Note from the Author
Hello there all you environmental enthusiasts! Another month and another newsletter for you :)
There isn't a lot to report on as far as changes around Prismatic Planet. We're getting closer to having a solid set of environmental education pages to serve as a great starting point for environmental learners which is super exciting! I'm starting to think up some new types of content to write up that can still be shared every month, so you might be seeing some slightly new kinds of pages popping up in the near future.
Volunteering on a tallgrass prairies in the summer is also a treat. This is my 3rd year doing this type of natural areas work and it's still a phenomenal transformation every time! The way the fields go from seedlings to waves of grasses, sedges, and flowering plants is astounding. And every week new colors are dominating the landscape. Truly never a dull night out on the prairie!
I do hope that you're all doing well. Where I'm at in the United States it's getting a bit hotter as we make it through the summer months. Still better off than the heat waves on the west coast, so if you are out that way, do take care of yourself. And be mindful of the dryness that comes with the heat as well. It's more important now than ever to be aware of fire prevention where we can.
Beyond that, I hope you're enjoying all the stuff coming out on Prismatic Planet and that you'll continue checking it out and sharing it with more of your learner friends :)
~ Jon
~ And, as always, don’t forget to keep wondering ~
New from Prismatic Planet!
Haikusday
Walk the giant's stair
From Earth beneath cloudy sky
Seat to stars above
Gazing from beyond
A foreground losing focus
Locks with passer's eye
Unlimited hues
Broken shells beyond light wells
Reveal a true you
River of petals
Born from bloom, shedding tears of
Silk upon the Earth
Under shadeless sky
Light tugs the stems, beckoning
They reach azure heights
Educational Topics
Flowing with the Freshwater Biome
Water. It's truly a necessity for life on Earth. And some of that life needs a particular variety of that water to boot. A vast majority of our planet's water exists as ocean, which isn't particularly helpful to these lifeforms, humans included. The salt content in the ocean is simply too much for our bodies to process, counter-intuitively leading to dehydration. Which is rather unfortunate, since oceans make up 97% of Earth's reasonably available water.
Today's topic is about a portion of that remaining ~3%. It's this remaining water, freshwater, that humans and many other plants and animals rely on for their source of hydration. How this type of ecosystem even exists is a wonderful example of the balance that the Earth's ecological systems are in. So, without further ado, let's dive in!
Human Nature
Over the course of the past year, a number of people have found themselves needing to work remotely for the first time in their lives. This kind of change can be jarring to anybody, especially when it happens so suddenly. On top of not having everything you're used to having while at work, you have to deal with a plethora of new details that were never present while at the office. Things like the distractions from children learning remotely and dealing with the noise of neighbors if you're living with a community of people. Things like finding that balance of when to step away from work when the home is your office. And, of course, having to keep in communication with colleagues through primarily digital means.
One aspect that I've found a surprising number of people talk about, however, is less of a new obstacle and more of a new benefit: being more readily near a natural environment. When most of us think of our home, we aren't thinking about our closed off rooms with grid-system ceiling tiles and white fluorescent lighting. We typically surround ourselves in windows letting in the natural light and we're often just a few steps from the outdoors. To that extent, a not insignificant number of people found themselves engaging with their natural surroundings more often. Myself included!
I'd like to take a look at this aspect of having worked remotely, of being closer to the outdoors. While statistics I mention throughout this post are from scientific studies and analysis of those studies, a lot of this will be my own experience, so bear that in mind as we press onward. With that said, let's dive in!
June Eco News
Chestnut Trees & LEGO Molecule Separators
This story shows that solutions can come from unexpected places. A newly discovered molecule was separated from the European Chestnut tree leaf that can stop the virulence of staph bacteria, a more disease concern in the modern day. The hypothesis was built on traditional Italian compress remedies and the device invented to separate the molecule was built from a LEGO Mindstorms kit!
Plants, Stress, and Circadian Rhythms
Researchers from the University of Bristol have been monitoring the activity of plants growing in stressful, deeply-shaded areas. The robustness of a plant's internal clock - its circadian rhythm - allows it to drastically alter its gene expression throughout the day, such as the one that triggers elongated growth to out-compete neighbors, to ensure its energy is used in a way that encourages efficient growth despite the shade. This research is hopeful to find applications in both understanding natural landscapes as well as inform methods to more densely grow crops.
Plant Migration is for the Birds
It's fairly well-known that birds are a primary distributor of plant seeds within a region. They'll eat the fleshy fruit, which is designed to mostly withstand traveling through the bird's digestive system, and when the fruit passes the seed is still intact. This study follows the paths of migratory birds and fleshy fruit-bearing plants to see if plants will depend on their feathered friends to move about in a rapidly changing climate. The hypothesis hits pretty close to the mark!
Sticking on the topic of climate change, researchers examining the fossil record have been uncovering that mass extinction events and the Earth's most biodiverse regions during those times are linked. This shows that as the Earth's climate changes, creatures from prehistory would migrate to escape to climates they can survive. These waves of migration pulled from the fossile record may be a good indicator for the activity of plants and animals (humans included) as we face our current climate crisis.
Continued research into data gathered around urban green spaces, per capita income in these areas, and the global happiness index are showing that as city economies grow, so too does the importance of have safe green spaces to encourage physical and social activity for the people who live there. As the stresses of urban life weigh on us, humans tend to be happiest when they have natural surroundings to visit and be a part of!
Thank you for checking out the Prismatic Planet newsletter! For more environmental thoughts and stories, be sure to check out the Prismatic Planet website.
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~ And, as always, don’t forget to keep wondering ~