Back in the day when I was in elementary school, scouting was the road most traveled by children wanting to explore the great outdoors. These days, scouting is still around, but it’s hardly the draw it was in past decades. Instead, we rely on costly summer camps to help wean children off the Wii controls and laptops and get them into the woods, challenging their bodies and imaginations.

But if you’re like me, you don’t want camp staffers to have all of the fun teaching your kids about their natural world. …

Tags: bonding , camping with kids , canoe trips , conservation , ecoAmerica , family outdoor fun , family recreation , family summer vacations , hiking , kayaking , nature , scouting , snorkeling , swimming , wildlife

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We like the wit and imagination being poured into sustainable architecture. We particularly like where green roofs are going. But we weren’t expecting this – a water filtration plant with a green roof so large it’s going to become a golf course. Hole in one, guys.

In a post that couldn’t be more timely, BldgBlog ponders the role that healthily-designed urban architecture has on the transmission of infectious diseases, and wonders: “What would a biosecure world look …

Tags: architecture , climate change , lifestyle , politics , technology , wildlife

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The terrible bushfires that ripped through the heart of rural Victoria in southern Australia last week are still burning, though firefighters are hopeful the worst is over.

In Australia’s worst natural disaster, at least 200 people have died and thousands left homeless. People around the world – including musician Pink – have opened their hearts and wallets to help the victims rebuild their lives – and closer to home people have opened their veins as well, with record numbers …

Tags: Australia , Australia Koala Foundation , bushfire , fire , koalas , wildlife

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Wildfires are a fact of life in Australia, owing to the country’s extremely dry climate and highly combustible vegetation (oil-rich eucalyptus forests). Australia’s history is unfortunately dotted with wildfire events such as Black Friday (1939) and Ash Wednesday (1983) that resulted in death and destruction.

But this week, Australia was hit with its most intense and deadly wildfires yet. Sweeping through towns in the state of Victoria, the wildfires left trails of soot, ashes and rubble. At last count, 173 people perished, thousands of families have lost their homes, …

Tags: Australia , climate change , fire , wildlife

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Recently I was fortunate enough to marvel at some of the world’s most remote and beautiful places and look rare, wild creatures in the eye. All without so much as a carbon toeprint.

I was traveling virtually, of course. I went to see the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition at the Natural History Museum in South Kensington, London, about half an hour on the Tube (London’s public subway system) from my home.

The exhibition is on at this location until April 26. After that point it travels around the …

Tags: eco travel , photography , virtual travel , wildlife , Wildlife Photographer of the Year

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This is a healthy pelican – quite beautiful. Unfortunately, very sick pelicans are falling out of the sky these days. It’s one of many recent alarming indicators from our fellow creatures that things are seriously wrong.

Hundreds of sick pelicans have fallen to the ground from Mexico to Oregon, smashing into cars, boats and beaches, and experts are baffled. Authorities have ruled out domoic acid poisoning, which has affected wildlife before. It’s nothing short of a mystery. Surviving pelicans have been found in yards and on roads, disoriented …

Tags: animals , environment , news , pelicans , wildlife

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