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We are happy to introduce our first Jr. reporter - Jessica Stubs
I am Jessica Stubs, a 16 year-old working at the Oakland zoo as a Teen Wild Life Guide, a "TGW" in California. I love being able to dedicate my time to a worthy cause, and fuel my passion for animals and the environment, and being a TWG allows me to participate important preservation and educational efforts to create global change.
One crucial job we perform is familiarizing the public about conservation efforts that help the animals and their environments at the zoo. One major topic we cover is the devastating role of palm oil and how its consumption directly results in the deforestation of some of the world's only biodiversity hotspots which are home to hundreds of endangered plants and animals, like the sun bears at the zoo.
Palm oil is in almost half of American food products, from soaps to peanut butter; it is a cheap oil that even organic and natural companies use in their ingredients. Palm oil is grown in large plantations of deforested rainforest In South America and Asia, destroying the habitats of animals like tigers and orangutans, and leaving them vulnerable to be sold as bushmeat or into the illegal pet trade. It is not only driving animals to extinction, but also cutting down one of the most dense and nutrient rich regions of the world. The positive outlook of palm oil is that by simple consumer choices and actions, like checking food labels to avoid palm oil, it directly leads to the
decline of these products and their pushes companies to make necessary and critical changes.
Articles I found about palm oil that I would like to share:
Say No to Palm Oil
'It's up to us': why business needs to take a stand on palm oil
Global Palm Oil Demand Fueling Deforestation
You too can be a Junior Reporter!
Write about how you are working to make our planet a better place every day!! We would like you to share with us what you, you and your friends or you and your family are doing to help the environment, help animals or being more sustainable on this earth we call home.
Email us with your story idea and we will help you develop an article we will publish in our newsletter or website. The email is info@beaverponds.org
Book Thoughts:
Fall is coming and animals are thinking of Hibernating -
Find out why:
For younger readers:
What Is Hibernation? (Science of Living Things)
by
John Crossingham and
Bobbie Kalman
Intended for ages 6-12, this work includes full-color photographs and text that combine to give children a view of the many different ways that animals sleep it off. Highlights include: how an animal's body uses fat to survive and even wake itself up; how an animal finds and prepares its den for hibernation; and more.
National Geographic Readers: Sleep, Bear!
by
Shelby Alinsky
Follow a bear cub and its family as they prepare to hibernate for the winter. Through engaging text features, such as the vocabulary tree and the wrap-up activity, kids will be introduced to vocabulary in concept groups-helping them make connections between words and expanding their understanding of the world.
All About Animals in Winter (Celebrate Winter)
by Martha E. H. Rustad
Some animals' fur turns white. Other animals hibernate. Winter is here! Celebrate the season with lovely photos and a simple design that beautifully support early readers.
Fun Fiction Hibernating Stories -
Curious George - A Winter's Nap
by H. A. Rey
After learning about hibernation, George decides that the best way to spend the cold winter months is the way that bears do it-fast asleep! But first it's too bright in his room; then it's not cave-like enough; and then it's too loud. When George finally does get to sleep, he wakes up to discover that he slept only one night, not the whole winter! Will George be convinced that winter can be a wonderland of fun after all?
Includes a question-and-answer activity on hibernation as well as a craft project to make your own teddy bear cave.
Hibernation Hotel
by John Kelly
It's time for Bear to hibernate, but he just can't get to sleep because his cave is crowded with all of his friends. Raccoon snores, Beaver fidgets, and Skunk doesn't exactly smell too good. So Bear gets a great idea and reserves a room at the Hibernation Hotel. "This is the life!" he exclaims, eating all the snacks he wants and bouncing up and down on the bed. But for some reason, at bedtime, he still can't sleep. Could something be missing?
Winter reads for Young Adults and Families -
Winter of the Crystal Dances
(Whinnies on the Wind)
by
Angela Dorsey
Evy can telepathically understand horses, but she's not sure if it's a blessing or a curse. Her secret "gift" certainly seems to get her in a lot of trouble. When some starving mustangs wander close to the wilderness cabin that she shares with her hermit mother she knows she must help them. Her act of kindness quickly snowballs into a series of events that forever changes her life and the life of a very special mustang filly.
DREAMING THE BEAR
by Mimi Thebo
A vivid sense of the wilderness and nature's power comes through in this intriguing and tension-filled Young Authors novel narrated by a contemporary teen. Perfect for animal lovers.
Darcy's dad, a naturalist, moves their family from England to the snowy wilderness of Yellowstone National Park. Mum, Dad, and older brother Jem are all thriving, but Darcy misses her friends, and civilization, including WiFi. She's also sick, getting weaker with each day, and having strange dreams-or are they something else?
Then she finds an injured mother bear whose cubs were killed by hunters. The bear is enormous, and powerful, but she doesn't threaten Darcy-she makes Darcy feel alive. The bear needs Darcy just as much as Darcy needs her. Darcy must help her, even though she might not be well enough to take care of the bear, let alone herself.
A mystery illness, shifting points of view, and dreamlike sequences make this an unusual and immersive story. Darcy is brave and resourceful, but nothing has prepared her to confront nature's ultimate question: Can a girl and a wild bear triumph over the basic rule of survival: kill or be killed.
Fun Family Challenge - Can you Survive:
by Matt Doeden
The wilderness is a place of beauty and peace. But it is also filled with fierce predators, poisonous plants, and raging rivers.
Will you: Try to survive the harsh mountains of Alaska after being abandoned during an outdoor training trip? Struggle to make your way out of the deep forests after becoming lost in Australia's Blue Mountains? Attempt to find help for your injured brother in Washington's Cascade Mountains?
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