Dobsonflies

This week's post at GeekDad is about the wetlands that used to be our backyard...

Zip Code Zoo

Here's a nature ID site that works by looking at the location of your internet service provider. (Didn't know websites could do that? I use a site called StatCounter to see who's visiting my various blogs. It gives a rough approximation of your city, among other info. And that's just the free, amateur version. Anyway...)

Here's what Zip Code Zoo has to say about itself:

Our natural world is rapidly losing its diversity and abundance. To slow this loss, and to better appreciate the natural world, we must begin with local nature. ZipcodeZoo works to bring the natural world to armchair, amateur, and professional naturalists. Our focus is Applied Biogeography: understanding plants and animals in their place, perhaps even your backyard.

Compost Tube - Final Report

This beautiful abstract from early July is the inside of the compost bottle. As you can see, some fungi took hold, along with the nematodes and bacteria that broke our vegetable scraps down into mush. A friend suggested using the liquid which collected in the bottom of the tube as "compost tea," so I poured it on my potted grape tomato plant. After photographing and disassembling the tube, I worked the contents into the tomato pot. (The tomato doesn't look great, but I don't know if that is the fault of the compost!)

Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Another interesting-looking resource for learning about biology is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute website. It has a section called Cool Science for teachers, parents and kids, and you can access free lectures via streaming video or by ordering the free DVDs.

Backyard Biology

Here's a website recommended by Robert Krampf:

Backyard Biology is a nature website written by a marine biology who works as a science educator at the Museum of Science in Boston, and an outdoor educator-turned-artist. Here's an excerpt from their bios:

When my good friend, Don asked if I would be interested in developing a web-site with him, the wheels started to turn. What fun it would be to combine art, natural history and writing as we share our mutual fascination with everything from aphids to zebras. We hope you will join us on frequent expeditions to our “backyards”.