Plants > Botany & Conservation
In Costa Rica, Farmers Start to See Value of Biodiversity
Leaving natural forests with birds and insects near farms yeilds big benefits to food crop health.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2013/06/food-for-9-billion-costa-rica.html
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What is missing? (an interactive website by Maya Lin)
The loss of species worldwide due to humankind's activities.
http://www.whatismissing.net/
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Biomimicry: Janine Benyus (video)
Biomimicry is solving today's design and environmental problems by observing how nature solves design challenges. Plants and wildlife are valuable to us now and in the future as highly evolved examples.
http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_shares_nature_s_designs.html
http://www.ted.com/talks/janine_benyus_biomimicry_in_action.html
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Put a value on nature! Pavan Sukhdev (video)
Every day, we use materials from the earth without thinking, for free. But what if we had to pay for their true value: would it make us more careful about what we use and what we waste? Think of Pavan Sukhdev as nature's banker -- assessing the value of the Earth's assets. Eye-opening charts will make you think differently about the cost of air, water, trees ...
http://www.ted.com/talks/pavan_sukhdev_what_s_the_price_of_nature.html?quote=1245
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Florida Water and Land Conservation Amendment (FAQ & video)
This Amendment provides funding for water and land conservation, management and restoration by amending the state constitution. Both the state Florida Native Plant Society and the Broward Chpater support this Amendment.
http://floridawaterlandlegacy.org/pages/12/frequently-asked-questions/ (frequently asked questions)
http://floridawaterlandlegacy.org/videos/12/big-cypress-swamp-walk/ (Big Cypress Swamp Walk video)
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Plant Basics: Photosynthesis (video)
A 2-minute video explaining the basic biochemistry of the chloroplast within the photosynthesis plant cell. Offered through Encyclopedia Britannica online.
http://cache.eb.com/new-multimedia/mp4/vastv1361.mp4
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Plant Basics: Chloroplast
Magnified chloroplast of a garden pea (Pisum sativum) 16,000 times at 5cm x 7cm showing grana stacks. Credit: Dr Kari Lounatmaa/Science Photo Library
http://www.sciencephoto.com/media/10699/view
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Grassroots Multilingual Environmental Protection
A multi-lingual environmental education organization inspiring citizens to become good stewards of South Florida’s environment.
http://www.abettersouthflorida.org
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Plant Basics: 19 Botanical Terms
If you have little experience with botanical terms you'll appreciate this head start. It will help you read about and discuss plants a bit more easily.
http://learnplantsnow.com/19-basic-botanical-terms/
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New England Plant Key (not yet completed)
Why New England? Because this is the best online plant key I can find, a fine example of what I hope we can post for your use one day. As we find local online keys, we will post them below. Why keys? Keys are a wonderful way to identify a plant yourself, without depending on an expert who knows our plants. A good online key even displays the necessary plant part names, so you can look for the identifying plant parts the key is quizzing you about.
http://www.broward.org/Parks/Extension/UrbanHorticulture/Pages/Default.aspx
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The Botany of Desire: Michael Pollan (documentary video, 114 minutes, 2009)
Flowers. Trees. Plants. We've always thought that we controlled them. But what if, in fact, they have been shaping us? Using this provocative question as a jumping off point, The Botany of Desire, a two-hour PBS documentary based on the best-selling book by Michael Pollan, takes us on an eye-opening exploration of our relationship with the plant world – seen from the plants' point of view.
Video on Netflix streaming
Amazon Instant Video $2.99
PBS video clips and lesson plans: http://www.pbs.org/thebotanyofdesire/
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