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Saving Girl Scout camps in Northeastern Ohio will keep kids connected with nature

Saving Girl Scout camps in Northeastern Ohio will keep current and future generations of children, like the awesome 4th generation Girl Scout shown in the video below, connected with nature. Seven camps are at risk of being sold.

Watch the wonderful video below to learn more-if you love nature and children, it’s a must see! I think it’s a pileated woodpecker you can hear in the background near the start of the video.

YouTube Video Description
“This video is about a beloved Girl Scout Camp in Northeastern Ohio, which along with seven others, is now up for sale due to the misguided vision of our corporate staff and board. Please help us (the actual Girl Scout membership) in our legal battle against our board.. (oh the irony.) :{ To learn more about how you can help save our Girl Scout camps of Northeastern Ohio, please visit http://www.trefoilintegrity.org/”

Video Link
“It Belongs to You and Me”

I think camps for kids are very important to help kids enjoy nature. Camps ensure future generations of conservationists who will stand up to protect our environment.

Our best-selling children’s books and movies teach children gentle lessons of nature, and we know that getting children out in nature is one of the best ways for them to fall in love with it.

Please visit http://www.trefoilintegrity.org/ to learn how you can help save these seven camps.

And finally, my good friend Dan Poole answers the myth that “Kids aren’t interested in scout camp anymore” in the short video below. He even tells the story of one child leaving the electronics at home!

Video Link
Myth: Kids aren’t interested in scout camp anymore

Are Camps Important for Kids?
Please comment and let us know your thoughts. Please click the “Share/Save” button below to share this article to help save these precious camps.

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2012 02 03 Kirt Manecke Environment Comments (0) Permalink

Snowy owls flock to Michigan

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Snowy owl photo by Carl R. Sams II.

Snowy owls are flocking to Michigan! I have not seen one yet on my hikes on local state lands, but according to this article, “Snowy owls flock to Michigan in unusual numbers“, in the Detroit Free Press, they are flying further south for food. Their home is the Arctic tundra. The full article is here.

According to the article, by early December, there were 60 sightings in 10 lower Michigan counties and 34 in the Upper Peninsula, according to bird experts who track sightings. Snowy owls eat voles, mice and rabbits, and are often seen on the ground or perched on poles resting or scanning the ground for food.

People should keep their distance from the birds and be careful not to disturb them, said Karen Cleveland, a bird biologist with the state Department of Natural Resources. If you spook them, they will use up energy which will weaken these magnificent birds. Snowy owls are federally protected.

Enjoy them if you are lucky enough to see a snowy owl, but please keep your distance and leave them alone.

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2012 02 02 Kirt Manecke Wildlife Comments (0) Permalink

Burmese pythons in Florida Everglades decimating wildlife

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Large Burmese pythons are now regularly encountered and occupy a wide variety of habitats in the park, including uplands, freshwater wetlands and the saline coastal fringe. Photo courtesy National Park Service.

Burmese pythons are overpopulating the Florida Everglades, and local wildlife is paying the price. If you’ve been listening to the news, you know by now that these huge snakes probably originated from the pet trade, then grew too large and were released in Everglades National Park.

The Burmese pythons are an exotic species, meaning they are not naturally part of Everglades National Park and should not be in southern Florida.

Learn more in the BBC News article, “Pythons linked to Florida Everglades mammal decline“. According to the article, researchers found a strong link between the spread of pythons and drops in recorded sightings of raccoons, rabbits, bobcats and other species.

Do you know if they pose a danger to people visiting and exploring Everglades National Park?

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2012 02 01 Kirt Manecke Environment Comments (0) Permalink

National Park Traveler: Survey shows westerners support national parks, environment

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Photo of Rocky Mountain National Park courtesy National Park Service Digital Image Archives.

A new survey shows that many living in the Western United States, support the protection of our national parks and environment, according to “Survey of Western Attitudes Shows Strong Support for National Parks, Clean Environment“.

I’m happy to hear that people in Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Montana are supportive of our national parks and environment. I’ve always wrongly assumed that some people living so near these beautiful places may take them for granted.

There were two key findings from the survey:

* 74 percent of those surveyed in 2009 said land protection and conservation can go hand-in-hand with a strong economy-by 2012 that percent had risen to 78 percent.

* 24 percent of those surveyed in 2009 voiced the opinion that conservation of public lands sometimes is in conflict with strong economies-by 2012 that percentage had dropped to 19 percent.

View the “Conservation in the West Poll“.

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2012 01 31 Kirt Manecke Environment Comments (0) Permalink

Kids reading to dogs program improves reading…and is fun too

When kids read to dogs, their reading improves, according to the article, ”Man’s best friend a great reading companion for kids“. Imagine how much more fun reading would be as a child if you could read to a dog!

The Eugene Public Library has teamed up with the non-profit PAAWS (People and Animals Who Serve). Could there be a more adorable dog than Tucker, the 8-year-old Labrador featured in the short video below?

Video Link
Man’s best friend a great reading companion for kids

Tucker seems to be having a ball reading with the kids! Reading to a dog seems to be a very effective and easy way to improve your child’s reading skills.

Have your children ever read to a dog, and did it improve their reading?

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2012 01 30 Kirt Manecke Children's Books Comments (0) Permalink

Endangered Venus fly-trap at risk from poaching

The endangered Venus fly-trap is at risk from poachers, according to the article, “Poachers threaten rare wild-growing Venus flytrap“.

The Venus fly-trap is an incredible plant with the amazing way it captures insects. It’s sad that they are at risk from poachers. The short video below explains the predicament.

Video Link
Poaching a threat to rare Venus flytrap plant

According to the article, three people were arrested this week and charged with uprooting an endangered species without permission, a misdemeanor.

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2012 01 27 Kirt Manecke Environment Comments (2) Permalink

Alaska Northern Lights

Have you seen the Alaska northern lights? Watch the short and amazing video below.

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Northern Lights / aurora borealis on 2012-01-22

According to the description under this YouTube video, in northern latitudes, the effect is known as the aurora borealis (or the northern lights), named after the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the north wind, Boreas. Auroras seen near the magnetic pole may be high overhead, but from farther away, they illuminate the northern horizon as a greenish glow or sometimes a faint red, as if the sun were rising from an unusual direction.

northern-lights-carl-sams

The Northern Lights were taken after an August snowstorm in Denali National Park. Photo by Carl R. Sams II. The Big Dipper registered in the photograph.

When Carl and Jean were in Denali National Park they took this terrific photo above, “Northern Lights“, of the Alaska northern lights. You can purchase it here.

Have you ever seen the northern lights?

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2012 01 26 Kirt Manecke Amazing Comments (0) Permalink

Orphaned bear cubs released in Sierra National Forest

Two orphaned bear cubs were released in the Sierra National Forest by the California Department of Fish and Game. Hikers found the 6-month cubs last summer after their mother was illegally killed by a poacher.

Enjoy the short video below about the release of these two cute bear cubs.


 
Video Link
“Bears Released In The Sierra: Mother Shot By Poacher”

We wish these two bear cubs a happy life!

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2012 01 25 Kirt Manecke Bears
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Books in French for children available in our “In the Woods” series

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Stranger in the Woods French Edition.

If you are looking for books in French for children, we’ve got them! Did you know that our Stranger in the Woods, Lost in the Woods, and First Snow in the Woods children’s books are available in French editions?

In our snowman picture book, Stranger in the Woods French Edition, kids learn how the furry and feathered friends of the forest respond to a mysterious visitor.

Stories about woods for children, like the story in our book Lost in the Woods French Edition that weaves a delightful tale with a message: fawns found alone in the woods are rarely lost or abandoned, connect children with nature.

Finally, in First Snow in the Woods French Edition, kids are taken on a beautiful photographic journey deep into the autumn woods as the animals of the forest get ready for the year’s first winter storm.

In our french language books for children, your children or students will learn gentle lessons of nature. View our line of children’s picture books (scroll down page for foreign language books for children). They all come autographed by Carl and Jean!

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If  you like this article, click the Like button at the top of this post. Please feel free to share this article with any families you know that are interested in French children’s books by clicking the “Share/Save” button below.

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2012 01 24 Kirt Manecke Children's Books Comments (2) Permalink

60 Minutes Presents: Into the Wild

“60 Minutes Presents: Into the Wild” is a wonderful program. In a special hour devoted to the natural world, Scott Pelley visits Kenya to witness the great wildebeest migration; then, Bob Simon listens to the secret language of elephants; lastly, Lara Logan visits with Jane Goodall in the forests of Tanzania.

If you love nature and wildlife, you won’t want to miss this terrific program below!

Video Link
60 Minutes Presents: Into the Wild

Which segment did you like best?

Share “60 Minutes Presents: Into the Wild” with your friends on your Facebook wall, by e-mail and more by clicking on the “Share/Save” button below.

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2012 01 23 Kirt Manecke Wildlife Comments (0) Permalink