Biomes educational programs

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Biomes
educational programs

American Deserts Video & DVD Deserts are one of North America’s most misunderstood biomes, as people often dismiss them as inhospitable wastelands devoid of life and beauty. American Deserts debunks this notion by introducing viewers to the amazing sights and sounds of the four North American deserts: the Sonoran, Mojave, Chihuahuan, and Great Basin.The exquisite nature footage, cool graphics, and spaghetti western–style soundtrack are sure to captivate students.

Program Titles

1. WHAT IS A DESERT?
This overview of the four North American deserts explains the natural processes that create deserts, provides maps that pinpoint the deserts’ locations, describes the differences between the deserts, and showcases representative plants and animals.

2. LIFE IN THE DESERT
This program demonstrates how the desert’s diverse plants and animals have evolved special adaptations in response to their challenging environment. It also illustrates how every species fills a specific niche and how all life is interconnected through biological communities.

3. WATER IN THE DESERT
The desert world revolves around water.The program shows how plants and animals have developed special adaptations to cope with the scarcity of water in the desert and highlights how people’s thirst for water is altering the desert environment.

American Grasslands: American Grasslands documents the great diversity in one of North America's most ecologically significant and threatened biomes and highlights the various types of grasslands, from the famed tallgrass prairie to lesser known desert and coastal grasslands. A special program within the series explores conservationists' efforts to protect the highly fragmented grassland habitats and restore them to their original state by reintroducing fire and native flora and fauna.With stunning footage of some of the diverse wildlife that inhabits this biome, American Grasslands will be an important addition to any community or science, history or language arts classroom.

Program Titles

1. NORTH AMERICAN GRASSLANDS
This program provides an overview of the various grasslands in the continent and examines distinct habitats such as California, desert, and intermountain grasslands.

2. TALLGRASS PRAIRIE
The so-called “true prairie,” tallgrass prairie was once the most dramatic North American grassland, reaching up to 12 feet in height. Today this habitat covers only 1% of its former range.

3. MIXED PRAIRIE
A combination of both short and tallgrass prairie, mixed prairie contains more plant species than any other prairie type.

4. SHORTGRASS PRAIRIE
Grazing by large ungulates such as buffalo and pronghorn andsmall animals like prairie dogs historically maintained these grasslands.

5. REMNANT GRASSLANDS
Many people are surprised to discover that remnant grasslands can be found along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana and within the Everglades.

6. GRASSLANDS CONSERVATION
Public and private environmental groups are working together to save North America’s relict grasslands and restore them to their original condition through prescribed burning and the reintroduction of native species.

Freshwater Wetlands: The wetlands habitats featured in the series are found throughout North America and include prairie potholes, beaver ponds and southern cypress swamps. The programs provide detailed information about each system's natural processes and representative flora and fauna. Featuring exquisite underwater footage and images of diverse wildlife, the series is an innovative tool for introducing students to conservation.

This product can be bought in its entirety or each program can be sold individually. The programs include: Lakes, Ponds and Pools; Marsh; Forested Wetlands; Rivers and Streams; Floorplain Communities; and Water: A User's Guide

Program Titles

Lakes, Ponds, and Pools
North America’s still water habitats include temporary vernal pools, backyard beaver ponds, and remote glacial lakes.

Marsh
North America’s widespread freshwater marshes, such as the prairie potholes, are havens for wildlife.

Forested Wetlands
Wade into the mysteries of nonriverine wetlands, ranging from spongy bogs in the Northeast to southern bald cypress swamps.

Rivers and Streams
Follow a river as it journeys from its headwaters to the sea and examine North America’s diverse waterways, including meandering blackwater streams and raging whitewater rivers.

Floodplain Communities
The ebb and flow of rivers energizes lively floodplain forests and swamps.

Water: A User's Guide
Examine the hydrologic cycle and such timely topics as wetland alteration, water conservation, and wetland restoration.

Exploring the Diversity of Life: Exploring the Diversity of Life is a lively series of ten 10-minute programs about the great variety of species that share our planet. It examines the origins of natural diversity, the biological roles it plays, and its value to humans.The series is useful for teaching biology topics from natural selection to ecology, as well as earth science, social studies, and language arts. The programs compare North American temperate forests and Amazonian rain forests to address questions such as, How does the diversity of life in my area compare with the diversity in other places? Why is it that way? Why is it important? The series illustrates genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity; habitats; causes of habitat loss, the value of biodiversity; and some of the local, national, and international strategies for preserving natural diversity.

Program Titles

A World of Difference
Despite massive episodes of extinction, the life on Earth has generated an untold number of species. A World of Difference illustrates the concepts of genetic, species and ecosystem diversity, exploring the underlying forces that have created this diversity by comparing habitats that produce more or less of it: tropical and temperate forests.

Go Climb a Tree
To look more closely at the diversity in an ecosystem, it is helpful to examine some of the other creatures that other creatures depend on, such as trees. In a forest ecosystem, trees are a keystone species. This program examines trees and many of the plants and animals living in, on, around, and under them. The student is given a first-hand view of trees in temperate and tropical forests to illustrate the diversity they create.

Life in Layers
Whether in an ocean or on land, one way to view an ecosystem is to take it layer by layer. The program starts below the ground in a forest, and works up through the emergent trees above the canopy, comparing the layered habitats in temperate and tropical forests.

Rain and the Forest
One reason rain forests are more diverse than temperate forests is that they are wetter. The program compares the effects of rain on the diversity of life in temperate and tropical forests.

Insect Diversity
Insect species are among the most diverse on earth. The program compares insect diversity in temperate and tropical forests to illustrate the forces that drive genetic, species and ecosystem diversity.

Butterfly Garden
Nowhere is diversity more beautiful than in butterflies. The program compares temperate and tropical in the context of a butterfly garden that you can make at home or in school.

Not What They Seem
One kind of adaptive advantage lies in being hard to see. The program illustrates temperate and tropical examples of camouflage and their contribution to the diversity of life.

Forest School
No matter where you live, you have a relationship with the environment. This program compares the ways people related to their environments in North America and in a tropical rain forest.

Don't be Part of the Problem
The human population explosion on earth is diminishing the amount of habitat available for other species. This program examines the human impacts on the diversity of life both locally and globally.

Act with the Facts
Responsible environmental action requires investigating and gathering facts. This program illustrates the kind of information you need to gather to investigate issues involving the diversity of life.

North American Biomes: If a friend asked you, "Where do you live?" you would give them your street address. But what if someone asked you to describe the BIOME that you live in. What would you say? Do you know your ecological address?

This series provides a comparative study of North American biomes, examining each biome's diverse plant and animal communities and their interrelationships. To understand the physical characteristics of each biome, the series begins with an overview of the criteria that distinguishes one biome from another, and helps students understand the adaptations of plants and animals that inhabit each biome.

The series studies North America's forests, grasslands, deserts, seashores, rivers and streams, and wetlands, and concludes with a program on strategies to conserve biomes. The series is accompanied by "The Web of Life," an interactive user's guide available to all users on Environmental Media's website at www.envmedia.com. Use the interactive guide, or download a hard copy as a pdf file. Please note that this will be available soon.

The series draws from over 500 hours of beautiful natural history stock footage produced by Environmental Media over the past twelve years across North American and beyond.

Program Titles

1. Introduction to North American Biomes
This program opens with a compelling explanation of the term biome that helps students think about how to classify the world's diverse habitats. The program provides an overview of North America's major biomes, including forests, grasslands, deserts, seashores, rivers and streams, and wetlands. Each profile offers discusses the salient features that distinguish one biome from another, including natural processes like fire and flooding, and highlights the representative flora and fauna that inhabit different biomes. This introductory show helps students develop an understanding of what it means to know your ecological address.

2. Forests
Forests helps students gain a better understanding of forest dynamics by giving a snapshot of North America's most widespread forest types: coniferous forest, deciduous forest, and mixed forest. The program describes each forest type and its representative flora and fauna in detail and gives an overview of general forest ecology by describing the lively world found in each layer in a forest, from the canopy to the ground.

3. Grasslands
Although North America's grasslands covered the heart of the continent prior to European settlement, years of fragmentation and disturbance have reduced these fragile habitats to isolated remnants. This program takes you on a virtual field trip to the major North American grasslands (tallgrass, mixed grass, and shortgrass) and showcases their great natural diversity. The program also discusses some of the ecological processes that maintain grasslands, including fire and grazing.

4. Deserts
Refuting the myth that deserts are hostile places that only a vulture or a snake could love, this program highlights the beauty and mystery in North America's four major deserts: the Great Basin, Chihuahuan, Mojave, and Sonoran. The program discusses traits common to deserts all over the world, and describes the special characteristics that distinguish each North American desert.

5. Seashore
When you look past the beet-red sunbathers and waterlogged surfers, what other lifeforms inhabit North American seashores? This program unearths the mysteries of the coast by describing the characteristics of the Atlantic coast, Gulf coast, and Pacific coast. Unique maritime habitats, such as sandy barrier islands and rocky shorelines, are compared and contrasted.

6. Rivers and Streams
Did you know that North America's rivers and streams are home to the world's richest populations of freshwater fish, mammals, mussels, crayfish, snails, and aquatic insects? Rivers and Streams follows a river as it journeys from its headwaters to the sea, describing the natural processes and riverine plants and animals you will encounter along the way. The program introduces important concepts such as the role of riparian areas and why river and stream conservation is linked to our quality of life.

7. Wetlands
The confusing thing about wetlands is that sometimes they are wet, and sometimes they are bone dry. Wetlands will help students understand that there are many different types of wetlands in North America, ranging from permanent lakes to floodplains that have a fluctuating water level.

8. Conserving North American Biomes
Understanding your ecological address is an important first step in developing a conservation ethic. This concluding program helps students understand why every North American biome is important to our quality of life, as they provide us with drinking water, food, and recreation. The program examines how various biomes have been treated and mistreated and suggests how everyone can get involved in protecting and restoring these irreplaceable wild lands.

Shorelines: A series of three 10-minute programs that take students to the beach, dunes, maritime forests, salt marsh, tidal pool, bays and estuaries of North America. Featuring the poetry and prose of North American authors, this beautifully filmed series illustrates and explains the ecology of the shorelines communities. The series is a part of THE BIOMES PROJECT which includes Oceans Alive!, Exploring the Diversity of Life and American Deserts.

Program Titles

1. BEACH
Focusing on the ecology of shoreline habitats on both rocky and sandy coasts, this program describes the forces that shape shorelines and features habitats ranging from the intertidal zone to the maritime forest.

2. BAY
North America’s estuarine communities, where fresh water from rivers and streams mixes with salt water from the ocean, are amazing nurseries for marine life.

3. MARSH
Salt and brackish marshes are some of the world’s most self-sufficient habitats. Marsh dwelling animals and plants are specially adapted to their ever changing environment.

The Wild West: The American West has inspired many cinematic ventures, some good, some bad and some downright ugly. This series focuses on unique desert flora and fauna and features timeless topics ranging from geology to Native American rituals. The Wild West serves as a perfect companion piece to American Deserts. Each program is conveniently packaged to fit into your VCR or saddlebag.

Program Titles

1. Mountain Lion
2. Falcon
3. Mustangs
4. Gila Monster
5. Turkey
6. Rattlesnake
7. Sandhill Crane
8. Night Lizards
9. Trout
10. Desert Tortoise
11. Bighorn Sheep
12. Hawk Watch
13. Butterflies
14. Bats
15. Burrowing Owl
16. Chuckwalla
17. Bird Sanctuary
18. Turkey Vulture
19. Scorpion
20. Tarantula
21. Horned Lizard
22. Joshua Tree
23. Spring Flowers
24. Cactus
25. Spring
26. Bristlecone Pine
27. Water in the West
28. Geology in the West
29. Fossil Hunt
30. Native American Culture

Wild, NC: North Carolina state parks contain the most diverse plant and animal communities in the East, from the highest point east of the Mississippi at Mt. Mitchell State Park to the country's largest active sand dunes at Jockey's Ridge State Park. Tour the most beautiful parks with state naturalists and see their unique fauna and flora in twenty five-minute programs. Series presented on UNC Public Television.

Season One, Programs 1-10

1. Jockey's Ridge State Park
2. Merchants Millpond State Park
3. Weymouth Woods/Sandhills
4. Jones Lake State Park
5. Hammocks Beach State Park
6. Goose Creek State Park
7. Jordan Lake State Park
8. Eno River State Park
9. Hanging Rock State Park
10. New River State Park

Season Two, Programs 11-20

1. The Creation of a State Park
2. Carolina Beach State Park
3. Cliffs of the Neuse State Park
4. Lumber River State Park
5. Raven Rock State Park
6. Pettigrew State Park
7. South Mountains State Park
8. Stone Mountain State Park
9. Mt. Mitchell State Park
10. Bald Head Island Natural Area