This page contains a Flash digital edition of a book.
to be a compre- hensive guide, from informa- tion on why school gardens are beneficial, to garden design, budgeting for the garden, maintenance,


year-round garden lessons, recipes and cooking ideas. With many colourful photographs of school gardens from the San Francisco area, this book will have you pitching your ideas to your principal, writing funding letters, making the most out of your space during planning, and connecting the garden to school curriculum. The suggested grade range for the included lessons is K-8. – (KB/JC)


Timber Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-60469- 000-2 (pb), 223 pp., US$24.95 from Timber Press, <www.timberpress.com>; C$31.50 from Thomas Allen & Son, <www.thoma- sallen.ca>.


Tree Rings and Our Climate The Tree Rings’ Tale: Understanding Our Changing Climate is a captivating and informative introduction to the discovery and continuing role of using tree rings to learn about historical climate variations, and predict future ones. Author John Fleck treads the line between sci- ence textbook and storybook, interspersing science with the story of John Wesley Powell, a 19th century Grand Canyon explorer who paved the way for contemporary


scientists to discover the importance of tree rings in climate science. The book then follows the intriguing research of five climate scientists, who are using tree rings, amongst other natural indi- cators, to increase our knowledge of climate variability to predict precipita- tion and droughts in future years. While this book is focused on the American Southwest and the importance of climate science to this arid region, the increasing importance of climate science every- where make it universally applicable. Filled with colour photographs, explan- atory sidebars and a glossary, this book would make good independent or research reading for readers ten and


above, who can increase their knowl- edge by carrying out the end of chap- ter experimental/investigative tasks. Alternatively, science teachers may find these tasks or individual chapters from the book useful as curriculum supplements. – (BM/JC)


University of New Mexico Press, 2009, ISBN 978-0-8263-4757-2 (hc), 91 pp., US$21.95 from University of New Mexico Press, <www.unmpress.com>.


Systems Thinking


and Food Elementary school teachers teaching sus- tainability will often teach kids about the origins of


everyday material goods, and look at their impact on the environment. Farm to Table & Beyond follows this same process, but for the food we eat every day. This outstanding resource for grades 5-6 was produced by the Teachers College at Columbia Uni- versity and the National Gardening Association. Using an inquiry-based approach, “QUESTA” (questioning, experimenting, searching, theorizing, and applying to life), the authors help students understand the interconnected subsystems of our enormous farm-to- table system. The six curriculum units in the book contain all teacher materials necessary for implementing thirty lessons including guiding questions, sample conversations, background information, lesson resources, and blackline masters for student read- ings and activity sheets. The first units address the questions: “What is a food scientist?”; “What is the system that gets food from farm to table?”; “What happens to food as it moves from farm to table?”; “What are the environmental effects of our farm- to-table system?”; and “How can we reduce the food-related waste that we produce?” The final unit helps teach- ers and students plan a “Farm to Table & Beyond Expo” to showcase what they’ve learned. – (BM)


Teachers College Columbia University and the National Gardening Association, 2008, ISBN 978-0-915873-50-0432 (sc), 432 pp., US$34.95 from the National Gardening As- sociation, (800) 538-7476, <www.garden- ingwithkids.org>.


Watershed Investigations Using an inquiry-based approach, the 12 labs in Watershed Investiga- tions: 12 Labs for High School Science launch students into investigations of many aspects of our fragile and crucial water- sheds. Lessons run the gamut of geology, chemistry, biol- ogy, physics and


earth science and include, amongst others, how glaciers have shaped our watersheds, watershed plant identifi- cation, stream channel morphology and groundwater contamination. An underlying theme throughout the lessons is how watersheds change, both naturally and as a result of urban- ization. Due to their interdisciplinary nature, the lessons would be useful both in traditional science classrooms, and in any high school environmental science unit, though the labs are probably most appropriate for grades 11 and 12. Some, but not all, of the experiments require access to a water- way. Each lab provides teachers with material lists, detailed instructions, suggested preparations, procedures and sample data. Student handouts, worksheets and questions are also in- cluded. Lessons are tied to US national and state curricular standards, and external links are mostly to US sources, but the labs could be adapted for use in many regions. – (JH)


National Science Teachers Association, 2009, ISBN 978-1-933531-48-9 (sc), 175 pp., US$27.95 from NSTA, <www.nsta. org>.


Building a Wildlife


Garden Gardens are often seen as aesthetically pleasing collec- tions of plants, or as sources


of food, but perhaps less often as habitats for, and attractors of, wildlife. Elizabeth McCorquodale’s Kids in the Wild Garden is a guide to planting gardens that attract various animal and insect species, either in schoolyards or home settings. Filled with colour photographs, this book is attractive to children while providing detailed


GREEN TEACHER 93 Page 47


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