Have A Holly Jolly Eco-friendly Christmas!

Christmas is just around the corner.  I enjoy this time of year - I get to spend time with family and friends, watch holiday movies, eat, and bake cookies.  However, during this time of year, the environment takes a big hit with the increase in consumerism and household waste.

When I was younger, after opening gifts, I would always try to salvage gift wrapping paper and bows for reuse.  Over the years I have incorporated other things - purchasing Christmas cards and wrapping paper made from recycled paper, shopping from local artisans, using soy-based candles, and donating to environmental organizations.

There's still a lot that I can do for sure.  I try to do my part in lowering my impact on the environment, so that there will be more Christmases for future generations to enjoy.

For more ideas, check out these resources:

• Five Tips for an Eco-friendly Holiday Season (Environmental Defence Canada)
• 5 Ways to be Green this Holiday Season (WWF Canada)
• Your Guide to Green Holidays (David Suzuki Foundation)
• Go Green This Holiday Season (The Nature Conservancy)
• Go Green for the Holidays (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• 9 Green Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season (The Huffington Post)
• A-Z of Tips for a Green Christmas (The Guardian)

Canada's Culture and Heritage Through Film: The National Film Board of Canada

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is Canada's public film producer and distributor.  They collaborate with filmmakers and diverse communities across Canada, and partners from around the world to produce films that showcase Canada's culture and heritage.  You can access their collection of documentaries, animations, experimental films, fiction, and interactive works, on their website, streamed for free, or downloaded for a fee.  Their films cover a wide range of subjects that matter to Canadians, including the environment.

Have a look at their films, for a uniquely Canadian experience.

The Feat of the Flying V!

It's quite a sight to see every fall - the V-shaped formation of geese flying overhead as they migrate south for the winter.  I get awestruck every time.

I have been fascinated by this phenomenon, and I am even more amazed by why they do this.  So why do geese fly in a V?

Researchers have determined from theoretical models and field studies, that flying in this formation help each individual bird in the flock conserve energy.  By taking advantage of the updraft produced by the bird in front, each bird behind expends less energy flying than if they were to fly alone.  The birds take turns flying in the front; when the lead bird is tired, it will fall back as another takes the lead.  By working together, the whole flock benefits.

The significance of this phenomenon has been noticed.  It made its way into the workplace, with the flying V being used as an analogy for teamwork.  It has also made its way into the big screen, with the flying V as a maneuver used by a peewee hockey team in The Mighty Ducks movie.

The flying V truly is incredible.

For more on the flying V:

• Birds That Fly in a V Formation Use An Amazing Trick
• Why Birds Fly in a V Formation
• Fly Like a Bird: The V Formation Finally Explained
• Upwash Exploitation and Downwash Avoidance by Flap Phasing in Ibis Formation Flight

"Ride on the Magic School Bus!"... Again!

September, back to school!  This time of year conjures up thoughts of school supplies, new classes, new teachers, and yellow school buses.  When I think of school buses, I think of The Magic School Bus.

The Magic School Bus is a fictional book series, turned animated TV series, that teaches children about science.  The characters include Ms. Frizzle or "The Friz", her students, and "the old school bus".  Each book/episode focuses on a subject, where you can tell what the subject is just by looking at Ms. Frizzle's dress.

The adventure begins when they all hop into the school bus, and then... who knows what can happen.  They are taken on an extraordinary field trip, because this bus is no ordinary bus.  The bus can shrink into microscopic size and enter into a human body (as they did when they learned about digestion), the bus can evaporate and fly into the air (as they did when they learned about the water cycle), the bus can transform into an insect (as they did when they learned about seeds), the bus can transform into a machine and dig into the ground (as they did when they learned about the earth).

You never know what's going to happen, or what you'll learn.  Whether you're reading the books, or watching the episodes, the only thing you know is that you'll have a fun time learning about science.

If you can't get enough of The Magic School Bus, you can continue learning along in a brand new update of the original show, The Magic School Bus Rides Again, which premieres September 29 on Netflix.

In the Field and Recording Biodiversity with the iNaturalist app

If you have a smartphone and love snapping photos of nature, why not add it to iNaturalist?  iNaturalist is an online community of nature enthusiasts whose recorded observations contribute to a global mapping of biodiversity.  

iNaturalist started in 2008 as a UC Berkeley's School of Information Master's final project, that developed into a social networking tool for mapping and sharing observations using mobile technology.

As a data crowdsourcing tool, it encourages participation from a wide range of nature enthusiasts.  This application has been used to record nature in many collaborative projects, such as BioBlitzes.  This year, the United Nations teamed up with iNaturalist for World Environment Day to help get people out to explore their local environments and take snapshots of biodiversity.

To learn more about how to use iNaturalist:

• Posting observations
• Video tutorials

Happy Birthday Canada!

Canada turns 150 today.  To mark this sesquicentennial year, the country has been hosting festivities from coast to coast to coast, celebrating its culture, heritage, diversity, and natural beauty.

This year, Parks Canada is offering free Discovery Passes, which allows free admission to all their national parks, national historic sites, and national marine conservation areas.  So pick up your free pass today and go out and celebrate Canada's natural treasures!

For ideas:  Got a Parks Canada pass? Here’s where you should go

Biodiversity in the City of Toronto

There is so much diversity within my own city of Toronto.  More than just raccoons, skunks, squirrels, and chipmunks that we see on the streets or in our backyards, the city is teeming with wildlife.  The city has created a series of biodiversity booklets to help residents reconnect with nature and help cultivate a sense of stewardship:

• Birds of Toronto
• Butterflies of Toronto
• Spiders of Toronto
• Fishes of Toronto
• Mammals of Toronto
• Reptiles and Amphibians of Toronto
• Trees, Shrubs and Vines of Toronto
• Bees of Toronto
• Mushrooms of Toronto

These booklets are available in print at Toronto Public Library branches, and online.

1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55... Fibonacci Numbers in Nature

You may notice that flowers have different numbered petals.  The calla lily has 1 petal, the Asiatic dayflower has 2 petals, the trillium has 3 petals, the buttercup has 5 petals, the bloodroot has 8 petals.

There's a pattern in these numbers:  1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8.  Each number in the sequence is the sum of the two numbers before it.  This sequence of numbers is the Fibonacci sequence.

Fibonacci numbers can be seen in nature through flower petal numbers.

Fibonacci numbers can also be seen in nature through spirals.  If you count the spirals in any one direction in a pinecone, a pineapple, or the seeds in a sunflower, the total number of spirals will be a Fibonacci number.

Another type of spiral from Fibonacci numbers is from a rectangle created from the numbers.  Starting from a square of a side of 1, then a side of 1, then a side of 2, and so forth, these squares circle around each other in sequence.  A spiral is formed when you connect the corners of these squares.  This type of spiral can be seen in nautilus shells.

Not everything follows Fibonacci numbers.  However, the commonality of this pattern in nature has fascinated scientists for centuries.

Take a look in nature and see if you can spot Fibonacci numbers.

For more on Fibonacci numbers:

• What is the Fibonacci Sequence?
• How are Fibonacci Numbers Expressed in Nature?
• Fibonacci Numbers and Nature
• Fibonacci's Missing Flowers

Appreciating Fieldwork in Biology

I don't think I really understood biology until I did fieldwork. 

I was introduced to fieldwork in university when I started to take field courses during my 3rd and 4th years in biology.  I took field courses at my university (York University) and at the Queen's University Biological Station (QUBS), studying plant and animal ecology, ornithology, ichthyology, and entomology.

I did fieldwork when I was hired by a professor one summer to do research in 2 provincial parks, and a national park in southwestern Ontario.

I did fieldwork for my honours thesis when I collected bees during that same summer.

Through all these experiences, I learned to appreciate and understand fieldwork, and long term data collection and its importance in scientific research and conservation efforts.  While I no longer study biology or am involved with research, I like to help out whenever I can.

One event is the Ontario BioBlitz.  This is an annual event where scientists, citizen scientists, and the general public come together over a 24-hour period to inventory all species in a given area, giving a snapshot of the biodiversity.

As a High Park Steward, I help to protect and restore the natural areas of the park.

It gives me great satisfaction to be able to participate in activities to help monitor and maintain our environment, and help keep our natural world beautiful.

Pi in Nature (Not Just Math!)

March 14 is a day to celebrate a famous mathematical constant - pi (π).  Pi is the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, known approximately as 3.14. 

While pi is commonly associated with math, it can also be seen in nature.

Pi appears as circles, such as water ripples, tree rings, and sunflower disks.

Pi appears in river bends.  The bendiness of a river, or sinuosity, is determined by its meandering ratio, which is the river's length along its winding path to the distance from the source to the oceans.  While rivers bend in all sorts of ways, the average ratio, according to a study, is approximately 3.14.

So in honour and awe of pi, on March 14, Pi Day, I will be celebrating with a piece of pie.

For more on pi in nature:

• Pi Day Pictures: Nature's Near-Perfect Circles
• The World is Full of Circles
• A person's take on pi:  A meandering tale: the truth about pi and rivers

Happy Pi Day!

Art Through Paper Folding

What do you get when you combine paper and butterflies together?  You get butterfly origami.

Origami is the art of paper folding.  I love origami.  My first introduction to origami, as may be the case with a lot of kids, was through folding a paper crane.  Who knew that you can transform a flat piece of paper, into a beautiful 3-dimensional object?

A few years ago, at an Origami Society of Toronto meeting, I learned how to fold a butterfly.  To learn how to fold more butterflies, they recommended the book Michael LaFosse's Origami Butterflies: Elegant Designs from a Master Folder.  Inspired by the butterfly that I just folded, I bought the book.  This instructional book is visually beautiful, and also comes with DVDs for audio-visual instructions.  I haven't yet learned how to fold every butterfly in the book, but it's a nice goal to work towards!

Happy folding!

Making a Difference Through Volunteer Vacations

Happy New Year!  The Green Bookmark returns after a hiatus.

The new year brings new beginnings, new reflections, new dreams, new goals, new aspirations, and new experiences.

For a global experience, consider a volunteer vacation.  Volunteer vacations combines travel and volunteering, and enables you to make a positive impact on the world.  Through volunteer vacations, you assist scientists with their research, and can take part in such research opportunities as studying the effects of climate change on the Arctic, or monitoring habitat loss in Costa Rica, or helping conserve wildlife along the Amazon Basin.

A resource that can help you get started is the book Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others by Bill McMillon, Doug Cutchins, and Anne Geissinger.  It's a resource that lists organizations that are involved with volunteer vacations.  It provides information such as project type, geographic location of where the research takes place, length of placement, costs, and any skills that are required.

It's a very convenient guide and a great starting point.  Once you get an idea of what organizations matches your interests, follow-up with checking their websites for more details on projects that are available.

Volunteering is a rewarding experience.  Have a look at this book, and be inspired to make a difference in the world.