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5.20.15: Educational Benefits Of Going Outdoors, The Honorary Degree, & Wild Bees Face Dangers

Davide Zanchettin via flickr Creatiev Commons
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flic.kr/p/h261VQ

We’ve heard the claim before – low-income urban kids aren’t getting to spend enough time in the woods.  But what if outdoor education isn’t just about where you live – but how you’re being raised?

On today’s show, our station wide series The First Decade continues, with a look at environmental education. Plus, a bee researcher explains two new studies that offer increasing evidence that a common form of pesticide is harmful to wild bees. And, Dr. Kanye West?  We discuss the function and failures of honorary degrees.  

Listen to the full show

The Tradition of Honorary Degrees

Dr. Robert O’Neil is the former president of the University of Virginia, a former director of the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, and a he’s currently a fellow with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. He joined us to discuss the tradition of honorary degrees and what goes into the selection process.

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Will You Go to Prom With Me?

It’s graduation season: a time for celebration and, for some high school students, concern. And while the thought of donning a cap and gown may make some seniors tremble, there’s a springtime event that can be even more anxiety inducing: the prom. This story comes to us from Phillip Baggett who produced the piece for Curie Youth Radio in Chicago. A little postscript, Phillip did go to prom with Heather, and after graduation he attended Saint Xavier University. He is now an education advisor for Kaplan University.

You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.

 

The Educational Benefit of Time Spent Outdoors

David Sobel is a senior faculty member at Antioch University New England and author of the book Beyond Ecophobia. He joined us to discuss gaps in children’s outdoor education, and what happens when kids are kept away from nature’s classroom.  

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The Educational Benefit of Time Spent Outdoors

We Should Protect All Bees Not Just the Ones That Make Honey

Dave Goulsonis a bee researcher at the University of Sussex in England, and the author of the new book, A Buzz in the Meadow: The Natural History of a French Farm.  

Related: Bee Studies Stir Up Pesticide Debate

You can help wild bees by planting a variety of flowers for them to collect pollen from. You can also create a bee hotel. Dave explains the simple DIY process here:  Make Your Own Bee Hotel

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Wild Bees Face Dangers From Pesticides

Cougars in Maine? Probably Not.

Officially, there are no cougars in Maine.  But you wouldn’t get that impression talking to many people who’ve claimed to see them roaming through the wilderness. These unsubstantiated sightings tell us a lot about the history and folklore around Maine’s cougars - before he was NHPR’s health reporter, Jack Rodolico filed this story for The Salt Institute.  

You can listen to this story again at PRX.org.

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