Happy Earth Day

I'm late here, but happy earth day. I had a good one. I am a lead teacher with a Museum program at an ecologically run water treatment plant. We show the kids how the plant cleans wastewater without using chlorine or other chemicals. The water flows into a marsh where it
contributes to healthy habitat for a lot of plants and animals. We ask the kids if they think the
plant is doing a good job; they always talk about the animals they saw and say "YES!"

I handled the dip netting station on Wednesday. The kids use nets to catch swimming creatures in the marsh. We identify them, observe them and let them go - the kids would often like to keep them as pets but understand why we have to release them. We caught a lot of young crayfish (who swim backwards to escape predators - the kids love to watch that), some thread worms (who wiggle like they are dancing to trance music), some mosquitoe larvae (they wiggle too; we release them unharmed because a lot of fish prey on them), alot of scuds (very small amphipods, they look like fast swimming shrimp) and a baby western pond turtle.
That was amazing - as far as I know it was the first time anyone had caught a turtle there!

It is really fine to watch kids get surprised and excited about small creatures, the kind that
many people scorn. I remain a firm believer that kids and adults have an innate need for contact with the natural world. Lots of research supports the idea that this contact promotes mental, physical and intellectual health. Observations of kids in nature supports this research to the max!