Got Nature? Blog

This Nature of Teaching lesson plan teaches students how the transportation of food and food waste affects the environment. Students will expand their vocabulary, broaden their geography, and have fun working on their math skills as they calculate food miles. A list of materials needed and activity instructions for interactive, hands-on activities are included, along with Next Generation Science Standards and/or Core Standards met by these lesson plans.

The Nature of Teaching includes formal standards-based curricula and informal activity-based curricula all centered around getting youth outside. The three program areas of the formal curricula include: Wildlife, Health and Wellness, and Food Waste. Each program area provides standards-based lesson plans free as a downloadable PDF. Lesson plans are classroom ready for grades K-12.

Resources
Nature of Teaching, website and Youtube Channel
The Nature of Teaching: Food Waste Solutions, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
The Nature of Teaching: Food Waste and the Environment, The Education Store
Food Waste and Natural Resources Lesson Plans, The Education Store
Introduction to Nature of Teaching Sneak Peek Videos, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources

Rod Williams, Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Well-maintained trees provide many benefits including increased property values, improved air quality and curb appeal. Trees are living organisms making them vulnerable to pests and environmental extremes resulting in health issues which result in defects. This publication will help guide you on where and how to identify tree defects and a better understanding of when to contact an arborist for assistance.

Resources
Tree wounds and healing, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources
How to Identify Tree Defects and What to Do About It?, Got Nature? Blog
Iron Chlorosis of Trees and Shrubs, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Surface Root Syndrome, The Education store
Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees, The Education Store

Lindsey Purcell, Urban Forestry Specialist
Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Seafood is a protein category that has many commercially and recreationally available options. Selecting seafood is more like shopping for fruits and vegetables than animal proteins. This publication is the first in a series of fact sheets that describe fish and shellfish produced in the Midwest region of the United States, where commercially available fish comes from, food safety, culinary characteristics, and cooking tips.

View other seafood publications and video resources as you place keywords in the search field located on The Education Store website.

Resources
Sustainable Aquaculture: What does it mean to you?, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
Best Practices Guide for Charter Fishing and COVID-19, The Education Store
Pond Management: Managing Fish Populations, The Education Store
Indiana Pond Fish, Species Identification Card Set, The Education Store
Fish Cleaning with Purdue Extension County Extension Director, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue Extension – Forestry and Natural Resources

Amy Shambach, Aquaculture Marketing Outreach Associate
Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources/Illinois Indiana Sea Grant Program

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Your Ecosystem Listening Labs (YELLS): The Science of Soundscape Ecology Instructor’s Guide, Grades 5-8 is a 160-page publication, consisting of four chapters that focus on physics of sound, animal communication, soundscapes, and soundscape ecology.

The world around us is full of amazing sounds that are often ignored by humans. Unfortunately, many of the sources of these sounds are actually in danger of being destroyed by human activities. The activities contained in this package take students through the entire scientific method, from observations through conclusions, pairing the practice of science with the exploration of soundscape-based content.

To learn more about soundscape ecology and the sounds around us we might be missing or don’t know are there, visit Center for Global Soundscapes.

Resources
Record the Earth, APP
Community Soundscape Planning Guide: Controlling Noise & Protecting Natural and Cultural Sonic Spaces, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center

Bryan Pijanowski, Professor of Landscape and Soundscape Ecology
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Kristen Bellisario, Post Doc Research Associate
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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This Community Soundscape Planning Guide is to be used by communities in the United States and other places, to focus land use planning within the context of the sonic spaces of built and natural areas locally.

This guide focuses on:
– Learning the Basics: helping planners understand what a soundscape is and what is noise
– Impacts of Noise on People and Wildlife: summarizes what is known about how sound affects people and wildlife
– Soundscape Workbook: allowing individual planners or community groups to work through major issues related to natural and cultural soundscapes and the occurrence of noise in their community
– Planning Tools and Resources: which describes tools already in existence and new tools such as an app and online mapping system developed at Purdue University.

This planning guide is also associated with several Purdue Extension projects that are underway and which can be offered to communities.

Resources
Center for Global Soundscapes, Purdue University
Record the Earth, APP
Your Ecosystem Listening Labs (YELLS): The Science of Soundscape Ecology Instructor’s Guide, Grades 5-8, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center

Bryan Pijanowski, Professor of Landscape and Soundscape Ecology
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Kara Salazar, Assistant Program Leader and Extension Specialist for Sustainable Communities
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

Dan Walker, Community Planning Extension Specialist
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Resourceful Animal Relationships is one unit in a series available from The Nature of Teaching – the place to go for teaching resources that focus on wildlife, food waste, health and wellness. In this series teachers can find free lesson plans, printables, posters, a photo library, information on upcoming workshops and more.

This lesson will teach third- through fifth-grade students about different kinds of organism interactions and how those interactions affect the ways in which organisms gain or lose resources. Students will learn how to describe the differences between mutualism, parasitism,
and competition along with how to explain the different effects that relationships have on an organism and their resources.

It meets several grade-appropriate Next Generation Science Standards, English/Language Arts Standards, and Math Standards. This 19-page pdf is written by Dr. Rod Williams.

For more resources, please check the Education Store.

Resources
Benefits of Connecting with Nature, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
The Nature of Teaching: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching: Disease Ecology, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching: Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians, The Education Store
Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians Activity 2: Water Quality Sneak Peak, Video, Purdue Extension YouTube channel

Rod Williams, Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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The Nature of Teaching: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health is one unit in a series available from The Nature of Teaching – the place to go for teaching resources that focus on wildlife, food waste, health and wellness. In this series teachers can find free lesson plans, printables, posters, a photo library, information on upcoming workshops and more.

This unit highlights the effect of environmental contaminants on the health of wildlife and ecosystems with two lessons filled with worksheets, activities, lab report grading rubric sheet and more.
Lesson 1: There’s Something in the Water!
Lesson 2: Investigating the Effects of Salt Contamination on Daphnia

This 33-page PDF is written by Dr. Jason Hoverman; Logan Billet, Rebecca Koetz and Dr. Rod Williams.

For more resources, please check the Education Store.

Resources
Benefits of Connecting with Nature, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
The Nature of Teaching: Disease Ecology, The Education Store
Resourceful Animal Relationships, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching: Food Waste and the Environment, The Education Store
Adaptations for Aquatic Amphibians Activity 2: Water Quality Sneak Peak, Video, Purdue Extension YouTube channel

Rod Williams, Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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The Nature of Teaching: Disease Ecology is one unit in a series available from The Nature of Teaching – the place to go for teaching resources that focus on wildlife, food waste, health and wellness. In this series teachers can find free lesson plans, printables, posters, a photo library, information on upcoming workshops and more.

This unit introduces students to basic principles of disease ecology, including the diversity of parasites, how diseases are modeled, and how parasites and hosts interact. It includes three lessons with colorful animal cards to print along with worksheets and presentation.
Lesson 1: Parasite Diversity Activity
Lesson 2: Modeling Disease Transmission
Lesson 3: Parasite Avoidance Behavior in Tadpoles

This 33-page download PDF is written by Dr. Jason Hoverman; Logan Billet, Rebecca Koetz and Dr. Rod Williams.

For more resources, please check the Education Store.

Resources
Benefits of Connecting with Nature, The Education Store, Purdue Extension resource center
The Nature of Teaching: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Health, The Education Store
Resourceful Animal Relationships, The Education Store
The Nature of Teaching: Food Waste and the Environment, The Education Store

Rod Williams, Professor of Wildlife Science
Purdue University Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Purdue Forestry & Natural Resources extension specialists gathered for a Facebook LIVE event held May 5th to answer questions on a wide range of topics from woodland management to wildlife habitat, ponds to invasive species and more.

Topics ranged from what to do about moles, voles and Canada geese causing damage in your yard, to how to pick the right tree for your landscape and how to measure the worth of your trees. The presentation also included segments on what to do about algae in your pond to how to know if you need to restock it as well as what to do about invasive plant species and how to protect your trees from deer damage.

Get advice from extension specialists Jarred Brooke, Lenny Farlee, Brian MacGowan, Lindsey Purcell, Rod Williams and Mitch Zischke in the video below.

If you have any further questions feel free to send your questions by submitting our Ask An Expert form.

Resources mentioned:
Purdue Extension – The Education Store
Purdue Report Invasive Species Website
Midwest Invasive Species Network Database
TreesAreGood.org
Find a Forester in Indiana
Improve My Property for Wildlife, Purdue Extension
Online Mole Program, Event May 14th, Purdue FNR Extension
Have you seen a hairless squirrel, Got Nature? Blog, Purdue FNR Extension
Stocking Fish, The Education Store, Purdue Extension Resource Center
Tree Selection for the “Un-natural” Environment, The Education Store
Selecting a Nuisance Control Operator, The Education Store
Forest Products Price Report (pdf), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Indiana DNR Nuisance Goose Control Options (pdf), Indiana Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
Turtles of Indiana, The Education Store
Salamanders of Indiana, The Education Store
Frogs and Toads of Indiana, The Education Store
Snakes and Lizards of Indiana, The Education Store
Aquatic Plant Management, The Education Store
Native Grasses, The Education Store
Preventing Deer Browsing on Trees/Shrubs, Video, Purdue Extension Youtube Channel

Brian MacGowan, Wildlife Extension Specialist
Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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Trees provide many benefits and value to property owners in functional, aesthetic, social, environmental, and even economic ways. Functional benefits include mitigating climate change by storing carbon, removing pollution from the atmosphere, managing stormwater runoff, and improving air quality. Trees provide oxygen and many other benefits – such as shade, which can impact home cooling costs.

The collective value of trees makes a difference in people’s health and quality of life in cities and towns everywhere. This updated Purdue Extension publication Tree Appraisal and the Value of Trees describes methods used to appraise trees and landscapes that can determine their value and worth, reasons why a tree should be appraised, the factors that go into tree appraisal, what appraisal ratings mean, and sample scenarios.

Resources
The Nature of Teaching: Trees of the Midwest, The Education Store, Purdue Education Resource Center
Corrective Pruning for Deciduous Trees, The Education Store
Resources and Assistance Available for Planting Hardwood Seedlings, The Education Store
Tree Support Systems, The Education Store

Purdue University, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources

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