LILL's LIST

I just read a brochure outlining Safe Eating Guidelines for Fish and Shellfish in Maine. It’s put out by the state of Maine, where sport fishing is a big part of the economy. In it, Maine environmental officials urge that pregnant women and children under 8 limit their intake of some fish to two meals a month.

I don’t know about you, but when I see a warning like that, it doesn’t make me run right over to the calendar and circle the two days I’m going to put PCB‘s, Dioxin, Mercury and DDT on the dinner table.

Nope, freshwater fish caught in Maine have been off our menu for years. Ditto for fish caught offshore near the estuaries where toxins accumulate in shellfish, lobsters and fish.  We do eat wild-caught salmon, chunk light tuna on occasion and shellfish from unpolluted waters.

You might want to check your state’s advisories on fish and anything else you might eat that comes from fresh or saltwater. Also, none of these advisories take into account any of the other toxins our bodies imbibe from water, air and food. This stuff is cumulative and also most likely has a synergistic effect when combined.

And while we’re floundering around in murky waters, let’s not forget to help out our froggy little friends who are sinking fast. Fish and shellfish aren’t the only species that are facing extinction. Take a minute and hop over to Save the Frogs where you can learn more about why we can’t wait to do something about the threat that hangs over the future of whole species of frogs and toads.

Kids will like Cool Facts About Frogs and you can print out posters, donate to the non-profit organization or surf the links to other amphibian resources. Or just revel in the many beautiful pictures of these amazing little creatures and find out what a Caecilian is when it’s at home. Hey, my spell-check dictionary didn’t know what it was, do you?

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gray bat

I’m sitting here in orange sweat pants and an orange t-shirt. Talk about The Great Pumpkin! But this post is not about losing weight. It’s about Halloween goodies that you can get online – ones that are good throughout the year.

One of my favorite sites, E-Nature has a screeching barn owl ringtone that you can download to your cell phone. It’s doesn’t get scarier than that. But, if you’d like something a little less likely to cause panic in a crowded restaurant, you could opt for one of the other ringtones they have. Perhaps a Snowy Tree Cricket or Swainson’s Thrush? (May I suggest the Howler Monkey ringtone for your teenagers, so they can hear their cell phones over their loud music?)

Also on the E-Nature site is this topical article about (and you need your best Dracula voice to read this) Creatures of the Night. A good exploration of why it is that so many people are afraid of spiders, owls and bats, this is a good subject for discussion with your kids at Halloween or any time. And while we’re on the subject, can we just clear up one little myth?

All bats do NOT carry rabies. Actually, only 1/2 of 1 percent of bats have rabies. Of course, if you have an encounter with a bat, especially in an enclosed space, it’s only sensible to get checked out by a doctor and capture and bring the bat with you. But it’s just not true that every bat is rabid. It is true, however, that most bats eat millions of mosquitoes and that makes them friends to humans as far as I’m concerned.

Another great freebie on E-Nature is their Zip Guide. This handy section lets you find out all about the wildlife in your neck of the woods – or block of the city. For instance, you might want to know if there are any endangered species you should be aware of in the parks and fields near your house. You can find out here.

You can also find out about poisonous critters you might not want to step on, mammal tracks you can identify and general knowledge about all the plants and animals that abound in your geographic area. It’s one of those places where you can spend hours with your kids, and a place you’ll find yourself coming back to from season to season.

So, after the trick or treaters are in bed, surf over to E-Nature and nibble some candy corn while you download the screech owl ringtone. Then, tomorrow morning when your kids wonder why the candy bowl is emptier, you can distract them by calling your cell phone and letting the owl cut off the conversation. And after school, you can show them the E-Nature site and let them learn about the Creatures of the Night that are part of the ecosystem where you live.

One of the things I like most about homeschooling my kids is that I get to do things with them that I wouldn’t if they went to school. Sure, schools have field trips that parents can chaperone, but I’d rather just walk out the door and join the kids in the fields and woods around our rural home. One opportunity that lets us do that is Project Budburst.

If you’d like to participate, you can go to their web site and sign up to report from your area. They’re collecting information on when buds appear and open, when trees leaf out and other signs of spring from around the nation. If you register, you can save your information so that you can compare it with spring’s arrival for years to come. If you’re like me, this works better than depending on my sometimes faulty memory or writing it down and then forgetting where I put it.

Phenology is the science of measuring the seasonal events of nature and many famous people like Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin have done it. However, there are many more ordinary people – non-scientists with no formal training – who are phenologists and contribute to scientific research on global warming and environmental matters. It’s a good habit to develop in kids, because it can lead to a lifetime of paying attention to nature’s changes and being involved in caring for the earth.

Nestwatch is another good project for families or kids. Like its name says, it involves watching nests and reporting what you see. It’s one of the oldest programs of its kind for citizen scientists and has been around since 1965. Its data includes the number of eggs in a nest, when they’re laid, how many birds hatch and data on how the fledgelings develop. For those who need a little help with nest watching, there are links on the site to workshops and information to help you get started.

The program’s participants have monitored over 300,000 nests and this information will be very important in global warming research. Many of the data comes from city dwellers who observe nests in trees, on telephone poles, under eaves and on top of tall buildings. You don’t have to live in the country to find nests. Birds are everywhere.

If you’d like an excuse to get outside this spring, either of these programs would be a good one. There’s nothing nicer than combining learning with a family outing. It’s not expensive. All you need is a notebook, maybe some binoculars or field glasses and an interest in nature. Oh, and a picnic lunch would be a good idea because nothing stimulates kids’ appetites like some healthy exercise in the fresh air.

Our kids will be living in the world we build with the choices we make today. I hope the world they inherit will be one where renewable energy has replaced dependence on fossil fuel, where global warming has been halted and organic and natural products and ingredients have replaced toxic chemicals and carcinogens. Where the air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink.

Here are some links to sites that share that philosophy and help kids learn more about the environment and have fun at the same time. If you know of a site that I’ve missed, please let me know with a comment and I’ll add it to the Green Links for Kids in the sidebar.

enature How can you not like a site that lets you download ringtones of animal mating calls (my favorite is the howler monkey), track bird migration with interactive maps, learn how to garden to attract wildlife or ask an expert about the wildlife in your neck of the woods?

Eco Kids You don’t have to be from north of the border to appreciate this Canadian site. Your kids will enjoy the games, contests, coloring pages and activities on this colorful, kid-friendly site.

Recycle City From the EPA, this site has four neigborhood, each with interactive features that are fun and educational. I like the scavenger hunt creator.

EEK! Environmental Education for Kids Coloring pages, riddles, Critter Corner, Nature Notes and recipes. Lots to explore.

PBS Nature Interactives Tons of interactive games that let kids “help” animals and the environment. Help a cheetah survive in the wild. Explore a hippo from the inside out! Hours of fun and learning.

And when you’ve explored these sites, check back because I’ll be adding links to the sidebar as my kids find them. (Don’t tell them that I spend quite a bit of time having fun too, while I look for green kid’s links. Hey, I have to make sure they’re okay, right?)