How to use this Page

Earth Day is an annual celebration, championed by the Earth Day Network, which focuses on promoting environmental protection around the world. The Earth Day Network’s mission is to build a healthy, sustainable environment, address climate change, and protect the Earth for future generations. The theme for Earth Day 2016 is Trees for the Earth, raising awareness around protecting the Earth’s forests.

The post Protecting the Earth for future generations appeared first on OUPblog.

I used to climb trees when I was young (and I still, on occasion, do). As a boy in Iraq I had a favoured loquat tree, with branches that bore leathery, serrated leaves, shiny on the upper surface, and densely matted with fine hairs underneath. It seemed so big, though I now reflect it was probably rather small. I would haul myself up and over the lowest branch, making whatever use of the twists and folds of the trunk as provided purchase to my small feet.

The post For the love of trees appeared first on OUPblog.

By Frank S. Gilliam

We benefit from forests in ways that go well beyond our general understanding. So, I would like to begin by suggesting that as we responsible citizens observe Arbor Day 2014, we look at forests as more than simply numerous trees growing in stands. Rather, we need to look at forests as ecosystems that are not only important in and of themselves, but also provide essential functions—so-called ecosystem services—to sustain the quality of human life.

For those not totally familiar with its beginnings, Arbor Day began in an area not usually thought as forested. In the 1870s, J. Sterling Morton and his wife moved to the Nebraska Territory (it was not yet a state at that time) and observed the paucity of trees relative to their Michigan roots. And so it was, as the first of more than one million trees were planted 10 April 1872 in the state of Nebraska, that Arbor Day was born. The Mortons’ perspectives greatly anticipated the environmental ethics of Aldo Leopold of the 20th Century—consider this quote from Morton: “Each generation takes the earth as trustees.” What a wonderfully profound sentiment regarding stewardship of nature and natural resources! 

Although my family was not participating in an official Arbor Day activity at the time, I have a personal Arbor Day-like experience, one the benefits of which are reaped daily by my wife and me. We moved to our current home in Huntington, West Virginia in 1997, a time when our children were quite young. Now Huntington has the distinction of being the largest Tree City USA city in the state, according to the Arbor Day Foundation. That’s indeed quite notable, considering that West Viriginia is the 3rd most forested state (~77% forested) in the US, exceeded only by Maine (~86%) and New Hampshire (~78%) (Nebraska ranks 46th at ~2%). I took note of that immediately, seeing (primarily) oak trees throughout our new neighborhood. Not surprisingly, my children had never seen so many acorns that first fall, and I encouraged them to find one and plant it in the front yard. Nearly 20 years hence, we have a pin oak (Quercus palustris) as tall as our house, or more—all from that single acorn! That tree provides shade for the front of our house, mitigating summer heat, and it offers food and housing for animals, such as squirrels (and hummingbirds when we hang a feeder on the lower branches). It even allows us to plant shade-tolerant perennials, such as ferns, in our front yard.

But back to the ecosystem perspective. As ecosystems, forests provide a wide variety of services, all of which are essential in maintaining the quality of life on earth. They improve both air and water quality, and they provide some of the greatest biodiversity in the biosphere, comprising an impressive number of life forms and species. Indeed, forests are far more than just trees. Even plants as diminutive as those of the herbaceous layer—what one sees when looking down while walking in the forest—can play a role well beyond their apparent size. Despite its small physical stature, the herb layer comprises up to 90% of the plant diversity of the forest. I often refer to these plants collectively as “the forest between the trees.”

So, this Arbor Day 2014, we should all plant trees indeed! But as we do, let’s also keep in mind that our forests our essential to our own survival—and let’s treat them that way.

Frank Gilliam is a professor of biological sciences at Marshall University, and author of the second edition of The Herbaceous Layer in Forests of Eastern North America.

Subscribe to the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Subscribe to only earth, environmental, and life sciences articles on the OUPblog via email or RSS.
Image Credit: (1) Barn Red Landscape Clouds Trees Sky Nature Field. Public Domain via Pixabay. (2) Creek and old-growth forest-Larch Mountain. Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

The post Arbor Day: an ecosystem perspective appeared first on OUPblog.

        

Related Stories

• What is ‘lean psychiatry’?
• The amoeba in the room
• New perspectives on the history of publishing

 

About Habitats: Forests

by Cathryn Sills & John Sills

Peachtree Publishers     3/01/2-14

978-1-56145-734-2

Age 3 to 7        50 pages

.

“With the help of beautifully detailed paintings by noted wildlife illustrator John Sill, the author describes the characteristics of different types of forests—from the cold boreal forests of the northern hemisphere to the warm tropical forests near the equator—and shows how various species of animals and plants have adapted to life in these habitats.”

Opening

“Forests are large areas of land covered with many trees.”

Review

Forests, filled with trees and animals, are the life force of our world. Trees protect fresh water, keeping it clean, pure, and drinkable. Trees also give us oxygen. A map shown just before the text and illustrations shows the type of forests and the area where each forest can be found. A forest has many large areas of trees, some tall and some small, but all are important.

The beautifully detailed illustrations show children what those trees look like. Included are the animals that live in the trees and the forest floors, all so children who may never see a tropical forest, or a boreal forest, can envision one with the help of About Habitats: Forests. Colorful birds and flowers accent the many different trees in the 17 full-pages of paintings. Simple sentences with simplified information bring the subject of forests to the understanding of young children.

Older children need more complex sentences and detailed information. Turning to the back, these children, and teachers, will find information younger children may not yet be able to comprehend. Each numbered plate, accompanied by a smaller print of the illustrations, includes additional information. For example, here is the second spread followed by the back information for this plate (#2).

“Tall trees make up the top layer, which is called the canopy.”

“Different kinds of plants grow in each layer. The three main layers are the forest floor, the understory, and the canopy. Tropical forests often have a fourth one called the emergent layer. It is made up of the tallest trees that grow above the canopy.”

The Sills have produced another winner in their wildlife series for children of all ages. Six books currently make up the About Habitats series. In addition to Forests are the following five subjects: Deserts, Grasslands, Mountains, Wetlands, and Oceans. About Habitats should be sitting on the shelf of every elementary school library as reference materials for both students and teachers. Esthetically, About Habitats are beautiful illustrations with bright detailed birds and flowers in some, and exact details in all.

Information on the About Habitats series books HERE.

Buy About Habitats: Forests or any of the series at Amazon—B&N—Peachtree Publishers—your neighborhood bookstore.

.

Meet author Cathryn Sills at Jacketflap:  http://www.jacketflap.com/cathryn-sill/24246

Meet illustrator John Sills at his website:  http://www.johnsill.com/

Check out more great boos at Peachtree Publishers website:  http://peachtree-online.com/index.php/about.html

 .

ABOUT HABITATS:  FORESTS. Text copyright © 2014 by Cathryn Sills. Illustrations copyright © 2014 by John Sills. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Peachtree Publishers, Atlanta, GA.

ABOUT HABITATS series

Mountains

Deserts

Grasslands

.

Wetlands

Oceans

.

Peachtree Book Blog Tour

About Habitats:  Forests

Monday, 3/17/14
Jean Little Library

Tuesday, 3/18/14
Tolivers to Texas

Wednesday, 3/19/14
Chat with Vera

Thursday, 3/20/14

Kid Lit Reviews    ME, ME, ME!

Friday, 3/21/14
Archimedes Notebook

Geo Librarian

The Children’s Book Review is delighted to welcome Susannah Terrell French to our tree house today. She is an environmental lawyer and the award-winning author of Operation Redwood, a high adventure novel about four determined children who take on big business to save a redwood forest.

iTunes users can subscribe to this podcast

Varnish is the glossy protective layer applied to wooden furniture and other surfaces.

Tracing the reason its called varnish back through time takes us on some interesting twists and turns.

As much as 700 years ago English got the word varnish from French. The French word had come from a Latin source which in turn seems to have come from a Greek word that is said to have arisen because there was a city on the Mediterranean famed for its varnishes; or perhaps the first place that varnishes were sourced.

That city was known as Bernice or Berenike so in moving from Greek to Latin the “b” morphed to a “v.”

The city still stands though much changed. It is now called Benghazi and is the second biggest city in Libya. The current name is said to stem from a meaning of “descendants of Ghazi” where Ghazi is identified as a specific benefactor of the city but is an honorary title rather than a personal name and means “veteran” based on honored service in some military campaign.

The name Benghazi then isn’t a modification of the earlier name Berenike but a newer name replacing the old Greek one.

Berenike was a name bestowed on the port town to honor an Egyptian queen of 2300 years ago and her name in turn breaks down to two words meaning “bearer of victory”; Nike being the goddess of victory and the inspirer of shoe names.

The city had an even earlier Greek name that might explain why Berenike begot varnish. The place was first known as Hesperides, named after Greek mythological islands of the blessed. Today the region is a dry, dusty, gritty landscape but those thousands of years ago is said to have been home to resinous pine forests. That sounds a little more blessed. It was the resin from these forests that was used in making varnish.

Ferocious Wild Beasts by Chris Wormell

Jack’s mother told him never to go into the forest because there are ferocious wild beasts in there!  But Jack didn’t listen and now found himself lost in the woods.  When a bear walked up to Jack and asked what was wrong, Jack told him about the ferocious wild beasts of the forest and how they gobble up both people and bears.  The bear was worried and the two of them walked on together.  They met an elephant who was told about the wild beasts and was also terrified, so the three walked on together.  They next met a lion who when hearing about the beasts also traveled with them.  With the sinking of the sun, they had even more animals grouped with them and on the outlook for the wild beasts.  They heard a stomping.  They saw a huge glowing eye.  They heard a loud roar.  What could it be?

This is a great picture book.  It has wonderful pacing that draws readers in and captivates them.  The humor is broad and children will immediately understand that the very animals accompanying Jack on his travels are the ones his mother warned him about.  Wormell’s use of realistic animals makes the book even more successful as it heightens the tension and adds to the humor too.  The watercolor illustrations here will work well with a group as will the text which has a rhythm and flow that reads aloud nicely.

Highly recommended, this is a book where children will get the joke and enjoy playing along with it.  A perfect addition to story times on elephants, bears or lions.  Appropriate for ages 3-6.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Also reviewed at BooksForKidsBlog, Kiss the Book, and A Patchwork of Books.

Life in the Boreal Forest by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrations by Gennady Spirin.

Released on September 29, 2009.

This book so clearly captures the beauty and life in the boreal forest that one can almost hear the birds and smell the freshness of the air.  The great northern forest stretches from Alaska and Canada to Scandinavia and Russia Showing the brevity of the northern summer, the activity of the stark winter months, and the glory of the spring and the return of warmth will bring readers face-to-face with nature and its drama.  Spirin’s illustrations show delicate detail, dazzling vistas, and many many animals.  This is a book to sink into, explore and learn.

Guiberson’s text is filled with sounds, from bird calls to wolves howling to smaller noises like hares hopping on snow.  Each sound and its explanation brings this unique ecosystem to life.  Her words create an understanding through the small details of the importance of this forest for all of us.  Spirin excels as capturing animals with their small details and yet showing the forest itself as more than a background, as a living thing.  Her art is large and breathtaking even while the details are shown.

Highly recommended, this book is a great nature book for children.  For children in the north, this book is like coming home.  For everyone it is important to see forests celebrated in this way.  Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Reviewed from copy received from Henry Holt.