Teach Your Children Well 2006

Compost Guru

PAGE EVOLVING

HOPE TO HAVE THIS FINISHED SOON

On Thursday April 27, 2006, as part of Earth Week, I had the chance once again to live my passion. That passion is teaching others to be good stewards of the Earth. My assistant, Lulu Alex and I were going back to Waseca Learning Environment where we would have the opportunity once again, to work with the students and help create a more sustainable future for life on earth.

Classroom photos by Lulu Alex

Some Like It Hot

We start by loading a cooler with thermophilic compost. Thermophilic refers to any group of organisms that thrive at high temperatures. This compost has been cooking at 131^o F for more than 30 days. The actual temperature of the compost we put in the crate on this day is 140^oF. You could eat it and it wouldn’t hurt you. In just three days at 131^oF the heat destroys all the pathogens harmful to plants and animals, we being the animals. That includes the Avian Flu Virus H5N1 and the Aids Virus. This is a far better option than burning or burying anything organic. Burning releases poisons into our air as well as increasing our greenhouse gases. Burying will not kill pathogens and can contaminate vital water resources. By composting thermophilicly we can return valuable nutrients to our soils. It takes nature 500 years to make one inch of topsoil. Important stuff to know.

The Blue Planet

We start with the slide show. First slide, “The Blue Planet”. Earth! I talk about the earth and what a special planet it is. “Who lives on this Blue Planet Earth?” I ask the class. All the hands go up and kids start yelling, “We do, we do.” “Right we all live on this planet don’t we.” “And what makes our planet earth so special?” Immediately, almost all the hands go up again, I’ve captivated the audience. Photo by NASA link to globe_east_540.jpg

Warmest Years On Record

I talk to the students about life on earth. And how our atmosphere is so special and creates an environment for so many different creatures. Then I ask them if they know what Global Warming is. Half the hands in the room go up. The next slide is really pretty scary if you have all the information. Below are the links to NASA and The Union Of Concerned Scientists.

2005 Warmest Year in Over a Century

The 20 Hottest Years on Record

Record Heat 2006

This slide has been updated since we were at Waseca. It will appear in our future presentations. So is it hot enough for you? Think next years going to be any cooler. What should we do? Link below:

Record Heat

Sea Ice The North Pole

I ask the students. What do you think is happening to all the ice the if the earth is getting warmer? Yeah, it's starting to melt. We look at these slides and talk about how the green house gases are making the earth heat up and melt the ice.

More to come!

Mt. Hood 1984

Mt. Hood 2002

Patagonia 75 Years Ago And Today

The Ice Is Melting

Some areas in the arctic have warmed ten times as fast as the world as a whole. Because of this, sea ice is breaking up weeks earlier. Polar bears rely on the sea ice to hunt for seals in the spring and summer. Due to the shrinking sea ice, female polar bears’ body weights have declined by as much as 55 pounds in the past 30 years. According to the World Wildlife Fund, by 2012 they may no longer be able to reproduce. In addition, the lack of food and the thinning ice have resulted in polar bears drowning in there search for food. The effects of global warming are most prevalent in the Polar Regions.