A great morning smashing pumpkins and sending them to compost instead of a landfill. @downersgrovenorth.bsky.social

The colors today were beautiful.

A podcast that I did an interview for got turned into an article. www.dw.com/en/what-us-s.... @melissaarctic.bsky.social and @ncse.bsky.social were also a big part of this great discussion on the importance of climate change education.

I'm honored to be giving the Ethel Belk Lecture at @miamiuniversity.bsky.social, 7 p.m. on Weds, Nov 6. It is a public lecture, so please join us if you can! It is also live-streamed if you can't make it in person. Either way, I hope to see you... details below: events.miamioh.edu/event/copy-o...

It was such a pleasure to help @ncse.bsky.social with the evolution symposium. Always a good time sharing my love of evolution with other science teachers. Better yet was meeting the scientists that made the discoveries I talk about in class!!!! @nabtbio.bsky.social

@evoexplorer.bsky.social absolutely crushing his presentation on microsafari. @nabtbio.bsky.social A privilege to call this talented man my friend.

My colleague AP bio teacher @jeffgrantscience.bsky.social in @science.org (10/9/25), on the now-shuttered climate.gov: "I always provide [students] with the latest research." By contrast, Donald Trump on climate change: "the biggest con job ever perpetrated." Plus side? Jeff is the one teaching.

Woolly bear time!

Downers Grove N AP bio students collecting data in the bur oak common garden experiment, asking: what traits vary betw OK, MN, and IL plants? What traits are correlated? Do gall wasps of 5 spp have preferences? A great start to the semester! @jeffgrantscience.bsky.social @cavenderg9.bsky.social

I'm very happy to have this article published in The American Biology Teacher w/ @jeffgrantscience.bsky.social & colleagues, conveying lessons learned in 12 years co-mentoring high school AP bio students in practices of plant biodiversity research. Please share! online.ucpress.edu/abt/article/...

A cute little veery visited the yard this evening. #birds among the native plants

Trout are just about ready to find their new home in Lake Michigan.

House wrens are getting active in the backyard. #birds

This has been a fantastic evolution unit. An amazing guest speaker @prosanta.bsky.social and some inquiry labs @ncse.bsky.social have made teaching exciting. I also feel that kids are really having a great time learning!

Happy Earth Day from @uchicagopress.bsky.social! 30% off selected books (including Oak Origins: From Acorns to Species and teh Tree of Life) w/ promo code EARTHDAY30. press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/vi...

Cardinal and an Eastern Towhee through the binoculars. Still learning to develop a good technique.

I'll be giving a free public lecture tonight at 6:30 p.m. for the Botanical Club of Wisconsin. The lecture is online and open to anyone; join us at the zoom link below if you're interested in learning more about oaks! 16 Apr 2025, 6:30 PM Central Time (US / Canada) uwmadison.zoom.us/j/91623580182

A little shakey because I tried filming through binoculars, but that is a kinglet in a hackberry tree

Ah spring beauty :) one of my favorites

Trout are getting huge!

The "de-extinction" concept is so bereft. The same bereft sadness for the Lonesome Georges & that last Thylacine at the Hobart Zoo. Extinction is FOREVER. Splicing ghost genes into other species doesn't change that. Just making lonely mutants. Like the midnight carnival in the Last Unicorn.

The dangling flowers of the red maple. She is absolutely radiant.

Take action to tell your elected officials that you oppose the transfer & sale of public lands, and ask your representative to support the Public Lands in Public Hands Act which would limit the privatization of public lands. #2025MMM vasquez.house.gov/media/press-...

#2025MMM CHAMPION: POLAR BEAR Thank you so much for following along, and we can't wait to see you next year for #2026MMM! Remember: if you're learning, you're winning!

Sandhill cranes. Love watching them. Two groups overhead trying to join together using the thermals to get higher and higher.

DGN’s first envirthon team competing this year at the Morton Arboretum! I am so excited for them. Take note. These are the kids that are going to fix the planet for us.

Spring is coming and that brings me a little peace.

#2025MMM Round 1 Same & Different BATTLE WINNERS: Thorold’s Deer, Gelada, Paca, Coati, Flying Snake, Colugo, Aardvark and Sun Bear Join us on WEDNESDAY, March 19th at 8PM EST for Round 1 of Tuxedo Style!

Did you know 3.14% of sailors are pi-rates?

Happy Pi Day! The best holiday A-round!

Six days until Everything Is Tuberculosis. Preorder the book now as a statement of hope that the world will exist in six days. everythingistb.com

Yesterday we did the convergent evo lab by @ncse.bsky.social today we build some phylo trees with the same organisms, several of which are in this year’s @mmmletsgo.bsky.social competition!

March Mammal Madness full tilt! If you are looking for something fun to get your kids through March and learn along the way, I highly suggest this amazing competition @mmmletsgo.bsky.social This year you can pair up with a great convergent evo lab @ncse.bsky.social ncse.ngo/when-madness...

We just started talking fossils in AP Bio yesterday and I showed a clip with @neilshubin.bsky.social this morning I am cracking open his new book. I can’t wait to learn from him yet again :)

Every high school biology teacher should read Explaining Life Through Evolution by @prosanta.bsky.social Not only will they get a solid understanding of evolution but they will gain a better understanding of how to teach it to kids or even other adults. Well done!

Northern Flying Squirrel DEFEATS Flying Frog!!! #2025MMM ADVANCES TO THE BIG SHOW!!!

Talking fossils with AP bio today. Tomorrow we dive into mammal evolution. @ncse.bsky.social natures doppelgängers. Perfectly timed after tonight’s wildcard match up @mmmletsgo.bsky.social

Early spring signs. Love it

Working on this year’s AP Bio tshirt design. The theme is Cell a bration!

Started a new book this morning. Perfect timing because we start our mega evolution unit in AP Bio on Wednesday. (My favorite unit to teach btw)

Do you know an outstanding biology teacher in grades 7-12? Nominate them for the 2025 NABT Outstanding Biology Teacher Award (OBTA) and help NABT celebrate these great teachers! Nominations due March 1 at bit.ly/NABTawards

RNA xkcd.com/3056

A review of When the Earth Was Green, the newest book from Riley Black (@restingdinoface.bsky.social), a recent recipient of NCSE's Friend of Darwin award - www.sciencenews.org/article/book... #SciSky #newbooks #botany #paleosky

Followers, please amplify this news and spread the word. The Paleontological Research Institute needs financial help. Their closure would be a devastating loss to science. www.science.org/content/arti... #SavePRI #paleontology

Black ice on some patches of road for the morning run but I could feel the beginnings of spring in the air. 1st cardinal singing at 5:32am as the gentle glow of sunlight began warming the horizon. It is going to be a good day.

My new book AIR-BORNE comes out February 25. Scientific American calls it "astonishing." You can pre-order it here: www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/724793...

MARCH MAMMAL MADNESS BRACKET DROP!!!! #2025MMM Did you get the combatants you dreamed of? HAPPY RESEARCHING THE SPECIES!! libguides.asu.edu/MarchMammalM...

The bracket is ready @mmmletsgo.bsky.social Just patiently waiting for the drop.

Learning about soil analysis in science club. We can then collect data on our prospective locations for a rain garden upon soil thaw.

The majority of Americans understand that global warming is happening, that it is mostly owing to human activity, and that most scientists agree that global warming is happening. ncse.ngo/climate-chan... #climatestats