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Asta and Andrew are excited to share their adventures with you next month with the support of the Blue Water Sailing Club! 
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For years I've been shamelessly obsessed with the incredible books by Ian McAllister and Nicholas Read. Today while checking out the Pacific Wild website, I found free downloadable teacher's guides to two books, The Sea Wolves and The Salmon Bears! Do yourself a favor and dive into "Canada's Galapagos" The Great Bear Rainforest!
 Horseshoe diagram from Exploringnature.org.
 Close-up photo of a horseshoe crab's compound eye. Photo courtesy of sciencephoto.com
 Photo courtesy of Steve Greer Photography. LIFESTYLE
 Photo courtesy of http://www.lehsd.k12.nj.us BLUE-BLOODED, THROUGH AND THROUGH
CURRICULAR LINKS:
BIG QUESTION: What about the Horseshoe crab has made it so capable of survival and reproduction? Why has it lasted in the ocean as long as it has while other similar creatures might have died out? Here's some questions you could ask your class to think about after learning about Horseshoe Crabs:
Lesson Plans and Activities:
References:
 image from: http://www.visitrenotahoe.com/ April 22nd is Earth Day! What does Earth Day mean to you? How does the ocean fit in with your idea of ocean protection? Earth Day has grown over the last 40 years to become the world's largest international environmental celebration. The event was inspired by the beginnings and successes of grassroots environmental activism on a community level. The event was originally credited to Senator Gaylord Nelson, a man also known as the "Conservation Governor". In spring 1970, Senator Nelson proposed a national teach-in on the environment to send a message to Washington that public opinion was solidly behind a bold political agenda on environmental problems. "He insisted that the national office would not try to shape a uniform national protest—this was to be a day for people to act locally. "This is the time," Nelson insisted, "for old-fashion political action." (EPA 2014) Using the support of a network of dedicated, passionate students, Senator Nelson began "Environmental Teach In Inc". The organization worked to promote the event, support local organizers, and promote political actions that protected the environment. According to the EPA, 20 million Americans—from 10,000 elementary and high schools, 2,000 colleges, and over 1,000 communities—took part in the inaugural Earth Day event. People of all ages, races and occupations felt drawn to the event, and in fact, 1 in 10 Americans across the country participated in the very first Earth Day. The event summoned the political favor for environmental regulations. Shortly after the event,"President Nixon and many in Congress rushed to lend their support to the National Environmental Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and stringent amendments to the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts." (EPA 2002). Since 1970, Earth Day has stood for the power of environmental interests, and continues to be a great way to remind everyone how much we rely on the natural environment. 
Senator Gaylord Nelson from www.nelsonearthday.net
 Image from http://www.vallejopeoplesgarden.org "Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time not the resources to organize the 20 million demonstrators who participated from thousands of schools and local communities. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself."  Image from caglecartoons.com. So what can you do to protect your planet and support environmental protection? Here are ten great resources for ways to celebrate with Mother Earth!! 1. Attend an Earth Day Celebration or Teach In. Many cities in both Canada and the US organize Earth Day events. Check your local newspaper or the EPA's website for event listings and locations. You can even participate in Earth Day events through Twitter! Check out Earth Month's Twitter Chats. 2. Go out and Appreciate Nature! Take fifteen minutes out of your lesson, activity or day to go for a walk, sit in silence or just play outside. There are many known health benefits to spending time outdoors, and it helps you to truly understand why protecting the natural environment is so important. Open your senses, calm your mind, and look closer at what surrounds you! 3. Get to know your eco-heroes. Here's a great lesson plan from ReadWriteThink that helps students understand the major voices in the environmental movement. 4. Organize a Toy or Clothing Swap! Reduce your need for new products by trading with others! There are probably plenty of items in your home that aren't useful to you anymore. Why not bring them into your school, workplace or community center and give them away to others! You might even come home with something new yourself. Check out this video made by the Super Stewards of Port Alberni to learn more about it.  5. Upcycle to create some great new toys! Check out the Kid's Activity Blog for some great ways to use recyclable materials to create new toys for your kids or students! 6. Grab a good book. There are plenty of good books that promote environmental protection out there for all ages. Check out babble.com's guide to Excellent Earth Day Kids Books, or PBS'S Green Reads for recommendations.  7. Take part in NASA'S #GlobalSelfie Event Join NASA April 22 as they encourage people all over the world to step outside and celebrate environmental awareness. Anyone, anywhere on the globe, can participate by posting a "selfie" with their local environment as a backdrop. Post your photo to Twitter, Instagram or Google+ using the hashtag #GlobalSelfie or to the event groups on Facebook and Flickr. Photos tagged #GlobalSelfie will be used to create a mosaic image of Earth. For details on how to participate, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/globalselfie/ 8. Research A Cause and Get Involved! Real, effective solutions are created every day by people like you and me. If you can think of a cause, you can find a community to help you with it! You can create pledges, petitions, and online letter mailing campaigns. "Be the change" in your own community! 9. Support Environmental Education Funding For the Future. Join the Earth Day Network in completing their challenge of A Billion Acts of Green. Sign the petition to ensure that there is continued support of "The National Environmental Education Act; important EPA grants; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program and Environmental Literacy Grants; or the University Sustainability Program, among others."  10. Make your voice heard. Take the time to speak to your friends and family about the causes that matter to you. Write an article. Make a video. Find a whole new way to express what you think needs to be said. It may feel like it's common knowledge, but many people aren't aware of environmental issues in their own community. The more we discuss our problems, the faster we will find solutions. What will you be doing this Earth Day? Let us know in the comments below!! References and Resources:
Layton, Julia. "Top Ten Ways to Celebrate Earth Day." Howstuffworks article. Sourced online April 21, 2014. Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies. May 6, 2013. "Gaylord Nelson and Earth Day: the making of the modern environmental movement." Retrieved online April 21,2014. http://nelsonearthday.net/index.htm USEPA. March 14, 2014. "Earth Day Info". Retreieved online April 21, 2014. http://www.epa.gov/superfund/students/earthday.htm Roach, J. April 21, 2014. "Earth Day 2014: How it BEcame a Global Environmental Event." National Geographic Online Article. Retrieved April 21, 2014. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140421-earth-day-2014-facts-environment-epa/#close-modal  Asta and Andrew are excited to start volunteering at the Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre in Sidney BC!
They'll be happy as these two wolf eels, mated for life, swimming in the big tank at the SODC. With some luck, we'll be able to develop a program to bring Biology 11 classes from the Saanich Peninsula in to learn about the plants and animals temporarily hanging out at this incredible interactive facility! Link: Shaw Ocean Discovery Centre Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd  With the rising price of fuel and the threat of climate change looming like a thundercloud on the horizon there are plenty of reasons to eat locally grown produce. First nations thrived for unnumbered generations on our fertile coast before pineapples were ever flown in from Hawaii at New Years. So we've accepted the challenge to find our food! On the menu this week: Fresh Dungeness and Red Rock Crab from Cadboro Bay! Wild Coho salmon from Sooke! Coon-Stripe Shrimp from Caddy Bay! Chantrelles and Bolete mushrooms from the forest! Harvest vegetables from the garden and apples from the trees! Eating locally has never tasted better! Photos: Andrew Murgatroyd   Asta showing a tiny caterpillar a hissing cockroach at Abotsford senior centre on Halloween!
For over 5 years Asta has been part of the team at Science World doing science demonstrations for kids all over BC! Get inspired by science! Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd In the summer of 2010 Asta got the opportunity to go searching for the elusive 7 gill shark off the coast of Vancouver Island! A 10-day dive trip out of Rendevous dive adventures in Bamfield, BC was chilly to say the least, but (believe it or not) about 10 seconds after this video was shot, a 3m long 7-gill shark appeared from the depths! Check out the Six-Gill video! Both videos were shot by Rob Roy.
 Andrew had the opportunity to take his class Winter camping!
While teaching math for the experiential program at St. Michaels University School, Andrew got to take a group of students to Mt. Washington on Vancouver Island to learn about avalanche safety, back country skiing and all the skills needed for Winter camping. Now that's a classroom with a view! Link: SMUS Experiential Program Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd  An original spraypaint-ing on canvas donated to the Surfrider foundation for an art auction supporting the fight against oil tanker traffic on the BC coast. Link: Vancouver Island Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation Photo and Painting: Andrew Murgatroyd Vanna White: Asta Mail  Andrew and his dad Michael, a licensed sailing instructor, got the chance to take students from the St. Michaels University School boarding house sailing on their C&C 34 Zambezi.
Andrew and Michael have been teaching students how to sail keel boats at SMUS for many years, and love to take students out on the water, often for their first ever sailing adventure! Here Alex, Joaquim, and Edward share a true West Coast experience with Captain Michael! Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd  There are some special moments in teaching when you get to share something truly unique. Although these magic times can happen in a classroom, it is when students are out in the world, experiencing nature for themselves and chasing their own natural curiosity that teaching is effortless and fun.
When the students of Kansai Daigaku Chutobu arrived in Canada from the populated Japanese city of Osaka it must have been quite a shock! Within no time they were improving their English in the classroom and challenging themselves in the Canadian wilderness. They were so keen to learn about their environment they made an extra effort to communicate in English with their Canadian "buddies". While they lauged and played it seemed as if the cultural differences just melted away in the awe of Goldstream Park's "Niagara Falls" Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd  Getting off the beaten trail can have its benefits!
While hiking in a top secret location Asta and Andrew found a most amazing wonder! A Steller sea lion cave! From a safe distance you can see hundreds of these amazing creatures. This near-threatened species ranges from Russia to California. Some of the bulls weigh nearly as much as Asta's hybrid car! Wikipedia link: Steller Sea Lion Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd  Andrew was the Activities Coordinator and ESL teacher for the Taki Gakuen Junior High School ESL Program at St. Michaels University school.
These 42 boys came from Japan to improve their English and make Canadian friends! They got to experience some amazing activities such as whale watching and hiking in East Sooke and Goldstream Park. Here is an invented activity called Fly Paper for the closing day "Amazing Race". Students use duct tape to fix a team member to the wall. When the time runs out the chair is removed and whomever sticks to the wall the longest wins! What do they win? The soccer ball made out of all the balled up duct tape of course! Photo:Andrew Murgatroyd  This Garry Oak is emblematic of Southern Vancouver Island, and while Andrew was teaching Geography and GIS mapping to the Experiential Program students at St. Michaels University School they were able to develop a "sense of place" on Mt. Tolmie in Victoria BC. Developing a sense of place means going beyond drawing maps and counting species, but truly experiencing the sounds, smells, warmth and elements of an ecosystem; it involves imagining what that place might have looked like in generations past, and what it may look like in the future. So stop, sit, listen, feel and reflect.
From the Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team "Collectively, Garry oak and associated ecosystems are among the most endangered in Canada. Once common in coastal areas of southwest British Columbia, less than 5% of these ecosystems remain in near-natural condition. Most of the remnants are in isolated, fragmented communities that have no connection to other Garry oak communities" Link: Garry Oak Ecosystem Recovery Team Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd  This is team COHO!
Andrew's class of 30 students from Quebec, Spain, Mexico and Taiwan stayed in Victoria for the summer to improve their English at Saanich English Language Summer Academy (SELSA). This amazing program is run by Phil Ohl of The Leader's Edge. Students take classes in the morning and do fantastic activities in the afternoons. Students learn about Canadian culture and go on adventures like Whale Watching, Zip Lining, Caving, Kayaking, Dragonboating, Camping, Teambuilding, Sports and a million more fun activities! Hey... ho.... CO.....HO!!!!!! http://selsa.ca Photo: Andrew Murgatroyd |
