Columbia University in New York has mounted a site for wildlife preservation and monitoring environmental conditions. While the bulk of the resources pertain to New York state (animal behavior, bird migration, etc.), it offers three unique features in this regional collection. First, the site managers welcome materials from teachers. Scientists, conducting field work around the world, can be contacted. Finally, excerpts from Gerry Durrell's work (from the URL go to Wildlife Preservation and then to Wild Ones) are included. Gerry (brother of Lawrence)wrote wonderful non-fiction reports of encounters with wildlife in a slightly different style than Farley Mowatt. Birdsource calls for reports from feeders all over the US; they are organized by regions. The number and type of bird who gather at feeders--in the schoolyard or student's backyard--provide important clues about not only the preservation of bird species but also overall sustainability of various environments. Like just a few other sites in this Media Center, students have an authentic opportunity to contribute to the community of knowledge via this site.

Birds are in! Tony's bird site concentrates on all of the different varieties, like the Columbia site, in the state of New York.The special attraction of this site are the soundbites--from the birds themselves during their different activities (takes a moment to get the sounds--worth the wait). Like California, Texas as a huge state has clustered its geographic and environmental information about regions. Maps, river studies, air quality, etc. are some of the particular topics. While several national telecollaboration projects for students offer an opportunity for gathering and comparing information from local venues, few are available to illustrate the larger geographical construct of regionalism.Sustainability in Nature applies to the Massachusetts area.

University of Missouri - St. Louis hosts the Western History Association (WHA). The links cover both geography and history. Students would need to peruse a whole collection of books to find the breadth of resources listed at this site. Students with different interests and capabilities will find appropriate information here.

eNature sells a very large selection of field and habitat guides which include about 4800 native plants and animals. About 500 bird calls can be played at this site, too.

National Geographic has collected 867 land-based ecologies for conservation. This display truly illustrates the global physical regions of the world.

Columbia University-CERC

http://www.cerc.columbia.edu/

Texas Environmental Center

http://www.tec.org/

Tony's Birds at SUNY-SB

http://www.math.sunysb.edu/~tony/

Sustainable Environments-Birdsource at Cornell (pfw)

http://www.birdsource.org/

Western History Association

http://www.westernhistoryassociation.org/

Sustainability in Nature

http://www.secondnature.org/

eNature

http://www.enature.com/home/

National Geographic Ecologies for Conservation

http://www.worldwildlife.org/sites/wildworld/index.html