Nature Net News
Your portal for nature tips
& tricks for exploring nature with your kids
March 2010
Photosynthesize Me!
"Plants do photosynthesis, a
complicated process, and without plants, we'd all be dead."
Pamela Ronald
Dear Reader, It's a miracle that starts to happen this time of year when the buds begin to burst and leaves unfurl: photosynthesis--a plant's unique way to make food! And humans have found a way to take advantage of it--just a wee bit--by "tapping into" the process and siphoning off sap to make maple syrup. Learn more about the remarkable process of photosynthesis in this month's issue of Nature Net News and visit the MacKenzie Environmental Education Center and the Aldo Leopold Nature Center to sample some of the process. How sweet it is! Enjoy! Kathe & Sarah |
Not all of the wavelengths in the sun's rays are used for photosynthesis. Plants mostly use the red and blue wavelengths, but not green. This is because the leaves' color is actually the reflected light wavelengths that are NOT absorbed.
Conifer needles need just the right amount of sunlight for the tree to produce food. The triangle shape of the tree is an adaptation that allows more needles to "see" the sun. As a tree grows older and taller, less sunlight reaches the needles on the lower part of the tree. When this happens, the lower areas shed their needles - and eventually - their branches.
What to Do This Month:
Go on a Photosynthesis Path!--Take your young ones on a walk and try and count how many different plants you see doing photosynthesis and what their different leaf shapes look like. How are the leaf shape and the tree shape dependent on each other?
Tap a tree and learn more about maple syruping at the ALNC's Maple Syrup Fest, March 28, or MacKenzie EEC's Maple Syrup Festival, April 3.
Tricks of the Trail for Parents:
Mudpuppies March On!
Getting outdoors after the long winter can be a treat--but the mud that comes back to your doorstep might not. Let your little ones romp and explore without worry in warm water-resistant boots. Slip-on rubber rain boots are ideal because they often have shallower treads than snow boots (less mud tracking in) and are easy to slip off tiny feet and hose outside your door. Think about layering on an extra pair of polar fleece socks for added warmth and cushioning.
Instant Outdoor Expert:
The Photosynthesis Process
It all starts when the plant's chloroplasts are hit by the sun. Inside the chloroplasts is chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is a compound that uses a combination of the sun's energy, water, and carbon dioxide to create a type of sugar called glucose and oxygen. The sugar feeds the plant, while the oxygen is released into the atmosphere for all to breathe.
Featured Nature Net Site
Nature Craft
MacKenzie Environmental Education Center
The
MacKenzie Environmental Education Center (MEEC)
in Poynette is one of the most diverse environmental education centers in Wisconsin. Encompassing 250 acres, the center has a variety of habitat types including prairie and forestland. MEEC is an excellent place to visit and learn more about the natural world through hands-on outdoor experiences, family outings, hiking and picnics.
Maple Syrup Festival is April 3rd, 8am-2pm.
Aldo
Leopold Nature Center
The mission of the Aldo Leopold Nature Center is to "...teach the
student to see the land, understand what he sees, and enjoy what he
understands." in the spirit of famed Wisconsin conservationist, Aldo
Leopold. Through hands-on, guided experiences, children and adults come
to discover and explore the wonders of the natural world! Maple
Syrup Fest is March 28th, 1-3pm.
Spring leaves are all sorts of sizes, so this leads to
a very interesting print!
What you need: leaves, paint, paint brushes, paper
plate, paper, newspapers.
1. Create your workplace. Spread out newspapers over your workspace. Take your leaves and find the bumpy side of the leaf (the side with raised veins). Place paint on paper plate and paper on top of newspapers.
2. Take your leaves and spread a thin layer of paint on the bumpy side.
3. Press painted side to paper and then peel off.
4. Repeat steps 2-3 as needed.
Suggested Reading:
"Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring The Earth To Life" by Molly Bang (4-8)
"The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow" by Joanna Cole (4-8)
"The Magic School Bus Gets Planted: A Book About Photosynthesis" by Lenore Notkin (4-8)
"Top Secret" by John Reynolds Gardiner (4-12)
"Photosynthesis: Changing Sunlight into Food" by Bobbie Kalman (9-12)
"Photosynthesis" by Alvin Silverstein (9-12)
"Straight From the Bear's Mouth: The Story of Photosynthesis" by Bill Ross (9-12)
"Photosynthesis And Respiration" by William G. Hopkins (teen)
