience, and social justice.

This weekend invites us to reflect on legacy in different ways. As we pay tribute to the history of Juneteenth, honor our dads and grandfathers here on Father’s Day, and celebrate the Obama Presidential Center and its focus to the future, we can feel the swirling power of "legacy." It feels living. It feels like a verb. It certainly feels like a hope for what's to come next.

We feel the stories of our own family histories as we celebrate our fathers, the stories of our country's history, and the stories we hope to build going forward. Much like the community gardens that are a part of the Obama Center, legacy is a place to go together. A place to grow together. It is through history and community that we do indeed grow. Perhaps that is the truest meaning of "legacy."

To all who celebrate:

• May Juneteenth be a day of remembrance, history, and renewed commitment to freedom; 
• May your Father’s Day be filled with gratitude, stories, and time together; 
• And may the Obama Presidential Center stand for a vision of hope, serving as an inspiring gathering place to many... keeping us learning, leading, and leaving a better world behind.

Images from https://www.businessbackpacker.com/how-to-build-your-personal-legacy-and-share-it-with-the-world/, https://www.instagram.com/p/DZvTQMpkxzj/, https://justicerevival.org/juneteenth-anti-racism-christian-prayer-reflections/, https://wesleychoice.org/12-interesting-facts-about-fathers-day/

Breaking Up Is Hard to Do

I recently spent a week breaking up with my childhood home.

Why? Well, it was a one week marathon whirlwind of a week, going thru my ol' homestead because my my mom passed away 2 months ago. All this happening on the cusp of her 86th bday. 

It's the home she and Dad moved into a year after they were married.

It's the home I came home from the hospital from on day "just a couple."

It's the house that's walking distance from my elementary school, down the road from my middle school (which is now a Target), and a bus ride home from my high school....and all the memories in between.

It's the place where friends came, we ran around the neighborhood, we had sibling laughter & snits galore, where my kids came to visit their grandparents, where gardens were planted, parties were had, were suitcases were packed for vacations, and holidays were celebrated with all the traditions.

It's the only childhood home I've known.

It's been the home my folks lived my whole entire life. It's where my mom lived 6 decades of her own, with 45 years of that being with my dad before he passed away in 2011. 

It's now the home that's down the road from the cemetery where they both are, the home that is 6 states away from the home in which I now live. 

During my week of discovery, it was not at all surprising that this house holds a lot of stuff. Those 60 years of stuff... and it's not a small house. Mom was really good at collecting and organizing. What I've learned over my own lifetime: if you are good at organizing, you can pack a whole lot in. It's true here.

It's hard saying goodbye to a house. Goodbye to a lifetime of memories. Goodbye to lots of "stuff." Sentimental stuff and the other stuff. Stuff that crops up one of a gazillion memories. Emotional landmines abound. Boxes of photos and scrapbooks (so many scrapbooks) need to be "just packed for now" because there's so many memories, and not enough time in only a week to go thru it all. So those boxes you carefully pack become the emotional landmines you take with you for another day--to your own overstuffed house to put in your own overstuffed corners of way too much stuff.

Ironically, I landed on this article just a few days after "my week of overhaul/week of discovery." It popped up in my Facebook Feed (don't tell me that FB isn't listening): Millennials Complain That Their Boomer Parents Won't Throw Anything Away. A Psychologist Explains Why." I'm not a Millennial, I'm a GenXer, but a lot in this article here holds true. I saw that in the many attic boxes with my name on it, packed with my old room stuff. Boxes my folks must have packed for me because I literally would not have saved some of this stuff. A small box of homemade confetti?! Seriously, why?! But, that level of scavenger hunt, opening box after dust-covered box, did indeed make me smile (and maybe roll my eyes a bit, with love for my crazy folks). 

It all can't go with you....but it also can't all go in a dumpster. And yes, this environmentalist had a dumpster. Because it's a week, and even with future estate sales ahead, there's stuff that needs to just go in a dumpster. Especially the now empty dust-covered boxes.

It does beg the question: Why on earth are we the collectors of so much stuff?

But it also begs this question in life: How can you not be? Some of the stuff is certainly some of the stuff of life. And the longer the life, the taller the stack o'stuff, right?

Luckily memories work that way too.

So my brother and I packed our Mom's house. We took pictures and videos. We lovingly wrapped and stacked what we wanted and were able to keep...leaving items to go forward in the estate sale. (And maybe leaving a little guilt along with those treasures as well.) Then we trekked them home to be sorted later. For us, that looked like 2 very full, overstuffed SUVs, resulting in loads of tall stacks in my brother's basement, to be revisited at a later date.

As for now, the estate sale was planned and happened and was rather a success. Next, the house went go on the market and after a handful of showings we got an offer and are now under contract. Our hearts are full and saddened with the loss--not only of our Mom but the house we called home even when we were no longer living there. But the memories are full. The momentos are tucked away. The photos are nearby. My heart will carry it all forward, no matter how hard it is to say the goodbye.

Author unknown quote created in Canva.com. Winnie the Pooh image from https://www.skiptomylou.org/winnie-the-pooh-quotes/.

Saying Goodbye to Dr. Jane Goodall

As a person who has curated their Facebook to have a plethora of environmental education sites, I feel like every other post I am seeing since Wednesday is paying tribute to the amazing Dr. Jane Goodall. A brilliant woman ahead of her time, a primatologist, conservationalist, environmentalist, and global advocate for the planet… Her loss hits hard.

I got the opportunity to meet her at my former “green school” school (Gibson Island Country School) in 2008 at the culmination of our Bay Week. How we managed to secure such an incredible speaker still is beyond me. As luck would have it, her visit was a day—one side or another—from her 74th birthday. 17 yrs ago. Jane Goodall and her sense of environmental hope have been a guiding light in my life. Upon news of her death on Wednesday almost all folks in my house (including my children) were like “noooooooo!” Jane Goodall most certainly is a global treasure whose expertise, guidance, and wisdom will be missed.  We thank you Dr. Goodall for your service.

Here are the 10 articles I have written about Jane Goodall here in GTG over the years, detailing her books, her philosophy, her grace, her wisdom, and her role as a leader. May we all be more like her in our pursuit for the betterment of our planet and society.

• Happy 91st Birthday, Dr. Jane Goodall  (Apr. 5, 2025)
  
• Presidential Medals of Freedom  (Jan. 15, 2025)
• Jane Goodall's 90th Birthday--Environmental Champion  (Apr. 24, 2024)
  
• A Trio of Messengers of Hope  (Feb. 9, 2022)
  
• Women's History Month, Environmental Style  (Mar. 24, 2021)
  
• 60 Seconds with Jane Goodall  (May 16, 2020)
  
• 3 Decades of Time, On Either Side  (Oct. 9, 2019)
  
• Jimmy & Jane (Fallon & Goodall, That is!)  (Sept. 23, 2017)
  
• The Love of Books... And Jane Goodall  (Aug. 29, 2015)
• Happy 80th Bday Jane Goodall!!  (Apr. 2, 2014)
  

Jane Goodall duo pic from https://deadline.com/2025/10/jane-goodall-dead-1236567674/; Collage created using Pic Collage and my photos.

Rick Steves Classroom

I ran across this gem on Rick Steves' Facebook Page. 

Seeing it, I knew it was something I needed to check out.

The Rick Steves Classroom Europe is a free library that has over 400 video clips, arranged by themes (over 30!), historical eras (8), countries, his television program, and art. But the best place for newbies to start is at their upper right hand links of FAQ and Playlists. At FAQ's you'll get an overview of Rick's intention, including a short "how to" video of how to maximize your experience in this portal. At Playlists, you can search pre-created public playlists (listed by title/topic with some listing the grade levels they work best for) or log in to save your own playlists.

What a wonderful resource to bring the travel, experience, and knowledge of Rick Steves to your classroom... the perfect "apple for the teacher" during back to school season!

Facebook post from https://www.facebook.com/ricksteves/posts/pfbid02K9rNDzqW3RZR9dWBHR7NtgDGyV3RytFnU9WMUucracExdhfD6gNZqADFg1kucfzZl, photo from https://classroom.ricksteves.com/introduction

Happy 91st Birthday, Dr. Jane Goodall

This past Thursday was Dr. Jane Goodall's 91st birthday. Born April 3, 1934, she is still going strong, living a long, remarkable life! Thinking about her timeline, imagine all that she has lived through in terms of innovation & inventions, world events, social changes, and more. Then, there's her own amazing career as a primatologist, author, speaker, and planetary giver-of-hope. She is an extraordinary woman. I feel lucky to have seen her speak in person. (April 4th, 2008, in fact--the day after her 74th birthday.)

I've written about Jane Goodall several times here at GTG (check out the list below). Given that, it should be no surprise my level of reverence to her as an eco-rockstar. Celebrating her birthday and accomplishments seems like the perfect way to start off the month we celebrate Earth Day! We need to honor and thank champions, and Dr. Jane Goodall is a great place to start! I hope she's having an amazing birthday weekend!

• Happy 80th Bday Jane Goodall!! April 4, 2014
• The Love of Books... And Jane Goodall, August 15, 2014
• Jimmy & Jane (Fallon & Goodall, That is!), Sept 23, 2017
• 60 Seconds with Jane Goodall, May 16, 2020
• A Trio of Messengers of Hope, Feb 9, 2022
• Jane Goodall's 90th Birthday--Environmental Champion, April 17, 2024

Images from : https://bayweekly.com/old-site/year08/issuexvi15/burtonxvi15.html and Eco With Em's Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ecowithem/posts/pfbid02xs9W9DuKusEFd69iFbg4jppm66FZGzHKRK3RiXziypR42Z8qns2Jbu4Vt2dH3Rbdl

The ABC Benefits of Travel

We just recently had spring break (a true joy for teachers and students alike). 

During that time, my husband and I went to Spain. Needless to say we had an amazing time, and I keep rolling the experiences over my mind. It was both our first time to Spain & to Europe together. 

It got me thinking that travel is the ultimate learning experience -- outdoor education as we walked miles through the cities we visited, conversations with locals and with travelers learning from each other, awareness of how other countries do things that we take for granted, comparing 'us versus them' and 'new versus old' and noticing that both can be exceptional...and that we are richer for the experience.

All of this during my trip reflection led to these ABC benefits of travel and all of the things I loved about our trip--big, small, important, powerful, significant, and meaningful.

Architecture & art and an astonishment of "how did they do that, so long ago, with less tools and technology to build these amazing structures?"

Bevy of beverages...not to mention bon voyages, backpacks, boarding passes, and bounding into new experiences.

Churches & cathedrals & capturing the visual sensation of old worlds and modern times coming together.

Deepen understanding of others and their diversity.

Exposure to exotic &/or extraordinary experiences, exploring different cultures, and exercising through miles of exploration. 

Food, flavor, fun, flexibility (as things don't always go the way you expect), ....and for us: flamenco!

Gives you a chance to become a global citizen, seeing how interconnected & similar we are despite our differences. 

Hands-on history lessons where you get to be at the heart of where so much has happened and see the impact humans have had on a place over time.

Increases empathy & exposes you to brand new horizons & it impacts your way of thinking and it illuminates new ideas.

Journeys have a way of jump-starting your creative juices as you see things through a different lens.

Keeps you on your toes as you navigate new territory, keenly aware on the kaleidoscope of new sights in front of you.

Learning thru immersion and sometimes even the uncertainty of local languages and getting lost.

Make meaningful memories while meandering, and meeting others along the way.

Novelty, newness, and nature nourish our soul and keeps us energized.

Overcoming small hurdles like getting around and trying to communicate in other languages gives a great opportunity for growth.

Perspectives, people-watching, & opportunities to practice patience.

Quaint little shops & quiet corners are what make new places quintessential gifts along your quest.

Real opportunity to build rapport and relationships with your fellow ramblers, while also reaffirming that rest, relaxation, and reflection are so important in order to emotionally, spiritually, and mentally readjust from the rigors of every day life. 

Stepping out of your own comfort zone and savoring the sights, sounds, sensations, & situations of somewhere brand new to you.

Time takes on new meaning, you are totally “in the moment” when traveling.

Unexpected and unique ways to unplug and step away from the urge to gravitate toward your technology.

Value and validation comes in the voyage, vision, and new-to-you view and vantage point of vacations.

Wanderlust gives you the chance to coddiwample: wander forth freely without a destination.

‘Xcursions can give you ‘xactly what you need if you approach travel with an open mind.

You can feel young at heart as you travel, since you are never to old to learn and experience something new. 

Zeal for life and zen moments abound as travel reignites passion, curiosity, and enthusiasm for the world around you.

From our virtual travel companion, Rick Steves (who was only a Kindle book away): 

“Travel is rich with learning opportunities, and the ultimate souvenir is a broader perspective.” 

We came home with all of that -- and all of the above -- for sure!

4th of July 2024

Happy Birthday America!

4th of July, our country's birthday, is definitely one of our biggest national holidays in the US. 

Parades, picnics, barbecues, flags, festivities, and fireworks all are part of this national celebration.  

Were there to be a red, white, and blue birthday cake, we'd be placing 248 candles on the cake for the country that was "born" on July 4, 1776.

Every 4th I like to post a little something about the holiday:

• ways to celebrate in an eco-friendly way; 
• ways to add a little environmental green to your red, white, & blue routine;
• ways to honor our country by getting outdoors, etc. 

To check out my thoughts on all those topics and what I've written in the past, you can easily go back into the archives for 4th of July. May they serve as inspiration to tie together patriotism and environmental stewardship.

In thinking about what to write this year, I started thinking about the symbolism of our nation's colors, thinking about how they can tie in to both environmentalism as well as the meaning of the holiday. It led me to become a bit philosophical and even include a little play on words:

♥️ Red

The color word "red" is a homophone for the past tense of the verb "to read." As Americans, we definitely should be well-read! My challenge for you is that during this week of our nation's independence, make time and take time to read. Read it all: history, biographies, environmental stewardship, social justice issues, the news, non-fiction, and more. With it being an election year, being informed, well-read citizens is the best present we can give our country!

🤍 White

The color white can symbolize a lot of ideas: purity, honesty, innocence, cleanliness, equality. It even is the color of those racing, chasing arrows on our recycle symbol. All good food for thought. The white daisy photo above reminds me of the adage "stop and smell the flowers." Which of course is synonymous to "live in the moment." This is something that holidays often tend to help us with because they are rare and precious, and we tend to NOT take them for granted, not in the same way we often do during our "regular days." Smell the flowers this 4th of July. Appreciate your holiday. Treasure the gifts of your nation, your friends, your family. 

💙 Blue

Being both the color of the sky and of water, blue is the perfect symbol for "being outside." Take time this holiday weekend to soak up some sun, get some Vitamin N (Nature), and romp around outside. Ground yourself in nature. Unplug. Counter your tech time by spending some time in the great outdoors. Breathe in the beauty that surrounds in the world outside our walls! 

May this Independence Day be filled with many remarkable moments

and memories in the making!

♥️🤍💙      

Images created at Canva.com.

Jane Goodall's 90th Birthday--Environmental Champion

Lately, with life events, I've been living the Meg Ryan Lines in the 1991 movie "When Harry Met Sally" and I've been "trapped under something heavy." 

Given that, I've not been running as "on time" as I'd like. But there's a lot going on in the world eco-wise these days. Please bear with me as I play a little important catch up...starting with Jane Goodall's birthday about 2 weeks ago on April 3rd. 90 years are definitely worth celebrating!

Born in 1934, Jane Goodall is certainly an environmental champion and cheerleader. A primatologist, an ethologist (person who studies animal behavior), an anthropologist, a conservationist, a UN Messenger of Peace, an activist, a trailblazer, and the founder of The Jane Goodall Institute. Not letting 9 decades slow her down, she's currently on a worldwide tour to hit 6 continents this year. Her primary message: "hope through action." She's a phenomenal lady who could be slowing down, but would rather spend her time, energy, and effort fighting the good fight on behalf of our planet. In the days leading up to Earth Day, she certainly is one to celebrate!

And here are some additional tributes to this amazing environmental champion with some of my previous posts--happy belated birthday, Dr. Jane Goodall!

• Happy 80th Bday Jane Goodall!! April 4, 2014

• The Love of Books... And Jane Goodall, August 15, 2014

• Jimmy & Jane (Fallon & Goodall, That is!), Sept 23, 2017

• 60 Seconds with Jane Goodall, May 16, 2020

• A Trio of Messengers of Hope, Feb 9, 2022

Images: Portrait from her Jane Goodall Press kit (OTH0163-02-CREDIT: JGI/Bill Wallauer.jpeg) https://archive.janegoodall.org/portals/presskit?_gl=1*ouonf9*_ga*MTg2NTE2NzMzMy4xNzEyOTMyOTY3*_ga_TJ66KYN8TV*MTcxMjkzMjk2Ny4xLjEuMTcxMjkzMzYzMC42MC4wLjA.*_gcl_au*MTQ1MTYwODEyNi4xNzEyOTMyOTY3&_ga=2.129113676.157562142.1712932967-1865167333.1712932967, group photo taken by me on a school visit just a day after her 74th birthday https://www.greenteamgazette.com/2014/04/happy-80th-bday-jane-goodall.html, videos from https://youtu.be/7ZFgtsRpsUM?si=XmTU3ivgKBGd087L and https://youtu.be/wBZEVOuvqi8?si=Ds0t5CAJdnNpnkGF

History of EE: Environmental Education

October 14-26, 1977, in Tbilisi--now in the country (not state) of Georgia in what was once part of the USSR--there was the First Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education. Created by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), the Tbilisi conference was one of the first of its kind to place emphasis on educating others about the perseveration and improvement of the global environment to help develop balanced communities world wide. 

While environmental education wasn't a new idea, this funneling of attention toward education and stewardship took root here in Tbilisi. 

To learn a bit more about this blossoming of environmental education, check out these two videos from the North American Association of Environmental Education.

Learn even more about the history of environmental educations more by going through NAAEE's 5 part learning module about the History of EE.

Videos from https://youtu.be/7wzIKwyYXlw?si=z4J9JUv9l-EAXUrs and https://youtu.be/e1uCExDFAgI?si=_ob-4VkiDMDH6EcN, logo from https://naaee.org/, last image screenshot from https://eepro.naaee.org/learning/eelearn/eelearn-2-history-ee

Population Education's: A Quick Trip to 8 Billion

Population Education is an amazing website that brings together a lot of globally important factors: numbers, demographics, and human impact on each other, economics, and our planet. In the many. years of Maryland Association of Environmental and Outdoor Education conferences I've attended, I always try to catch any workshops presented by Population Education. They have a wealth of lesson plans and teaching resources, and they are top notch in anything they do.

One of my favorites is their World Population "Dot" video, which I first wrote about in 2015 and I watch at least once a year with students. Another version of it is their World Population History data visualization accompanying website.

Now, as our numbers keep growing, they have a new poster out: "A Quick Trip to 8 Billion." This two-sided wall chart gives a timeline of historical events and inventions over the past 200 years to show how the population has impacted all of this. The flip side shows a multitude of infographics detailing the challenges that come from increased population growth. Along with the poster, 3 lesson plans are included: 1). a guided exploration of the timeline; 2). a scavenger hunt to see how numbers and resources have changed over time; 3). an activity where students create a planetary report card to measure the human and environmental health of the planet over the past 200 years.

I'm looking forward to ordering a couple for my school. (Posters are $5, but $4 if you buy in larger quantities. Click here for details.) Additionally, you can also get a high resolution version of the e-poster.

Other Resources on their site include:

• Population Clocks
• Global Environmental and Social Infographics Collection
  
• United States' Demography Infographic Collection
  
• Earth Day Activity Packets & Lesson Plans
• Population Pyramid Activities & Lesson Plans
• Articles, Factsheets, and Book Lists
• Over 340 Classroom Resources & Lesson Plans--filterable by topic, grade, and subject area, including a whole section on Distance Learning

Population Education is tied to the following education websites to check out for even more resources:

• World of 8 Billion
• World Population History (as mentioned above)
• Population Connection

Images from https://www.worldof8billion.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/wall-chart-high-resolution.jpg and logo from https://populationconnection.org/population-education/k-12-students/

Disclosure: I am not profiting at all if you purchase anything from their store--I just love their resources!

Winter Solstice: December 21, 2023

This year, Winter Solstice occurs December 21st. The shortest day of the year--meaning the day with the shortest number of daylight hours. According to the Farmer's Almanac, this date happens annually, either on the 21st or the 22nd of December each year.

As a person who feels like dark at 5:30 after the November time change is blacker than midnight, I'm actually always eager to find myself on the flip side of Winter Solstice. I like daylight and sunshine! Short, dark days are harsh! Longer days ahead truthfully make this northern hemisphere girl's heart sing!

I happened on the Royal Museum Greenwich's website, which had some beautiful imagery and also some interesting facts about Winter Solstice. (They also had some beautiful pieces about Christmas in Greenwich too--who wouldn't want to go ice-skating with the Queen's House as the backdrop!)

One of the most interesting parts of their Winter Solstice page was how it is celebrated worldwide, both now and historically:

Yule

This neopagan, pre-Christian festival "the Fest of Jul" occurred in Scandinavia at this time of year. Lighting fires was very symbolic during this cold festival time, as a sign that the heat and light needed to return. Hence the born tradition of the Yule log, which historically was a tribute to the Norse god Thor. Other Norse traditions relate to the sacrificing of the Yule boar (to honor Freya) or honoring the Yule goat (a nod to Norse god Thor's two goats). Today, many still celebrate by lighting a Yule log, or taking part in Yule singing (or waisalling, a pre-cursor to Christmas caroling).

Saturnalia

My son's Middle School Latin class annually celebrated Saturnalia (and still does though he's well past Middle School age). This Ancient Roman seven-day festival began on December 17th, honoring Saturn, father of many of the gods (and of course the namesake to the planet Saturn). Saturnalia was a time of feasting, gift giving, and fun--school and businesses were shut down to take advantage of the seven days of fun and festivities. Sacrifices were made to the Temple of Saturn and revelry would be the theme during this holiday.

The Dongzhi Festival
In Eastern Asia and China, this is one of the highly important time of years. Breaking down "Dongzhi" in Chinese, you have the combination of winter + arrival...meaning literally: the coming of winter. The shift to longer daylight hours was cause for celebration as it brought about positive energy. It ties to the yin-yang philosophy of  harmony and balance. This also served as the time of harvesting the winter crops, which also brought about honoring the farms, crops, and plenty brought to the people, and feasting together as a family.

Yalda 

In Iran, Shab-e Yalda ‘Yalda night’ or Shab-e Chelleh signifies the ‘night of forty.’ This Iranian festival has friends and family coming together for food, drink, family togetherness, and poetry readings all night long. Pomegranates, watermelons, and nuts are specialty foods of this festival. It is also celebrated in other parts of the Middle East, including Iraqi Kurdistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, and Azerbaijan.

Stonehenge

While not a holiday, Stonehenge is a high profile place of celebration of the winter solstice. In part, during summer and winter solstice, the alignment of the stones with the sun is significant, especially at sunrise, which provides context for its significance as a seasonal monument when it was created around 3500 BC. It was a place of both Druid and Pagan celebrations of this time of the year, and it continues to draw visitors today.

Image from: the first one created at canva.com; the 2nd & 3rd from https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/when-winter-solstice-shortest-day 

Hour of Code 2023: December 4-10

In January of 2013, Hadi & Ali Partovi (two Iranian-American brothers) started Code.org with the intention of making computer programming more accessible to people of all ages. They launched the first Hour of Code in sync with Computer Science Education Week that December 2013--5 years after Computer Science Education's first week, which was December 6-12, 2009.

Computer Science Education Week takes place during the full week that encompasses Rear Admiral Grace Murray Hopper's birthday. Grace Hopper was born December 9, 1906. She was a woman ahead of her time: a Vassar graduate, a naval officer, a mathematician with her PhD from Yale in that and mathematical physics, a World War II veteran, a computer programmer, a software developer, and one of the developers of the programming language COBOL. She's credited with literally "debugging" the first computer infiltrated by a moth, coining a term we still use today. She was the first individual woman to receive our country's highest technology award: the National Medal of Technology in 1991 and was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 by President Obama.

Code.org's Hour of Code is December 4th through 10th this year--making this the 11th year of highlighting that anyone can learn to code. Now a global movement across 180 countries, Hour of Code inspires people of all ages to take on some coding activities for at least an hour. In my K-5th grade tech classes, we'll all be coding this week!

Looking for some ways to host your own Hour of Code, check out these activities:

• Hour of Code's Library of Activities -- You can filter by activity, device, age, and more.

• Create & Learn's Hour of Code Free Activities  -- Curriculum is designed by Google, Stanford, MIT and more.

• Promotional resources and videos from Hour of Code

• Tie it in with your librarian using Shannon McClintock Miller's idea of linking library books about coding from her blog The Library Voice. I was fortunate enough to take a FETC workshop from Shannon years ago. She's a phenomenal edtech educator, leader, and author and I love this tie in between classes.

Image from  http://twofifthsfudge.blogspot.com/2012/12/amazing-grace.html (posted December 9, 2012), https://hourofcode.com/us/learn, https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2014/12/22/honoring-grace-hopper#:~:text=Grace%20Hopper%20was%20born%20in,a%20woman%20during%20that%20era), and https://goglobalways.com/blog/benefits-online-coding-classes-kids-2021/; videos from https://youtu.be/Fg82iV-L8ZY?si=aJn97UyePKWMEn0T and https://youtu.be/ybBUd9-0ZJQ?si=doqsuS-veK8v1NYd

Podcasts, Podcasts Everywhere

If you've been around awhile, you know I'm a major fan of podcasts.

I happened on this website somewhere on social media and it's a complete treasure trove of classroom podcasts on a variety of subjects over at Jeff Glade Tech. Jeff Glade is a Digital Learning Consultant in Iowa who focuses on literacy instruction through a variety off mediums beyond just traditional texts. He has been compiling monthly curated lists of podcasts on a variety of subjects. Each list is in a google slide (typically 2 pages plus a third with explanation), and each podcast he mentions he lists the grade level range for which each podcast would be appropriate. Lots of supplemental resources for your classroom!!

This link takes you directly to the Hispanic Heritage Month Podcasts. Hispanic Heritage Month is rounding out here as it annually is September 15-October 15. 

Other curated lists of Jeff Glade's include:

• AAPI Podcasts -- Asian American/Pacific Islander Month: May
• Conservation Podcasts -- Think Earth Day: April 22nd
• Women's History Month -- March
• Black History Month -- February
• Native American Heritage Month Podcasts -- November
• Halloween Podcasts 
• Pride Podcasts -- Pride Month: June (Other Pride Related Special Days can be found here)
• Disability Awareness Podcasts -- Disability Awareness Month: March
• At this writing, he also has lists for the following months: February, March, April, Sept, December

He's been compiling current lists since 2019, so you will find multiple clickable lists with the same titles for a true wealth. (They are dated in the bottom right-hand corner.)

He also has some practical ideas about to incorporate these into your lessons with some meaningful activity suggestions and tech integrations that you can easily put into practice in your classroom.

Image created at https://imgflip.com/i/81wa5n

Reaching 8 Billion

Yesterday (Tuesday, November 15th, 2022) was the Day of 8 Billion. It was the day we, as a planet, reached the global milestone of 8 billion (with a "B") people. This feat took only 12 years to go from 7 billion (in 2010) to 8 billion.

Ever since yesterday when I heard the news of it being 8 Billion Day, I've periodically checked in on WorldOMeter's website. It shows the current population numbers in live time, with numbers changing by the second. It's amazing to see the incredible jump from this time today versus the same time yesterday!

Watching the trajectory historically as we gain each additional billion is fascinating. The graph below--as well as the data in the chart I made--were from Population Education's website and their post by Marian Starkey [July 6, 2022] entitled "8 Billion and Growing: World Population Milestones Throughout History." Both data visualizations are eye-opening and jaw-dropping when you think of how that rate has increased over time. The startling point too is how flat the line on the graph was for population growth from year 0 to 1800 (which you can see on the graph shown here).

While it's looking like United Nation projections don't have us hitting 9 million until 2037 (15 years, a bit of a bigger jump than what we just saw between 7 and 8 billion), there clearly are ramifications across almost every field of study and interest. Of course, there are the environmental impacts of an ever-crowding planet. Technology and medicine have made it possible to have fuller, richer, healthier, and longer lives. Growing population means we need to have the resources available for us to live here on our planet as well as to provide us with food for all of these growing people. 

To learn more about the Day of 8 Billion and how 8 billion people impact our planet, check out these sites:

• Overview from the United Nations

• "How Big Is a Billion" benchmarks from Population Education so you can begin to wrap your head around just how big IS 8 billion??!

• Click this GTG archived link from back in February of 2015 (way back when there were only 7.3 billion people) to see Population Education's 7 minute map-animated video of population over time from 0 to current day and projected to 2050

• Also from February 2015 and my "Framing Education Around Population" post about Population Education, find the map of what countries would look like if their land mass matched their population.

• Population education's "Day of 8 Billion – 9 Interesting Population Questions and Answers"

• Pam Wasserman's August 2022 Population Education blog post entitled "8 Billion People on the Planet by November… and 13 Other Takeaways from the 2022 UN World Population Prospects"

• Population Education's "Teaching in a World of 8 Billion" for class simulations, lesson plans, and other resources.

• Population Riddles you can use in class with to get your students math minds bending around these really big numbers.

• Counting Populations: Millions & Billions, a population unit for K-5 students.

Intro image from https://thelatch.com.au/current-world-population/, Population graph from https://populationconnection.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/1800-2100.png; chart created from data on https://populationconnection.org/blog/world-population-milestones-throughout-history/, video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vL1_kCX6qg

How Well Do You Know Earth Day's History?

As a follow up to my recent post about Earth Day and with it swiftly approaching this Friday, it is time to test your knowledge! How much do you know about the history of Earth Day? Take this quiz and find out!

Video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F3KGYzN0lc, Image from https://www.cleanlink.com/news/article/The-History-Of-Earth-Day--13085

A Wealth of Women's History this Month

As we march the past halfway point of March, there's so much to take note of this Women's History Month. Resources abound in all directions: STEM, innovation, history, inspiration, and more.

One of my favorite discoveries is what is happening at the Smithsonian. Being a hop and a skip from DC, it's killing me that I may not be able to make it down there to see what is on display around the many Smithsonian Museums around the National Mall. The "IfThenSheCan" Exhibit is displaying 120 statues of women of famous contemporary female scientists. The catch: their distinctive orange 3D printed, life size nature makes them a highly visible stop and the largest ever collection in a single location of women statures. The exhibit hopes to promote the power and importance of women in STEM to inspire girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math. Currently, only 27% of the STEM field is women. The exhibit is on display March 5-27th, 2022. I can only imagine how powerful it would be to walk amongst these women! You can learn more about the featured women and take a virtual tour on the exhibit website.

Here are some other resources and points of interest this month: 

For 21 facts and a historical trek teaching you about some of the dates and stats surrounding Women's History month, visit this Woman's Day article. 

I subscribe to writer and history teacher's newsletter The Clever Teacher. In her latest post, she details 5 Women's History Videos for Kids. All 5 are great finds and I highly recommend them.

Back at the Smithsonian, the National Museum of National History has an exhibit called Girlhood [It's Complicated]. It investigates what it means to grow up female in America. If you can't get to DC, you can learn more at the link above or at the exhibition website.

A number of virtual events are happening this month through the Library of Congress. Additionally they have a research guide about Women's History

Learn about the 2022 Women's History Month Theme "Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope" at the National Women's History Alliance.

Google Arts & Culture has a variety collection of resources too.

• In Experiments in Google, Surfacing Women in Smithsonian History uses machine learning tools to discover and analyze a lot of the women in history who were major players in science.

• Google Arts & Culture has a wealth! Go there and search "women's history" to get 146 stories including:

• Breaking In: Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
• Inventive Women: American Women in Innovation and Invention
• The Women of NASA
• Celebrating Women's History
• A Brief History of Women in Gaming: The 1980s
• It's Time To Remember the Forgotten Women Scientists of History

• For more, go to Google Arts & Culture and search "women and environment" for 20 more including:

• Climate Change: Discover 10 Women Who are Leading the Fight Against Climate Change
• Women for Global Action
• A Green New Deal for Gender Equality
• Women, Power and Entrepreneurship in the Climate Change Age
• Poster Women Archives: Environment

Lots of resources abound. Be sure to check them out!!

Image from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museum-of-natural-history/2022/03/08/120-3d-printed-statues-of-women-redefine-what-scientists-look-like/ Courtesy of IFTHEN® Collection, by Hannele Lahti