EXPERIENCING LIFE

	FIELD TRIPS FOR EXPERIENCING LIFE
Click on the map to see the trip locations or select from the menus at the top of the page.	Just give me a road and a little gasoline. - Terri Clark
Text Menu SOURCES Experiencing Life Biology Textbook National Park Service Long Term Ecological Research Network The Nature Conservancy National Forest Service National Wildlife Refuges National Marine Sanctuaries National Estuarine Research Reserves Bureau of Land Management - National Landscape Conservation System U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Sites Navajo Nation Parks UNESCO World Biosphere Reserves Conservation International "Hotspots" American Zoo and Aquarium Association American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta Natural History Museums Top 10 Birding Hot Spots - TNC List For more information, please send an e-mail to info@experiencinglife.net	It is one thing to learn about life (biology) in a classroom. It is another, much more fulfilling, thing to learn about life by experiencing it in natural and/or meaningful settings. These field trips are meant to guide you through the world of biology by doing just that. Not all of the sites are completely natural (zoos, museums, etc.) but they all present an experience that cannot be had in a classroom. The trips are numbered 1-12. The first four trips will cover most of the basic biology and much of the range of diversity in life. The remaining eight trips will explore more specific environments and organisms and expand on some of the basic biology. There is no substitute for actually taking the trips, but you can take a virtual trip of many of the sites to get a feel for what they will be like. Goals of Experiencing Life Field Trips: To understand the connections of the natural world through space and time To observe and learn about the diversity of environments and organisms in their natural settings To experience and understand the geography of the United States and the world Experiencing Life Principles: Connections Humans are part of nature, not separate from it Other organisms are affected, directly and indirectly, by human actions Humans depend on other organisms for their own health and survival Diversity is important in maintaining healthy ecosystems upon which humans depend A single species can have a large impact on an entire ecosystem Pollution knows no boundaries Biological control methods (for pests, etc.) can be more effective than chemical methods Croplands and other "man-made" environments can play significant ecological roles Diversity There are noticeable differences between eastern and western forests in the U.S., and there is diversity within these two forest types Grasslands have higher diversity than many forests and exist in three distinct types in the U.S. The U.S. has four distinct desert types There is high diversity among the various water environments (hot, salty, extremely salty, estuarine, fresh, clear, murky, acidic, alkaline, etc.) While there is great diversity of life there are also many similarities among seemingly different organisms High diversity is found in relatively small areas around the world Geography Environments and organisms exist naturally due to geographic factors such as latitude, altitude, relationship to large water bodies and/or mountains, etc.
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