The President’s Perch
by
Michael D. Roy
          

“AUDUBON ADVENTURES” FOR THE CLASSROOM

More and colorful pictures fill the student newsletter for 3^rd to 6^th graders this year. This award winning program of National Audubon gives teachers an added tool to enrich their students’ science and language arts lessons with nature information.  

The kit for a classroom (in a sturdy nature designed handy box) includes four series of themes.  Each set has 32 copies so that each student receives one.

This year the themes are:  MIGRATION.  Takes a look not only at the bird migration from North America to Central and South America, but also other orders (gray whale, salmon, caribou, monarch, pronghorn, polar bears, and the like).  ANIMAL BUILDERS.  Why, how and what animals build.  ANIMAL DEFENSES.  Such strategies!!  Camouflage, spitting, intimidation, mimicking, emitting bad odors, playing dead, and much more. PLANTS. They make their own food using solar energy.  They feed the world, shelter most animals and insects - and of course supply us with oxygen.

Teachers also receive a resource manual that includes the latest on global warming and ways to present it to the students.  The cost of this exceptional program is still $38. 50 per classroom kit.  This price is only guaranteed  until Dec. of this year.  There is a $7.15 shipping and handling which Smoky Hills Audubon will pay for each order. 

To order, make a check out to Smoky Hills Audubon for $38.50 and send it to:

Marge Streckfus, 2120 Applewood Lane, Salina KS 67401-3704.

You can designate a classroom or school of your choosing or leave it to us.

One lucky teacher has her order on the way thanks to a donor that wanted the resources available to her early on.

KANSAS PRAIRIE WILDFLOWER WEEKEND

Fall is a spectacular time to enjoy the colorful Kansas wildflowers and prairie grasses.  Come to Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve two miles north of Strong City on September 13-14, 2008 and be treated to a variety of guided walks, displays, and demonstrations celebrating the native flora of Kansas. 

The TPNP is nearly 11,000 acres of rolling prairie, springs, creeks, and woodlands with 500 kinds of plants.  The prairie grasses, in vibrant shades of burnt orange and rust, are at their best in autumn.  Mixed with the grasses are the blues and purples of wild aster, Kansas gayfeather, and sage; the yellows of the goldenrods and sunflowers; and the pinks of wild onion and smartweed.  These are only a few of the fall flowering plants to be seen at the preserve.

The National Park Service is hosting the Wildflower Weekend with help from the Kansas native Plant Society.  Knowledgeable guides will be on hand to answer questions and to share interesting facts about Kansas plants.