Touch a Butterfly, by April Pulley Sayre, is a delightful read. Its goal is to get families—kids included—outside and in touch with the natural world through gardening. But it is so much more than a guide. It’s a learning process, and the author shares her years of learning to give you a head start. Her pretense may be to teach you how to share the joys of nature with your children. But you, too, will be bitten by the bug!

Like any good garden—indeed, like nature itself—this book has many tangents. But they never lead the reader far astray, because each section is short and to the point. For example, a section about hummingbird flowers zips off to a description of bat flowers—and how a bat can be as great an addition to a garden as a hummingbird—and then zips right back to hummers.

Just when you think you’re getting a step-by-step how-to about a particular aspect of your garden, you’re presented with an activity idea. Each one sounds so fun and easy, you want to drop the book and go right outside and try it—or at least mark the place so you can go back to it when the kids are home and the time is right.

In the most unassuming and non-invasive way, the author freely credits other authors and resources and also references many wonderful, previously published books of her own. There’s no need to worry about losing track of such recommendations: Those and more can easily be found in a helpful, categorized list at the end of the book.

Splendid, colorful photos of backyard friends (animals, plants, and children) accent many of the pages and help bring the idea of a garden to life—even before getting your hands dirty. Seeing sunlight shining on small hands and expectant faces throughout the book constantly reminds you that kids and nature make a perfect pair. The photos also entice you with limitless ideas of what you might anticipate in your own garden.

And who wouldn’t be delighted by a story about a “pocket bird”—a tiny wren that built her nest and raised her chicks in a pair of overalls hanging on a clothesline? There may be more traditional ways of welcoming and nurturing wildlife in your backyard, but some—such as this one—are just more memorable. April shares numerous such personal asides in her book. They make you wonder what memories might be made in your own landscape.

April’s writing style is at once soothing and stimulating. For example, listen to her describe a garden as art: “It is a living kinetic sculpture,” she says. “Wind plays with trees, grasses, branches. Rain moves leaves and makes rocks shine. Thunder shakes it. Sun bakes it.” She sums up by saying, “Butterflies and birds are waiting for you. All you have to do is invite them.”

So, what are you waiting for?

Family Fun: Get Growing!

National Wildlife Federation is hosting a “Gardening as Family Time” webinar on Wednesday, May 29, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. We’ll have lots of ideas for adding kid-friendly and fun elements to your garden. Register today.

You can also check out our 16 tips for wildlife gardening with kids>>

Everyone loves a good book! Photo by: Bryn Fluharty

On the first Friday of each month, we’ll publish our thoughts on the book. This will include some general observations and some thoughts on how the book’s themes fit into NWF’s overall mission. We then hope you’ll join in the discussion using the comments section of the blog to share your own thoughts about the book.

We’ll select works from hard-hitting environmental authors and include fictional tales that interweave their stories with ecological themes — books that engage and challenge us. We will choose cutting edge environmental books as well as books that talk about people’s connection to nature and the environment. We also plan to bring in guests who will discuss their work in the environmental literature field, to create an opportunity for you to interact with the authors themselves.

We look forward to discovering many new adventures in nature (and books!) with all of you!

April’s Book: The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

The Big Burn by Timothy Egan

By 1910 the Forest Service was a mere 5 years old and comprised of a few scattered and poorly paid and respected foresters. That particular summer brought with it unusually dry weather which set the stage for what would be the nation’s largest forest fire in history.

In The Big Burn, Egan skillfully leads the reader through the Roosevelt years, introducing characters such as Gifford Pinchot, Roosevelt’s collaborator in creating the Forest Service and its first chief forester. From here the story delves into the social and political atmosphere that nearly ended the Forest Service. It then reaches the summer of 1910 and a blaze that will stretch across most of the West, reducing whole towns to embers and leaving a dramatic mark on the nation’s history and the way that we approach conservation.

Discussion: Friday April 6, 2012

On Friday April 6 we will begin our discussion of The Big Burn.

Food for Thought:
1. What themes in the book are still at play today (mining, forestry management…) and what can we take from this story and apply it to conservation today?
2. How does the fire impact conservation today (or does it impact conservation today)?

We’ll also post our second book, which we’ll discuss in May. For now, use the comments section here if you have any questions, or let us know if you have suggestions for books we can feature in the future.

Me, Max, frolicking with a monster, as depicted in a wall painting in Saskatoon, SK, Canada (Wikimedia Commons via flickr | Scott Woods-Fehr)

A big part of their job was to teach us about magical kismet and the possibility of the world at large, that most of life’s limits were of our own making.

Many of the books that did this best reveled in the promise of the outdoors—think of Frog and Toad’s green-and-brown universe or the nightscapes of Maurice Sendak’s lunatic island.

Here’s the sad part: a new report in the journal Sociological Inquiry suggests that depictions of nature in illustrated children’s books have declined over the past few decades, a shift that may reflect a wider estrangement from the environment:

 …[T]he increasing isolation of people from the natural world may have resulted in a decline in the perceived relevance of these environmental issues and resulted in fewer stories and depictions. Our findings support [this] isolation hypothesis. There have been significant declines in depictions of natural environments and animals while built environments have become much more common.

‘These environmental issues’ are “critical…problems, such as decline in biodiversity and deforestation.”

Miller-McCune:

…[I]mages of built and natural environments were “almost equally likely to be present” in books published from the late 1930s through the 1960s. But in the mid-1970s, illustrations of the built environment started to increase in number, while there were fewer and fewer featuring the natural environment. […] “This gap widened in every subsequent decade,” Williams and his colleagues write. “Natural environments have all but disappeared.”

Williams and co. also noted that wild animals have played a steadily declining role in books published since the 1960s.

NWF has advocated extensively for the movement to connect kids to nature, but this report raises a little-remembered aspect of that fight: we can’t reach kids through parents and teachers alone. The culture that surrounds them in the form of books, magazines, TV shows and the like is a major font of youthful inspiration, or can be, and its steady slide away from nature is telling (the study concludes that “today’s generation of children are not being socialized, at least through this source, toward an understanding and appreciation of the natural world and the place of humans within it“). Ranger Rick and other standard-bearers of wilderness-friendly youth media have their work cut out for them.

To learn more about the changing nature of childhood and how to fight ‘nature deficit disorder,’ visit our Be Out There page and read about the scourge of the modern TV-driven childhood.

I read to my kids each night, but this week, we read a book that really made a difference to us.

Wild Wings by Gill Lewis

My friend Helen took this photo near Sanibel Island, located off the west coast of Florida.

How an Osprey Brought Our Family Together

I started reading this book to my daughter Nora. Nearby, my husband and son worked on a puzzle. Often I read one book to Nora and one to my son Russell because they like different topics. But this time, the book was so interesting; soon I could see that all of them were listening.

The evenings passed. It has never happened that all four of us were completely enthralled with a book, and it felt very cozy. We would sit in the living room with only a few lamps on, feeling warm in the winter night.

We came to the final chapters. There was a part that was particularly moving (which I won’t give away) and I felt tears come to my eyes. I looked up at my husband and there were tears in his eyes too. I cry easily, but it was surprising to see this on my husband’s face. My kids were looking back and forth between us. I managed to read the book to the end.

When we looked at each other, this pause felt like a different type of “wildlife moment.” Our family spends time outside and cultivates our love of nature. But I realized this moment was special in its own way. Children remember and internalize values when their parents show vulnerability or pause. Life can be a rush of tasks and decisions. That look across our family told the perfect unspoken story.

Here is a related quote that I love:

“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children. One is roots, the other is wings.” — Hodding Carter, Jr.

I would suggest reading the book Wild Wings, or more importantly, slow down with those you love. It’s winter, it’s time to snuggle.

Osprey Activities for Your Family

• Purchase Wild Wings through this link and support National Wildlife Federation.
• Download this coloring page and fact sheet about ospreys.
• Check out this Ranger Rick Adventure comic when he learns about ospreys in the Everglades.
• At my kids’ school, the grade five class is watching osprey migrations via the DFYI Osprey project.
• Get tips on watching birds of prey during Hawk Watch each fall.
• Download this activity worksheet about birds of prey.
• Purchase a bird watching kit from National Wildlife Federation and support our work.

How NWF is Helping Ospreys:

• Chesapeake Bay- NWF works to protect water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, home to many ospreys.
• Gulf of Mexico – NWF works to address the BP Oil Spill in osprey habitat such as Bon Secour Refuge.
• Michigan – NWF works to address the Enbridge oil spill, which affected osprey habitat.
• North Carolina – NWF certified a Community Wildlife Habitat where they built osprey platforms.
• Tribal Lands – NWF’s Tribal Lands program works with tribes to protect osprey habitat, such as the White Mountain Apache.

What You Can Do for Ospreys:

Ospreys rely on healthy waterways for their diet of fish. Take action to protect America’s waterways for ospreys and other water-loving wildlife.

Information about Ospreys:

• Read this National Wildlife article about the status of ospreys in North America.
• The Red Lake Band of the Chippewa has made conserving wildlife and habitat one of its top priorities, including osprey habitat.

Osprey Photos from the 2011 National Wildlife^® Photo Contest

See more osprey photos from the photo contest.

While over the years I’ve loved anything published by Island Press, I wanted to share with you a list of other ways I’ve enjoyed connecting and finding great nature books to read. I’d love to hear your resources too!

Goodreads

Goodreads.com is a place to keep your track of your library and what books you’ve read or are reading, online. Aside from being a great way to stay up to date with what your friends are reading, it’s helpful for someone who likes to document things (ahem, me).This site and others like it also have another added bonus, they have a number of groups and nature authors that are worth checking out. I’ve found that the iPhone application is especially helpful.

Shelfari

While this site is also meant to help you organize whatever you’re reading and share books with friends, it’s a great way to find other recommendations for nature and science books. I’ve found that I truly enjoy the interface and you can find books tagged with things like “natural history” as well as join groups like “Save the wildlife” which you know, I immediately joined when I found it!

Great Wildlife and Nature Book Clubs

• America’s Wild Read
• Scientific American Book Club
• Barnes and Noble Science and Nature Book Club

Where do you go to get your book recommendations? Let me know! If anyone’s curious about the books I’m reading that are nature related, I try to keep them up to date!

Your first assignment? The WILD READ book club is featuring E.O. Wilson's first novel, Anthill.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched an exciting new project this week called WILD READ, a virtual book club meant to inspire people to connect with the outdoors and nature, all while enjoying a book. As an English major and nature nerd, it’s an initiative that I can definitely get behind.

As their first project, WILD READ will feature noted ecologist E.O. Wilson’s first novel, Anthill, the story of a boy whose Huck Finn-inspired summer in rural Alabama teaches him deeper understandings of nature and its most ruthless predators, humans.

Readers will also share insights on two related essays: Thinking Like a Mountain by Aldo Leopold, an early founder of the land conservation movement, and Once and Future Land Ethic, by Dr. Curt Meine, senior fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation.

Right now readers are invited to sign up and introduce yourselves online.  Discussions of the essays and Anthill will begin on May 1, 2011, and May 15, 2011, respectively.

They are having conservation writers Curt Meine and Will Stolzenburg (author of Where the Wild Things Were) serve as online moderators. I’m also honored to be moderating a section of the book (Week 6, chapters 15-18).

So, join us! Share your comments and become connected to people and wild places across the nation with the launch the WILD READ.

Getting outside is a great way to soothe the revved-up holiday spirit. A stroll through the neighborhood or  a long pause at the bird feeder can de-stress cranky kid and parent alike.  My favorite time of the day is taking our dog for a run in a nearby park.  The grass has yellowed, the leafless trees gone gray.  The natural world around us has settled into its winter quiet, and I can feel myself easing into its  slower, gentler rhythms.

Thanks to Walden Then & Now (Charlesbridge, ages 3 and up), your family can take a relaxing walk around Henry David Thoreau’s Massachusetts pond.  Author/illustrator Michael McCurdy introduces each letter of the alphabet with a short rhyme about Thoreau’s activities and wild neighbors during his two years there.  Little ones will love the playful poems, but  older kids and adults will appreciate additional short descriptions of the cabin making, ant watching and fishing that filled the American naturalist’s days. We learn about a mischievous loon, thumping hare, and pond ice used to keep food from spoiling.

If you’re looking for a gift that might continue to give throughout the year, Walden Then & Now is a lovely choice.  The book’s thick, creamy pages and McCurdy’s stunning wood engravings pay tribute to Thoreau’s own attention to  craft and natural beauty more than 150 years ago.

As we journey through the solstice darkness and into a new year (and paraphrasing slightly from Thoreau’s Walden), here’s wishing you and your children “pasture enough for [your] imagination[s].”

Finding gifts for an outdoor-inclined loved one can sometimes be a challenge.  And, since the economy has shifted, many of us have eschewed the “Big Fancy Gift” for more reasonable, practical items. And yet, we still want to give gifts that support their love of the outdoors.

Since I come from a family of both readers and outdoors people, I know there is an easy gift option that meets both objectives – books.

Field guides are always popular gifts for outdoor lovers. (Photo Credit: Flickr/Namibnat)

Here are some categories and suggestions from my own shopping list.

Hiking Guides: These are always handy.  From detailed guides for thru-hiking the Appalachian Trail to references for hiking with kids, hiking guidebooks help you find new adventures and ways to enjoy the outdoors.

Field Guides: My parents are such avid birders they have to replace their copy of the Audubon Field Guide every few years, so that’s always an easy gift. You can also expand the outdoor experience by giving field guides for wildflowers, constellations and other animals.

Gardening Reference: I admit that I have a “brown-thumb.” But I still want a nice garden and can always use some advice.  Gardening reference books come in handy as I try to figure out everything  – from what plants to put in the ground to how to maintain a wildlife friendly garden.

Books for Children: I find it is a bit harder during the winter to keep my kids outside and engaged with nature.  But I have also found that by encouraging my children to read kids’ books about the environment and the natural world, they are doing more than just reading.  They are exploring the outdoors with their mind.

Books about the Outdoors: Last but not least are nonfiction books with outdoor and wildlife themes.  Two of my favorites in this category include A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson which I credit with re-energizing my inner-hiker and encouraging me to start sharing the joy of hiking with my children and Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer that confirmed my respect for people who climb Mount Everest – and the fact that I never want to do it myself.

Lastly, and of particular importance for the National Wildlife Federation: This year, you can make a difference for wildlife when you do your holiday shopping.

With the holidays just round the corner, National Wildlife Federation and Borders Books are partnering to host Borders Benefit Days for Wildlife. When you shop online or in store from Dec. 18-20, 15% of every purchase goes to benefit NWF.

Here’s how:

• Borders.com: Enter the promo code NWFD1219H at checkout.
• In store: Use this coupon at participating Borders, Borders Express or Waldenbooks.

So feel free to curl up next to the fire this winter with a good book.  And keep in mind that while you are being inspired and getting ready to be outside in the spring, you have helped support the National Wildlife Federation.

Finding the right balance to manage fresh water resources for our states’ growing population and its wildlife is one of the most critical issues facing Texas today. The Texas Living Waters Project works to reform the way Texas manages and uses its fresh water for people and wildlife. Although we’ve come far, the job is not done.

The Living Waters of Texas

Aimed to highlight the importance of Texas waters, Texas A&M University Press published The Living Waters of Texas in October. Complete with stunning photographs and essays from influential Texas conservation leaders, the book is a celebration of the lifeblood that has sustained Texas’s natural heritage.

From the Publisher:

“In ten impassioned essays, veteran Texas environmental advocates and conservation professionals step outside their roles as lawyers, lobbyists, administrators, consultants, and researchers to write about water. Their personal stories of what the springs, rivers, bottomlands, bayous, marshes, estuaries, bays, lakes, and reservoirs mean to them and to our state come alive in the landscape photography of Charles Kruvand.”

The Living Waters of Texas includes essays from two National Wildlife Federation staff, Susan Kaderka, regional executive director of NWF’s South Central Regional Center, and Myron Hess, the head of our Texas Living Waters program.

Special Offer for National Wildlife Federation Supporters

Order The Living Waters of Texas today and enter promo code “NAWFTX” to receive 20% off the retail price and help support our fight for Texas waters and wildlife.

Specially-Bound Collector’s Editions are also available with a gift of $500 to our Texas Living Waters program. For more information, please contact Zach Horton at hortonz [at] nwf [dot] org.

Check out our holiday deals that help support the National Wildlife Federation’s work to protect wildlife >>

Although there have been many books dedicated to environmental issues, Last Chance: Preserving Life on Earth, emphasizes the idea that changes to the climate are occurring due to human behavior, and therefore require human recompense. Schweiger states, “Like it or not, global warming is the defining issue of the twenty-first century, and this may be the defining moment for an all-out effort to avoid a climate crisis.”

Last Chance argues that climate change is primarily a moral challenge, rather than a scientific or a technical one. We are, Schweiger asserts, responsible to protect the future of the planet for our children’s future. “This book is a call from an outdoorsperson who harbors respect for science, a Christian perspective, and a lifelong love for this gift we call nature.  I believe that each of us has a moral and stewardship obligation for nature regardless of our faith, politics, or worldview.”  It’s no surprise that his religious background informs his activism; his language is downright Biblical at times: “Surely we can agree that wrecking the planet is an ethical abomination.”

Schweiger is not the only one who claims a moral obligation to address climate change. In a recent interview with Yale University’s Environment 360, the chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Rajendra Pachauri, said “As a human being, I just couldn’t keep quiet in the face of all this overwhelming evidence. I know it’s probably not right for me to take a position such as this, but on the other hand, I think it would be totally immoral on my part not to take a position, so I came out and said so.”

Scientific research has been suggesting since the early 1970′s that we are at risk from the dangerous aftereffects of climate change, yet greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, well beyond the 350 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that we know is safe. As of writing, levels are 385ppm. Against the recommendations of the world’s leading scientists and the  IPCC, nations and individuals are procrastinating action.

Schweiger notes that ecologists are already seeing the effects of climate change in wildlife. Many plants and animals are highly sensitive to their environments, so as those environments change, so will their behavior. For example, although sea turtles have been on earth for millenia, rising temperatures in sea water may threaten their populations within a matter of years. Sea turtles are dependent on water temperature to determine the sex of the turtle (“temperature-dependent”), similar to some species of crocodiles, alligators and other turtles. Male sea turtles are born if temperatures are below 86°F, females above 86°F, and anything above 93°F often causes incubation to be fatal. As oceans continue to warm, fewer male sea turtles will be born, or incubations will fail altogether. Schweiger’s wildlife background helps him describe the ways in which discrete changes to parts of the natural environment ripple out to threaten the entire ecosystem, of which humans are a part.  

Last Chance is, more than anything, a rally to action for the American people. Throughout the book, Schweiger gives the reader tips, suggestions, and ideas about taking action on climate change and connecting with nature.  He encourages the use of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to heighten the level of concern for climate change. He also asks every reader to get involved by writing a letter or calling their Senators and President Obama. The heart of his campaign is a grassroots movement from citizens pushing their representatives to follow the science and pass comprehensive climate legislation.

Perhaps most importantly, Schweiger asks the readers to get outside and be a part of our natural world, arguing that we only save what we love. As he affirms, “Time spent in untrammeled nature is vivid, multisensory, and memorable. We are touched in visceral ways with the power and immediacy of our surroundings…” And lastly, Schweiger “urge[s] every parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle to make memories in nature with the children in [their] life. They will scarcely remember watching television with you, but in their heart, they will hold on to the times they spent in the wild with you.”