Biodiversity and Ecosystems

The Empty Lot
Dale H Fife

In this 32-page book, Harry Hale owns a vacant lot he hasn't visited for years. "What good is an empty lot?" he thinks, and he makes up his mind to sell it. But when Harry visits his lot to decide on a price, he's surprised to find that it's far from empty. In fact, his little patch of land is bursting with life.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat      

Book  |  ISBN 9780871568595  |  $

Once a Mouse
Marcia Brown

Marcia Brown retells this "mirror for princes" Indian fable from the Hitopadesa in a 32-page book that is illustrated in woodcuts of exceptional quality.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat      

Book  |  ISBN 9780689713439  |  $

A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History
Lynne Cherry

Based on a true story, this 40-page illustrated book details the life cycle of a river from the time of settlement, over 7,000 years ago, through pollution, and finally successful efforts to restore the river.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Systems: Problems and Fixes 

Book  |  ISBN 0152163727  |  $

Salmon Stream
Carol Reed-Jones

In this 32-page book the reader follows the life cycle of salmon as they hatch from eggs in a stream, swim into the wide ocean, and eventually make a hazardous journey home to their stream of origin.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat      

Book  |  ISBN 1584690135  |  $

This Land is Your Land
Woody Guthrie and Kathy Jakobsen

This 32-page book features the complete lyrics and musical notation to the anthem "This Land Is Your Land." It is illustrated by folk art-style paintings.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat      

Book  |  ISBN 9780316065641  |  $

Tree of Life: The World of the African Baobab
Barbara Bash

This 32-page picture book, illustrated with water colors, explores the life cycle of the Baobab tree in the African Savannah, introducing readers to the rich array of species that depend on the tree.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat      

Book  |  ISBN 9781578050864  |  $

The Wombat 
Foundation for Global Community

This 60-second video reveals information about ecosystems and interdependence on Earth aimed at primary students.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat      

Online Video  |  Free

Biodiversity
Dorothy Hinshaw Patent and William Allen Munoz

This 112-page photo essay illustrates what biodiversity is and why our survival depends on the interdependence of the many life forms on Earth.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections

Book  |  ISBN 0618315144  |  $

The Future of Life
E.O. Wilson

In this 256-page book, E.O. Wilson argues that the integrity and diversity of the planet are under grave threat and outlines a strategy for protecting most of the world's remaining ecosystems and species.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections

Book  |  ISBN 0679450785  |  $

Biodiversity: The Variety of Life
Dal Neitzel

This 42-minute video uses maps, diagrams, and examples to present key insights into preserving the balance of our dynamic ecosystems.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections

Video  |  ISBN 1594583668  |  $

Natural Connections
Sharon Howard and Michael Rosen

This 57-minute video features interviews with scientists that stress the importance of maintaining biodiversity if we want to survive and thrive as as a species on our home planet. 

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections

Video  |  ISBN 1594584532  |  $

Conservation International

Conservation International's mission is to conserve the Earth's living heritage, our global biodiversity, and to demonstrate that human societies are able to live harmoniously with nature.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections

Website  |  Free

The Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an agreement that was adopted by the majority of the world's governments at the 1992 Earth Summit.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections

Website  |  Free

Life Out of Bounds: Bioinvasion in a Borderless World
Chris Bright

In this 224-page book Worldwatch Institute researcher Chris Bright explains why conservation biologists are raising the alarm about a global threat to biodiversity that is unfolding largely unnoticed — bioinvasion, the spread of alien, "exotic" organisms.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Fueling the Future
• Making Climate Change Connections
• Changes All Around: Geographic Impacts of Climate Change

Book  |  ISBN 0393318141  |  $

Butterflies & Bulldozers
David Schooley, Fred Smith and the Fight for San Bruno Mountain

This 62-minute video examines the the global dilemma of economic growth versus species preservation. San Bruno Mountain provides a context to explore these complex questions. The mountain is San Francisco's lost landscape, a mostly intact remnant of the ecosystem that once covered the city's hills. It is the site of the nation's first Habitat Conservation Plan, a controversial compromise that trades development for additional habitat preservation and management.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Area & Transformations: Wildlife Habitats
• Engaging Students in Conservation: Protecting the Endangered Snow Leopard
• Is It Sustainable?

Video  |  ISBN 159458902X  |  $

Rising Waters: Global Warming and the Fate of the Pacific Islands
Andrea Torrice

This 57-minute video details the personal stories of Pacific Islanders in Kiribati, the Samoas, the atolls of Micronesia, and Hawaii, as well as researchers in the continental United States, putting a human face on the international climate change debate.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Fueling the Future
• Making Climate Change Connections
• Changes All Around: Geographic Impacts of Climate Change

Video  |  ISBN 1594582785  |  $

The Gaia Foundation

The Gaia Foundation works to protect and enhance biological and cultural diversity by partnering with organizations who promote ecological governance. On their website you will find links to books, articles, and podcasts about community ecological governance.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections
• Changes All Around: Geographic Impacts of Climate Change
• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat

Website  |  Free

World Conservation Monitoring Centre
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

On this website you will find information about a variety of UN programs, research, facts, and findings revolving around environmental issues. This website also gives access to an array of UNEP annual reports, atlases, newsletters, and e-books.

Links to resources containing related Facing the Future lessons:

• Biodiversity Connections
• Changes All Around: Geographic Impacts of Climate Change
• Woods, Water, and Wild Things: Biodiversity in the Forest-Stream Habitat

Website  |  Free