Book description
In this much-needed work for our nation's youth, Daniel Shaw tracks
the interconnections of small regional ecosystems to larger ones, and
in the process demonstrates the accessibility of nature to everyone.
As Shaw notes in his introduction, the story that is too often told
about the environment is one about despair and destruction, which
basically suggests to young people that all is lost and everything was
better before their time.
Instead, this book tells true life success stories of young people
involved in citizen science efforts and how others can join in
tracking climate change, local wildlife, and other parts of the
natural world. Shaw's work demonstrates by example a story of hope for
a natural environment that exists in the world.
At the core of this book is the notion that humans are components of
their ecosystems. Shaw encourages readers to learn what becomes of
their outputs and to understand human contributions to various
ecological cycles. Sidebars and activities give readers a chance to
discover these cycles right in their backyards and to link their
discoveries to neighborhood environments.
Daniel Shaw is a middle school science teacher at Bosque
School in Albuquerque. He created and for fourteen years has been the
principal investigator of a nationally honored student-centered
monitoring project in the Rio Grande bosque, which today involves more
than 2,500 young adults.
