Patrick Dougherty's Latest & Local Environmental Creation

Beautiful environmental sculptures in basically your backyard are rare and exceptional treats. 

That's exactly how I felt as I meandered through Patrick Dougherty's latest installation at Maryland Hall in Annapolis entitled "Old Home Place." It was an additional delight for me to be in the middle of one of Patrick's works given I had researched and written about him in December 2020. 

Meandering through the structure made of sticks and saplings at the base of an already full and lush tree, I felt instant peace in the little hidey-hole structures surrounding the trunk of the tree. I'd love to bring in a book and curl up inside. It's a total dream treehouse to my inner child, and took me back to the little hidden getaway I had as a child underneath two tall twin evergreen trees in our yard. I remember having picnics, secret meetings, and just enjoying life in that hideaway. It was the same feeling I had while wandering in the little "huts" here.

In order to make this structure, it took four truckloads of local sycamore, sweet gum, and willow branches collected from Maryland's Eastern Shore in early May. Depending on the weather, this environmental art is slated to last for 1-3 years. 

A panoramic view from inside one of the "huts."

A selfie inside

Thank you to Patrick Dougherty for sharing his work with us here in Annapolis. "Old Home Place" is now part of his amazing body of work which includes over 300+ pieces he's created worldwide! So wonderful to have this special spot so close to home. It's a perfect place to go, unwind, and unplug!

To learn more, check out these Capital Gazette articles about Patrick Dougherty creating this installation:

• "Artist Patrick Dougherty Brings Unique Awareness of Trees to Maryland Hall in Annapolis." (May 9, 2021)
• "Artist Patrick Dougherty Completes Sculpture at Maryland Hall|"  (May 22, 2021)

Pictures taken from my camera at Maryland Hall. Title picture created at canvas.com. 

Blue Mind Revisited

My first official day of summer was last week. No more school days. No more post-planning teacher meetings. Just full on summer after what might be the longest school year ever. 

Thinking back to the speeches our 5th graders wrote for their promotion as they ready themselves for their next step of middle school, I was hit by how much they had been through. 

How much we all had been through with our hybrid school every other day, several weeks in the middle needing to go full remote, then coming back fully on campus. 

Sitting at the cusp of summer right at the very beginning, seeing the hope and beauty of all the sunny days ahead--it's a beautiful sight. 

It also just so happened to be coincide with the first day our pool was open and ready for me for my maiden day of entry. That blue water was calling me, and boy oh boy did it feel restorative and like coming home. 

This year more than ever.

It also seemed like the perfect day to start rereading Wallace J. Nichol's book Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, On, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do.

After the school year I've had and after 15 months of a pandemic, rereading one of my favorite books about one of my favorite places seemed like what I needed to do. I am definitely in need of a little #BlueMind.

In thinking about that, I was inspired to take some of the quotes that Wallace J. Nichols includes in the book and bring them to life with some visuals.

To dive back into my previous comments about this amazing book and the power of water, check out my past posts:

• Blue Mind: The Book
  
• My Backyard BFF
• 1000 Hours Outside & #BlueMind, 2019 Edition
  
• Blue Mind Days & Hours Outside, Summer 2020

Images created at Canva.com

A Slew of Summer Fun Ideas

Summer is here, both in spirit and by way of Summer Solstice, this year on June 20th. The longest day of the year marks the official seasonal start of summer--though many of us mark it unofficially by either Memorial Day or the end of the school year.

So now that summer's here, there's that Phineas and Ferb question and answer of "I know what we're going to do today, Ferb" here in the "104 days of summer vacation."

The obvious things always pop up. Pool days. Maybe a trip to the beach or a boat ride. A picnic or hike in a park. Taking in a ball game. Maybe a bike ride. But sometimes you just need a little inspiration to come up with a few other ideas to get you off your beaten path.

Here's a few lists to help you fill your 104 days of summer which would make Phineas and Ferb proud.

• 50 Fun Outdoor Activities for Families by Kayla Rutledge at Sign Up Genius
• Summer Bucket List Activities: 80 Fun Things to Do this Sunny Season from Bucket List Adventures by Annette (where there's a whole lot of other bucket lists to come up with great ideas)
  
• 100 Things to Do Outside This Summer at Home by Tess Judge at Indy Child
  

So....."As you can see

There's a whole lot of stuff to do 

Before school starts this fall! (Come on Perry!)" 

If you are bored this summer, it's your own darn fault!! Consult your inner Phineas & Ferb, and go have some fun. Pronto!!

Summer quote image from summer-solstice-quotes-longest-day_n_3473472, Lyrics and lines from the Phineas & Ferb theme song from https://www.metrolyrics.com/theme-song-lyrics-phineas-and-ferb.html, Phineas & Ferb art from https://phineasandferb.fandom.com/wiki/Phineas_and_Ferb:_104_Days_of_Summer! Popsicle stick bucket from http://amyfritzwrites.com/2015/05/31/summer-boredom-busters/

When Father's Day, Civil War, & the Environment All Intersect

Father's Day, Civil War, and the Environment are not the typical trio. Not by a long shot. Yet it's funny how this year, in my world, they all seem to intersect. I'll admit it, it's a bit of a weird convergence, yet it illustrates my Father's Day 2021. 

As part of an extended family adventure, my husband and his dad, both sizable Civil War history buffs, along with a handful of the rest of our family clan, are embarking on a 4-hour historic battle field tour as part of our plans for our Father's Day/Juneteenth weekend. While I'm not the history fanatic the rest of them are, I'm excited that the weather is supposed to be gorgeous this weekend, which will make our outdoor adventure even better!

With the Civil War on my brain as we were gearing up to go, I started googling these 3 terms just to see what it would bring up. Apparently, a lot. 

One of the many things I ran across was a book entitled "An Environmental History of the Civil War" by Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver. I never really considered environmental issues under the veil of the topic of the Civil War, but of course, it makes sense. Wars are fought outdoors--especially back in 1861. The land governed how those battles were fought. Civil War battles in the North were named according landforms and bodies of water. [The South typically named the battles based on the nearby town.] The four years of the Civil War brought a direct connection between the natural world and humans given the disease brought about by ailing, weakened soldiers and animals. But from reviews of the book, post-Civil War was also a time which brought about the conservation movement and the beginning of our national park systems.

Another book along the same lines is Kathryn Shively Meier's Nature's Civil War: Common Soldiers and the Environment in 1862 Virginia. Its description places Nature as the common enemy and an equal opponent to both Confederate and Yankee soldiers. "Man versus Nature" has always been a common theme in literature class... and reality! 

In fact, if you google "environmentalism and Civil War," you come up with even more articles if you still have a desire to delve deeper online into this connection. 

• Essential Civil War Curriculum: Environment & the Civil War by Matthew Stith
• National Humanities Center:: The American Civil War: An Environmental View by Jack Temple Kirby

Another interesting find on my pursuit of tie-ins to Civil War and Father's Day led me to this headline on History.com by David Roos fro 2018: "The Man Who Inspired Father’s Day Was a Single Dad and a Civil War Vet." The man in question: William Jackson Smart. William was married and widowed twice in his lifetime. He was the father of 6 from his first marriage and 14 children total after his second marriage and second wife died. A Civil War Veteran, William served as the inspiration to one of his daughters who dedicated herself toward the creation of the first Father's Day. 

This daughter--Sonora Smart Dodd--was 16 years old when her mother Ellen (William's first wife) died in childbirth. Years later, Sonora was attending one of the first Mother's Day events at her church in Spokane, Washington in 1909 when it struck her--if we have a day for our moms, why not our dads? In David Roos' article, he has several quotes from Sonora on the dedication she saw her father give her family and siblings. She brought forth her first petition to the Spokane Ministerial Alliance for Father's Day in 1910, wanting Father's Day to be held on June 5th, her father's birthday. Due to timing, they opted for a later date--June 19th. The 3rd Sunday in June. From that first Father's Day in Spokane Washington, Sonora went forward for 60 years (long after her father died in 1919), working towards getting Father's Day to become a national holiday. 

Sonora's dad, William Jackson Smart, was born in Arkansas. Records show he ultimately fought for both the North and the South in the Civil War. Starting as part of the Confederate troops, he was captured in 1862 and opted to join the Union rather than be relegated to a prisoner in a war camp. After the war ended, William ultimately ended up with his family in Washington state. It was here, after her mother died and later William's second wife died, where Sonora saw her father working hard to protect and love his kids as a single father. 

Pursuit pays off, but it was a long time in coming. In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed the Congressional resolution placing Fataher's Day on the 3rd Sunday in June. Sonora Smart Dodd, who by this time had achieved success as a poet, artist, children's book author, funeral home director, and civic leader in Spokane, was 90 years old. She died at the age of 96, seeing her lifelong dream come to fruition.

As you approach this Father's Day, may your personal history meet up with you as you celebrate the important fathers in your life. Your day probably won't tie in to the Civil War or entail a battlefield like my Father's Day plans do this year, but maybe some time spent outdoors on a beautiful Sunday may be a great way to celebrate.  

Book images from Amazon.com, quote image from canva.com, and photograph from https://www.tvhs.org/post/father-s-day-the-inspiration-of-sonora-smart-dodd

Mount Recyclemore At G-7

20,000 pieces of electronic waste all in one place is sizable to begin with. 

Put those pieces together in an artistic installation--it causes people to take notice. 

Put them into the faces of 7 world leaders AND put them on the beach across the Carbis Bay Hotel in St. Ives, Cornwall, United Kingdom where the G7 Summit is taking place--it makes national news.

Welcome to Mount Recyclemore!

Reminds me a bit about Mount Trashmore!

Mount Recyclemore was created by artist Joe Rush & musicMagpie (a second hand electronics store) with the help of 15 artists over the course of 6 weeks. It was first created in Rush's south London studio scrapyard then shipped to Cornwall to be erected in time for last week's G7 Summit. The G7 is the "Group of Seven" organization of leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the Summit was held during the 3 days of June 11-13, 2021. 

The reason behind this creation: to spotlight electronic waste, its harm to the environment, and the need for it to be more easily recyclable and reusable. It is especially true given that some of the worst e-waste heavy hitters being developed nations. E-waste leaches chemicals into the soil or water if sent to landfills, or becomes hazardous air pollution if burned. Both of these are major contributors to environmental destruction and climate change. Additionally, materials in phones, laptops, monitors, and other tech waste include precious materials from limited resources where the extraction process adds major impact to our planet. Especially when e-waste is the fastest growing waste stream right now.

Taking the lead from South Dakota's Mount Rushmore's 4 presidential faces, this structure highlights the following seven leader's faces (in order from left to right):

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga
• French President Emmanuel Macron
• Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi
• Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel
• U.S. President Joe Biden

With climate change and Covid-19 being two of the top issues of the Summit, Mount Trashmore as a creation of discarded tech becomes an important symbol for the environment. 

After the Summit's end on Sunday, June 13th, the plan is to move Mount Recyclemore to musicMagpie’s headquarters in Stockport, Greater Manchester.

Image from https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2021/06/g7-leaders-mount-recyclemore-waste-sculpture-cornwall/; video from https://youtu.be/BChR8p51p2k

A Packed Padlet Full of Culturally Responsive Resources

As the diversity of our classrooms grows and branches out, and as the news headlines continues to crop up with stories of racial, religious, gender, and sexual identity injustices, it is our role as educators to continue to educate both ourselves ourselves and our students. Some people might argue "political issues" are too political for an environmental education, edtech, & innovation blog, but social justice is indeed a climate and environmental justice issue. 

It is from this vantage point that the teacher in me argues what all of this really is: it is an "empathy issue." Our job as teachers is to help our students see things from other perspectives, analyze situations, think critically, and explore other cultures. By understanding where someone else is coming from, we can learn about and better understand their experiences. Just like a habitat is healthier when there is a lot of biodiversity in that environment, so too is our global, human experience!

For several years now, I have adored Padlet as one of my favorite edtech tools for compilation, curation, and collaboration. I love it even more when people use it to collect resources with the sole purpsoe to share. This Padlet here came from a Diversity-Inclusivity-Equity [DEI] workshop that a colleague of mine attended. It is an expansive resource of many culturally responsive books, texts, articles, and videos for all ages. The goal of the Padlet: to help broaden the perspectives on variety of DEI topics. My always GTG goal: to share digital resources!

May we all continue to grow and learn more about our friends, our neighbors, our students, our community members, and other people across our planet so we can widen our understanding of others' cultures and their struggles & successes. By learning more about others, we ultimately learn more about ourselves.

Scroll through the Padlet embedded here (both horizontally and vertically), then click the links of the resources you are interested in. You can also access the Padlet on its own webpage here.

Padlet from https://padlet.com/penickparks/Bookmarks; image created at canva.com

Matchmakers For the Environment

Dating apps are all the craze and have been for years. I know a number of people who have met their future spouse through these--whether it's one of the "swipe right or left" variety or another kind.

Would you swipe right or swipe left for a cleaner environment to help reduce and repurpose waste?

Maayke Aimée Damen brings about an interesting and innovative parallel to dating apps with the work she does at Excess Materials Exchange [EME]. Maayke is one of the co-founders of this Amsterdam-based digital platform. Since 2017, EME has worked to help create a global circular loop by reusing materials and exchanging them with other companies that need these materials as raw products. In doing this, it helps repurpose what was potentially seen as waste and funnel it to some one else who needs it--which in turn helps create a much smaller ecological footprint for all parties involved. Classic case of "supply & demand" meets "one man's trash is literally another's treasure. 

Maayke speaks about it here in her 2020 TED Talk. She describes how they are   basically "materials matchmakers," helping to find the best environmental fit for other companies. 

To learn more, check out the visual below and investigate Excess Materials Exchange's website.

Video from https://www.ted.com/talks/maayke_aimee_damen_how_i_am_going_to_save_the_planet_by_running_a_dating_site?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

Images from https://plasticsmartcities.org/products/excess-materials-exchange and https://excessmaterialsexchange.com/en_us/about-us/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/excess-materials-exchange/?trk=public_profile_experience-item_result-card_image-click&originalSubdomain=uk

Pondering Pandemic School As Summer Approaches & The World Opens Back Up

As I'm approaching the last remaining days of school, I'm struck in that sandwich time between end of the year craziness and summer bliss ahead. That's usually just about the right time for reflection in a normal school year. However, we all know this year was about as far away from normal as you can get. In fact, when you factor in the nuances of the Covid craziness of this pandemic, hybrid, remote, upside down teaching (where the "nuances" were far more nerve-racking than subtle), "reflecting" this year goes to new heights.

Add in, two weeks ago I actually was able to sneak away on my first trip "home"--a solo trip to the heartland to my folks' house. Being several states away, it's never a simple nor a quick trip since it involves either a long drive or a flight. In fact, in this Covid craziness, it has been since Christmas 2019 that I'd been there (or vice versa). 

Not only did I get to sneak in a little end of the year flight and multi-day getaway, but I also got to sleep in my old bed in the house I grew up in, breathing in the homeland and seeing all the old familiar sites of my childhood. In short: I got to go HOME for the first time in 17 months (almost to the day) since Christmas 2019. 2019: Back when there wasn't even a glimmer of an idea of a pandemic and how topsy turvy it would ultimately be. I can’t even begin to describe what it was like seeing my mom sitting in the waiting room inside our small regional airport while I was taxi-ing in, sitting on the plane. Window to window. Best memory ever and an even better hug in person. A hug that was17 months in waiting--long overdue--with double doses of vaccines on both sides, a multitude of masks these many months, all following nationwide quarantines & FaceTimes & Covid-school. Oh my!

My go-to saying this past year has been that hybrid teaching is like juggling knives with the simultaneous task of addressing the "roomers" and the "zoomers." While remote learning was maniacally difficult, in retrospect it was almost a piece of cake in comparison to hybrid learning. Back in March last year, none of us would have believed that it was possible for something to be harder than remote teaching! 

Teaching at an independent school, we were able to start the 2020-21 school year in a hybrid setting due to our ability to spread everyone out. We were hybrid for about 6 and a half months where kids came essentially every other day (except for those who opted to be full-time remote students). Right about the time our area public schools ventured into the hybrid world in March of this year, we transitioned back into full-time, in-school teaching--with plexiglass, masks, air scrubbers, distancing, outdoor lunches, and more. Over time, the full-time remote students started trickling back in. We're ending the school year this next week with almost our entire population fully back in session. 

Along those many months, we re-crafted the art of teaching first for fully remote then for hybrid. Our elementary students have far exceeded previous years in their technology skills and abilities. We've all honed our problem solving abilities, patience, senses of flexibility (and hopefully humor), and creativity. It's been a long, long road to get here. Many of us teachers are TIRED!

The vaccine roll out has been a gift of science the last five months, and our nation as a whole is starting to open up. Elementary students are still waiting their turn, but with the vaccines now being able to be administered to anyone 12 years old and up, "normalcy" (both in schools and beyond) is starting to return. For many of us who have been "Covid cautious" throughout, there's a little bit of PTSD that comes with that. For one, it's hard to get past the staggering numbers of deaths our nation and our world have faced due to this silent virus. Secondarily, the initial fear of the unknown really packed a powerful punch. I remember the "old days" in the early part of the pandemic where we wiped down our mail & delivered groceries and hoped we didn't run out of Clorox wipes. Man, does that feel like eons ago!

As we have moved through the various stages of the pandemic [which included a contentious election as well as a lot of televised racial injustice for which we were a captive audience], we have finally made it through to what's feeling like "the other side." The world is opening back up. Slowly for some (& perhaps with PTSD) and exuberantly for others. I see it strikingly and with raw emotion as I take note of the proms and graduations that are happening this year in ways that were impossible last year. I witnessed it first hand at the crowded airport from my trip two weeks ago. Not only was it weird because it was the first time I'd flown in at least 2 years, but let me tell you: there were a lot of people! Too many people for this kid! That person seated next to me on the plane was not 3 feet away! It was definitely a strange dichotomy given I've become a pro at reminding students at school to stay distanced and monitoring myself & my family to steer clear of crowded settings. 

The more life opens up, the more I'm slowly becoming accustomed to letting go of all the rules and protocols that we've been governed by for the last 15 months. It's hard to let go of though, especially since  I've been teaching in masks, eating lunch in a room by myself behind a closed door, and virtually bathing in hand soap and sanitizer at school. It's taking a little bit to settle into the vaccinated safety and take comfort in the reduction in the number of cases and to trust that things are getting better.

So with summer nearly upon us, I'm eager to retire my mask and bask in my backyard for a bit. To breathe in the fresh air, To settle in my summer happy place of the pool. To go on an adventure or two. To catch up on sleep, read books, watch some shows, and just work on anything but "work." That is of course one of the all-time beauties of being a teacher. This year, more than ever before!

Photos either from my camera or created at Canva.com.

The Kid Legend Book Series

Two of my recent reads were from the Kid Legend Series by David Stabler and Robin Stevenson. This 7-book series focuses on a series of "greats" within the title topic and focuses on what these folks were like as kids who ultimately became champions in their fields. 

Best part of it, the recommendation for the book series came from one of my 3rd grade students in Technology when we were talking about Computer History and she recognized some of the names I mentioned based on having just read Kid Innovators.

Based on the nature of teaching technology and my investigation for curricular connections with a leadership unit ahead, I ordered Kid Activists: True Tales of Childhood from Champions of Change & Kid Innovators: True Tales of Childhood from Inventors and Trailblazers (both written by Robin Stevenson). Quick reads of course for an adult, but I found the stories fascinating as I learned the stories of the childhood of these activists and innovators. The two I read were excellent books for our young readers who enjoy biographies.

Other books in the series all by David Stabler that I'm sure are equally as good:

• Kid Presidents: True Tales of Childhood from America's Presidents 
• Kid Athletes: True Tales of Childhood from Sports Legends
  
• Kid Artists: True Tales of Childhood from Creative Legends
  
• Kid Authors: True Tales of Childhood from Famous Writers
• Kid Scientists: True Tales of Childhood from Science Superstars
  

Kid Activists Image created at Canva.com--Book cover from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1683691415?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_5&storeType=ebooks; Individual pictures all taken the the activist's wikipedia.com page except for Autumn Peltier, who's picture was from https://www.womenofinfluence.ca/2019/11/05/meet-autumn-peltier-14-year-old-internationally-recognized-clean-water-advocate-and-the-anishinabek-nation-chief-water-commissioner/ 

Kid Innovators Image created at Cana.com--Book Cover from https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1683692276?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_thcv_6&storeType=ebooks;  Individual pictures all taken the the activist's wikipedia.com page except for William Kamkwamba who's picture was from https://resource-alliance.org/speaker/william-kamkwamba/ and the Wright Brothers, who's picture is from http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1364

Treasures in Your Pocket

This image spoke to me today. We all should have treasures in our pockets. A li'l something tied to nature, to the outdoors, to our wild.

This Memorial Day weekend, go out, explore, find treasures, and be wild as you become a little closer to nature. It is what gives you life.

photos from https://www.facebook.com/awilderchild/posts/4158374937530143

Becoming a Solutionary

I recently read the 2016 book The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries and it led me searching for more and to author Zoe Weil as well as one of her many TED Talks below.

The idea of being a "solutionary"is good food for thought. What is a solutionary? In short, someone who looks for solutions to problems. In long (from Zoe's Weil's Institute for Humane Education) website :

 

As a teacher, isn't that our ultimate job--to help build and grow critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaborations, and compassion skills in our students? To help them see ways to solve relevant and important problems that affect us all? It reminds me of my belief that innovation is what will help us solve our world problems--environmental and more.

Operating on the "MOGO Principle" (which is short for "Most Good & Least Harm" to selves, others environment), Zoe talks a lot about being a humane educator and what that means as we inspire our students to see the effects of ours (and their) choices and working to create change on a systemic level. Given it is our students who will be creating solutions and our future world, we want and need to help develop their skills as innovators--as smart, conscientious choice and change makers.

To learn more, check out the Institute for Humane Educator. Here, you will find a wealth of teacher resources to help inspire and create solutionaries!

For more of Zoe's TED Talks, check out:

• The World Becomes What You Teach: TEDxDiringo
• How to be a Solutionary: TEDxYouth@CEHS
• Extending Our Circle of ompassion: TEDxYouth@JBMHS
• Educating for Freedom: TEDxYouth@BFS
  
• How Will You Answer This Question: TEDxSpenceSchool
  
• Educating the Solutionary Generation: Zoe Weil TED Talks Compilation

Other books by Zoe Weil:

• Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life (2009)
• Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times (2003)
• The Power and Promise of Humane Education (2004)

Definition of solutionary screenshot from https://humaneeducation.org/what-is-a-solutionary/, video from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImOi9YnMau8

Mr. Greg's Ospreys

Books are sacred to me. They are magic in your hands, taking you places, becoming gateways of inspiration, enjoyment, insight, and knowledge. Picture books have the added bonus of delighting your senses with the illustrations. Plus they act as colorful invitations, opening up new worlds and perhaps even future passions.

That is the hope of "Mr. Greg's Ospreys," a picture book written by Laura Callahan, Jill Waldman, and Patrice Boone and illustrated by Christine Willliams. All four Maryland residents, they created the book to not only to share Mr. Greg's story and the importance of the work he does, but with the hopes to inspire future generations to become conservationists and environmental stewards. The book outlines a year in the life of Mr. Greg, from July to the following August, as he tends to the ospreys along the river. Throughout the book you learn a lot about the life of ospreys as well as the many things Mr. Greg does to keep the ospreys safe in their natural habitat.

Being related two 2 of the 4 collaborators of the book, I scored an invitation to their outdoor book signing at Patuxent River Park last weekend. (Numbers were limited due to Covid restrictions at the time the event was organized.) 

There, we got to celebrate in their successful launch of the book AND meet Mr. Greg. 

Mr. Greg is both a character in the book AND a real person. Mr. Greg is Greg Kearns, a Park Naturalist and master bird bander for nearly 4 decades who has been overseeing the osprey nesting site program he started in 1984 on the Patuxent River at the Jug Bay Natural Area. He spoke at the signing of his longevity in the area and how osprey numbers in the 1970s and early '80s were quite low. He referenced ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson (known for his 1934 "Guide to the Birds," the first of many field guides he'd later come to write), mentioning birds as an environmental litmus test of the health of an area.

Several decades ago, the low number of ospreys indicated that Jug Bay--the largest freshwater tidal area in Maryland--wasn't doing exceptionally well. Just like eagles, osprey populations were severely impacted by DDT which thinned the eggshells of these birds. Yet now, with the help of osprey platform towers along the Patuxent River to help them find a place to build their nests, the osprey population has grown and been restored because of humanity and the help of these man-made platforms. Mr. Greg estimated that 400 osprey pairs are now thriving along the 115 mile river.

As if on cue while Mr. Greg was telling us all of this, we all got to see the swooping chase take place over the river backdrop of an osprey chasing an adult eagle. This was only one of the many ospreys who decided to make an appearance at the book signing. It's as if the ospreys knew we were talking about them. 

One could argue that Patuxent River Park is a secondary main character in the book to Mr. Greg. It is here in these wetlands that the real life story of Mr. Greg and the ospreys takes place. In addition to having an observation tower and multiple places to hike and picnic, there is an area in the park called the Rural Life Museum with several historical out-buildings and guides present to share the past. Additionally there are campgrounds and canoe rentals. Perhaps a favorite, though, is their very impressive Osprey Cam (which you can view here) which Mr. Greg also maintains.

Prior to writing their book, Laura, Patrice, Jill, and Christine accompanied Mr. Greg on a osprey banding boat trip down the Patuxent River. While bird banding, Greg places identification bands on the hundreds of osprey chicks that hatch in the spring in order to track the chicks when they migrate and return. While on this boat trip, the ladies took photos and learned of the many duties Greg has managing the osprey sanctuary. From there, the 4 of them put these stories on paper and over time, Mr. Greg's Ospreys was born. 

And who knows, after reading their work about Mr. Greg's work, maybe future conservationists will be inspired to do what they can to take care of nature!

Roger Tory Peterson Quote from https://www.azquotes.com/quote/565737; all other pictures taken at the book signing on May 15, 2021.

Mark Your Calendars

By day, I am a technology specialist and my world has a lot of digital components. But I'm still a tried-and-true "paper" girl when it comes to things like my lesson plan book and my calendar. Additionally, I'm a list maker who takes great pleasure in crossing items off. I like to see it all in front of me--as if in doing so, "it" all will magically make more sense. "It" being "life," of course! (I'm sure there's something in there about "control" as well, but I digress!)

I've recently found new inspiration in the digital calendar world--I've looked long and hard over the years and I did not think it would ever happen. I found an online calendar that not only syncs well across devices but also integrating my Apple and Google calendars nicely AND has an element of cute to it!! (Being a highly visual person, I have an extreme need for color, cute, fun fonts, and more.) But, I think I found nirvana in Artful Agenda--especially with all of that, plus inspirational daily quotes, and lists that give you the ability to cross them through. Add in, they have a Facebook group called "Arfully Obsessed," and it was there I got the idea to use my "Meals" section as a gratitude journal. It really hit my sweet spot and it has become my first stop every morning as I get organized for my day ahead. 

So of course, in my process of making it my own, I've been adding other elements to it too, because this calendar has become my latest obsession! I added some of the dates that our Diversity Director at school sent our way to create a separate Diversity-Equity-Inclusivity calendar in my master Google calendar, and found these 3 exceptional resources so I'll always know which months honor different cultures or what specific days are noteworthy.

• Kazoo's 2021 Workplace Diversity & Inclusivity Calendar
• Diversity Resources' 2021 Diversity Calendar
• Diversity Best Practices' 2021 Diversity Holiday Calendar

That, in turn, inspired me to go on the hunt for an environmental of "eco days," so I could be in the know if it was International Day for Biological Diversity (which is today--May 22nd) or World Environmental Day (coming up ahead: June 5th). The beauty of this one is that if you click on a date, you can automatically add it to your iCal. Additionally, each calendar date has some detailed information about what is specific to that environmental date. Yes, I'm in love! 

• ITU AbsorbTech's 2021 Environmental Days Calendar

So, if you too can get a little excited by random bits of knowledge, your calendar just may need these items!!! 

Have I ditched my physical calendar or notebook? No. But, I am finding I can live more harmoniously in both the paper and digital calendar worlds!!

Images from https://www.conversketch.com/blog/how-to-decide-paper-or-digital-graphic-recording-with-conversketch and https://www.artfulagenda.com

Diversity Surrounds

Keane State College in New Hampshire is a US Department of Education Green Ribbon School (2017), on the Princeton Review to 375 Green Colleges, and listed on Sierra Club's list of most eco-literate colleges. It's know wonder they know something about sustainability and biodiversity.

This became eminently more clear in Dr. Dottie Morris' fifteen minute TEDxKeene Talk on May 17th, 2017. Dr. Morris is the Associate Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at Keene State College. In this roll, she knows a bit about diversity. Her style is engaging as a story teller, and message is strong:

In nature, we adore diversity. The colors of the fall, the sparkling of light on the water, the variety of trees, flowers, animals across the planet.

Biodiversity makes for a healthy environment and a thriving habitat.

Yet, as people, we still fall short on that mark when it comes to diversity. 

Difference is not something we should fear. We need to learn from nature and the greatest takeaway is that diversity is essential. She makes a powerful point: division is NOT the answer--it's socially constructed. Made up. Gender. Race. Class. I love her quote: "We have been snookered, we have been bamboozled, we have been fooled." 

Think of our polar partisan politics. Think of our siloed social media feeds. Particularly in the US, now more than any point in my own personal 5 decades, we are more divided than ever before. Yet, as Dr. Morris points out--in order to be sustainable, we NEED diversity. Of thoughts. Of Beliefs. In our community. We are interrelated and part of each other. It is through creativity in ourself and our works collectively in the world. Innovation NEEDS our diversity of thought. As Dr. Morris points out: "Diversity is the mother of innovation." She goes on to say that we live in a highly complex world. Because of that, we need those different views and vantage points. There really is no room in a world of problem solving for narrowness of thoughts. We, as people, are the perfect picture of "together we can accomplish more."

Just as the natural world needs biodiversity to thrive, we too need diversity as a national and global community.

Video from  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8leYAVPKaLA, photo of Dr. Dottie Morris from https://www.keene.edu/news/stories/detail/1592406971205/, quote image created at canva.com

"Why We Swim" by Bonnie Tsui

Not terribly long ago, I had a couple long weekend stays visiting my daughter. There were certain parameters to the hotels I chose to stay in. Free wifi. ✅ Breakfast included. ✅ Good proximity. ✅ Indoor pool. ✅✅✅

The latter was truly the first and foremost of importance. Especially in the wintery and early spring months where the outdoor temps (of both air and water) were too chilly, and an indoor pool was paramount. 

Fitting too, some of my poolside reading was Bonnie Tsui's 2020 book Why We Swim. I've talked a lot in the past about #BlueMind and how my backyard pool is my home away from home (see here and here). Hydrotherapy is indeed one of my greatest escapes and mental equalizers. It's where I can move with ease (regardless of achy knees or hip acts up). It's where I fully unplug and have moving meditations, achieving total Zen moments. It's where I have no problem being "that crazy bouncing lady in the pool, even with a mask" if the pool starts getting crowded here in Covid America--I don't care. It is truly my happy place, and I will not be deterred from being there!

Here are some of the other great takeaways I got from Bonnie Tsui's book:

🏊🏻‍♀️We are "land creatures with an aquatic past." (page 5)

🏊🏻‍♀️With approximately 70% of the planet being water, it's not a surprise that 40% of the world's population lives less than 60 miles from a coast. 

🏊🏻‍♀️She referenced Charles Tomlinson's poem "Swimming Chenango Lake." I didn't know this poem and looked it up. They both reference swimming as "moving in the embrace of water, but mindfully" (Tsui, page 36), being free and in the flow. 

🏊🏻‍♀️On page 54, while visiting Iceland, she mentioned "swimming as liturgy." Later too (page 65) she quotes Kim Chambers: "The water has been my teacher. It is my sanctuary...you come to the water and feel cleansed." Swimming indeed strikes that chord for me--it becomes a place of worship and one of my closest moments to God, higher power, spirituality and self-awareness. It has me at "Buoyancy, floating, weightlessness. Freedom." (p. 74) Renewal comes in that water! As does escape.

🏊🏻‍♀️I'm a splasher who is constantly in movement, maybe more in a water aerobics kind of way. But even so, this strikes me: "For many swimmers, the act of swimming is a tonic, in that old-fashioned sense of the word: it is restorative, a stimulant, undertaken for a feeling of vigor and well-being." (page 62)

🏊🏻‍♀️Swimming is forgiving with an agelessness to it. Because of the water, you can do things there that you (well, maybe me) can't always do on land. The water resistance and weightlessness makes it possible to keep you moving, pain free, in a multitude of ways that other on-land exercise can't. Add in too, it reminds us how to play. (page 110)

🏊🏻‍♀️"After experiencing awe, we are more likely to help others and to be relaxed and satisfied with life." (page 102)

🏊🏻‍♀️"Swimming is the second most popular recreational activity in America, outranked only by walking." (page 109)

🏊🏻‍♀️She quoted Wallace J. Nichols (Blue Mind author) stating that "Being around water provides a sensory rich environment with enough 'soft fascination' to let our focused attention rest and the default-mode network kick in." (p. 221) It's like being mindful and mindless simultaneously. "wimming was an ideal time to ruminate, to noodle for noodling's sake, to compose in one's head." (p. 222) Yes! Yes! Yes! No doubt, being in and under the water, and how sounds shift in those moments (as does light on the water) can bring about a meditative state where you are one with your own space and place.

🏊🏻‍♀️"There is a seductiveness to water. From afar, it gleams and glistens, a shiny liquid jewel. It is inviting. It swirls, fans, and coalesces, embracing you. It holds you and yet cannot be held by you. When we immerse ourselves, something is awakened." (page 248) This feels like poetry in motion, and my pool experience every time. 

Maybe it's all of these reasons why I not only had hotel pool aqua bliss, but why the book also spoke to me. As I look back on my reflection here, it could perhaps been seen as a romantic love affair with water and ode to eau. It's interesting too how the pool became a true adult passion and later discovery. I think it just goes to show you that beauty and wonder are there, always to be discovered. May you discover yours, in whatever form it takes!

Pool Image from my camera. Book cover from https://www.amazon.com/Why-We-Swim-Bonnie-Tsui-ebook/dp/B07WJ1NH6N/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=why+we+swim&qid=1616429337&s=books&sr=1-1

Happy Mother's Day 2021

“My mother is my root, my foundation. She planted the seed that I base my life on, and that is the belief that the ability to achieve starts in your mind.” 

—Michael Jordan

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Spend some time outdoors today! Preferably with the people you love!

Image created at https://wordart.com/create

World Password Day: May 6, 2021

Life never fails to crack me up. A couple months ago I had run across the concept of the first Thursday of May as being the annual date of World Password Day. Who knew #PasswordDay was even a thing, and has been since 2013 when it was crafted by Intel to build better password and privacy habits. Great, I thought: this is a perfect topic for a blog post, and it made it on my ever-growing list of environmental, edtech, and innovation topics to be sure to hit this year. 

Well, around about the time I was sitting down to write about this, I got an email indicating that I had a potential identity fraud situation in the works, and one of the very things I needed to do (aside from submitting the necessary paperwork) was go in and change up some passwords. 

Life is serendipitous like that! "Luckily" I had all these resources already set aside awaiting World Password Day.

First off, do you see any semblance of you in this list, as shared by Tony Vincent: 

If you do, it's time to get to work changing passwords.

Another good place to look is here: Wikipedia's List of the Most Common Passwords. Wikipedia does have its purpose from time to time.

According to this article on #WorldPasswordDay 2020 from the InfoSecurity Group, 38% of people never change their passwords.We all probably have our own growing list somewhere of passwords and that fear factor of "oh no, I've forgotten mine!" Plus, with devices magically remembering them for us, it's easy to become complacent and just go with the status quo because it's either too hard to remember, we're too lazy, or we just really like the ones we've got! But, all of that makes us ripe for falling victim to hackers out there. Sadly, there's always folks out there who would rather side with evil than with good. All of which creates a mess that we then get to clean up.

So do yourself a favor and take advantage of World Password Day and tighten things up in your digital world with some of these helpful tech tips:

You can also find more great helpers at:

• iThemes' post last year by Michael Moorre "World Password Day 2020: Let’s Increase Your Password Security (This has a great checklist to work through.)
• InformationQ.com's post "World Password Day--First Thursday in May"

Images from https://idit.ge/en/posts/22/world-password-day and https://twitter.com/tonyvincent/status/1348600548891611137/photo/1, password tips created at canvas.com using information from https://www.informationq.com/world-password-day/

The Sights, Sounds, & Science of Cicadas

 Whether you are a bug person or not, it doesn't matter....they're a coming. Especially if you, like me, live in the shaded area of this map: the 17 year cicadas are coming.

Here are some online resources you can use in your classroom to investigate the sights, sounds, and science of cicadas this May!

Images from https://www.newsweek.com/brood-10-cicadas-map-u-s-states-insects-2021-1564207 and https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VhgFwucFdkMnzlq2x9RZmd9rZlzsVOIbUdS7Wzb3Pcg/edit?usp=sharing