Earth Day activities moved indoors due to rainy conditions, but that didn’t interfere with plans to make banners for Ohrstrom Library.  Students who signed up for the “Great Books” project were given the challenge of choosing environmentally themed books from Ohrstrom’s collection and then designing a large-scale painted canvas banner to express that book’s message.  The results of this combined effort are the four magnificent 10’ x 3’ Earth Day bookmark/banners now hanging proudly  from the second floor balcony down into the Baker Reading Room in Ohrstrom Library.   These works are nothing short of dazzling.

On your next walk across school grounds stop by Ohrstrom and marvel at what  the “Great Books” team created in just a few short hours during the Earth Day celebration at SPS.   Here are some pictures of the finished banners hanging in the library.  Please come by and see them in person – You won’t believe your eyes!

Very special thanks to the following students for their enthusiasm for the “Great Books” project:

In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto. By Michael Pollan.
Students: Adele Xu, Stephanie O’Connell, Michelle Lee, Billy Kim, Emily Laackman

The Human, the Orchid, and the Octopus: Exploring and Conserving Our Natural World. By Jacques Cousteau and Susan Schiefelbein.
Students: Claire Branch, Olivia Moore, Lucy Bass

Walden. By Henry David Thoreau.
Students: Ga Hye (Caroline)  Kim, Elsa M. Henderson, Sarah Brockett

The Lorax. By Dr. Seuss.
Students: Caroline Yost, Claire Stanton, Katherine Robinson

Special Note of Thanks to Adult Participants: Ms. Laughy, Mrs. Reider and Mrs. Wardrop.

Related posts:

1. New Reference Books: Earth Day Edition
2. New Reference Books: A Dictionary of Biology, A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
3. Periodical Picks: Earth Day 2009

Human Development Report 2007/2008 Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), director and lead author Kevin Watkins, 2007.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: Ref. 303.44 Un3 2007/2008

UNDP’s annual report measures the health, welfare, economic and physical security and well being of people in 175 UN member nations plus Hong Kong and the Palestinian Territories, as well as the status of international treaties on human rights, the environment, and labor. Each year, the report opens with an extensive analysis of a key international development issue, and this year’s focus is climate change and the responses, projected outcomes, and potential impact on human development around the world. Both cautionary and hopeful, this is a useful and fascinating read.

HELPFUL FOR: Leadership for Social Justice, Topics in Global Events

FUN FOR: global citizens, Eco-Action members, debaters, future pundits and policy wonks, tree huggers, activists, voters

Deb Baker – Interim Reference Librarian

The Facts on File Dictionary of Environmental Science by Bruce C. Wyman and L. Harold Stevenson, Facts On File, 3rd ed., 2007.

Find it in Ohrstrom at: REF REF 363.7 W98

Over 4,000 terms are defined, including: nuclear winter, silviculture, and ethanol.

Several appendixes conclude the volume, including: environmental acronyms, plastic recycling codes & earth, atmosphere and water statistics.

Helpful for: Ecology, Eco-Action, Earth Day.

Lura Sanborn- Reference Librarian

Related posts:

1. New Reference Books: A Dictionary of Biology, A Dictionary of Earth Sciences
2. New Reference Book: Encyclopedia of the United Nations
3. Sustainability at SPS: Inspirations for Sustainable Living Part II

In honor of the upcoming Earth Day Celebration Ohrstrom Library would like to highlight two environmental magazines in the periodicals collection.  First up is The Ecologist, a magazine that proclaims itself to be “The world’s leading environmental magazine”.   The Ecologist is published in London, but it features articles that are universally relevant.  In the April issue, “Sick as a pig” focuses on the rise in antibiotic resistance that is being transferred from farm animals to humans.  Another article, “Possum or polar bear” cautions that polar bears are not the only species facing threats from global warming.  In fact, there are many tropical species suffering from rising global temperatures.  The Ecologist is published ten times a year, and an online version is available at www.theecologist.org.

Wildlife Conservation published by the Wildlife Conservation Society is another interesting environmental magazine available in the Library.  Published six times a year, it features articles detailing on-going research and conservation efforts worldwide.  Articles from the most recent issue include “The Great Barranquero City of El Condor”  which details efforts to save the nesting area of the world’s largest parrot colony along the South Atlantic shore in Argentina.  In “The secret family life of cougars” you can read about scientists who are using GPS technology and DNA analysis to track the movements of cougar “families”.

Take a moment and browse the back issues of these two journals.  Both are filled with thought provoking articles and stunning photography.

Related posts:

1. Periodical Picks: From A(dvocate) to Z (Magazine)
2. Periodical Picks: Election 2008
3. Periodical Picks: The Science of CAPTCHAs