Acid Mine Drainage and Precipitates

In this video, environmental scientists measure the pH of water to detect acid mine drainage from an abandoned coal mine and then demonstrate how metals present in acid drainage fall out of solution as precipitates when a basic substance is added to the water.

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Controlling Water Run-off

This video shows how the environmentally friendly design of the Visitor Center at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville slows down water run-off and helps to control non-point-source water pollution, conserve water, and prevent soil erosion

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Environmental Impact of Acid Mine Drainage

This video shows how acid mine drainage from an abandoned coal mine has affected Wildcat Branch in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest. Because the creek has a very acidic pH of 2.9, most organisms cannot survive there, and Wildcat Branch is essentially dead.

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Reusing Wastewater

This video demonstrates how peat filtration beds at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky purify and conserve wastewater and eliminate one cause of non-point-source water pollution.

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The Geology of Coal

In this video, a geologist describes how coal, a sedimentary rock, was formed when organic materials piled up in swamps millions of years ago. Over time, heat and pressure transformed the buried materials into forms of coal that cause acid mine drainage when exposed to oxygen.

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Recycling and Restoration

This video explains how Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky used recycled cypress from pickle vats to build its visitor center and then “paid back” nature by creating a cypress-tupelo swamp at one end of a lake on the park grounds.

High-Sulfur Coal and Acidic Water

In this video, a geologist measures the pH of water after high-sulfur coal from a Kentucky coal mine has been added to it. This test demonstrates that the sulfate salts found on the coal’s surface cause the water to become much more acidic.

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Rain Gardens

This video shows how a rain garden at Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky slows down the flow of water from the forest’s parking lot and helps prevent soil erosion.

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Mycoremediation

This video explores the process of mycoremediation: planting fungi such as oyster mushrooms to mitigate non-point-source water pollution caused by oil, gasoline, and other toxic substances.

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Restoring Lower Rock Creek

This brief video describes how Lower Rock Creek’s location between two National Wild and Scenic Rivers caused Kentucky environmentalists to choose the creek as a target for acid mine drainage remediation.

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Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

In this video, an environmental technologist visits an abandoned coal mine in Kentucky to talk about how a remediation system (a series of settling ponds and treatment cells) is neutralizing the acid drainage flowing from the mine and keeping it from damaging a creek downstream.

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Applying the Scientific Method

This video provides a real-life example of the scientific method: testing hypotheses about which plants will grow most successfully on a green roof in Kentucky.

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Results of Acid Mine Drainage Remediation

In this video, a biologist visits Rock Creek in Pulaski County, Kentucky to show how acid mine drainage remediation has increased the stream’s pH from acidic levels to almost neutral. Although the ecosystem has not been completely restored, many species have returned to Rock Creek.

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Stream Restoration

This video explores how Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest near Louisville, Kentucky has restored a channelized or straightened stream to its original meandering path, thereby improving the stream’s water quality and creating a better habitat for wildlife.

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Aquatic Insects

In this brief video, a biologist talks about the macroinvertebrates (typically aquatic insects) that form the basis of food webs in healthy Kentucky streams.

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Detached Wetlands

This video depicts a detached wetland, a small pool that forms beside a shallow meandering stream when it overflows its banks. These wetlands are important breeding grounds for the invertebrates that live in and beside streams

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Backyard Turtles

In this video from the WPSU’s series Outside, learn about backyard turtle habitats, their favorite foods, and why they don’t make good pets.

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Backyard Wildlife

Squirrels and chipmunks are just two of the animals you might see. Backyard Wildlife, an original KET video, encourages children to explore the world outside their back door.

Backyard Wildlife Interactive

Squirrels and chipmunks are just two of the animals you might see. Backyard Wildlife, an original KET video, encourages children to explore the world outside their back door.

Bighorn Sheep

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada explores the adaptations that help desert bighorn sheep survive in their habitat.

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Butterflies

This video from Vegas PBS features colorful insects known as butterflies, and looks at the coloration, species, life cycle, and migration habits within their habitat.

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Carnivorous Plants of Cartwheel Bay

In this video segment from NatureScene, explore Cartwheel Bay, a wetland in South Carolina, and learn about the variety of carnivorous plants native to this unique landform.

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Desert Tortoise

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada examines threats to the desert tortoise population.

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Discovering Antarctica

Take a guided tour of Antarctica by watching brief video segments of its landscape and wildlife in this interactive activity adapted from the British Antarctic Survey.

Diversity of Hardwoods at Congaree Swamp

In this video segment from NatureScene, observe some methods of plant identification with regards to the diversity of hardwoods at the Congaree Swamp.

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Flood Plain and Higher Ground Habitats

This video segment from NatureScene features the area of the Congaree Swamp where the high ground and the flood plain meet. Learn how a few feet of difference in elevation on a floodplain can yield drastic changes in what you’ll find living there.

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Gila Monster

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada looks at the Gila monster's behavior, habitat, and unique adaptive characteristics.

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Horned Lizard

In this video from Outdoor Nevada, learn about the habitat, diet, and defense mechanisms of horned lizards.

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Hummingbirds

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada explores the traits, behaviors, and habitat of four hummingbird species.

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Night Lizards

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada features the Western banded gecko and the desert night lizard, both members of the reptile family.

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Peregrine Falcon

In this video from Outdoor Nevada, Brian Wignall speaks with an ornithologist about the peregrine falcon, a majestic and endangered species that is one of the fastest animals in the world.

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Phainopepla Bird

In this video segment from Outdoor Nevada, learn about the eating and migration habits of the Phainopepla, an unusual bird associated with the mistletoe plant.

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Primitive Insects of the Congaree Swamp

In this video segment from NatureScene, observe dragonflies and mayflies near Cedar Creek at Congaree Swamp National Park.

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Rattlesnakes

This video segment from Wild Nevada answers questions about the rattlesnake, a reptile that is often misunderstood.

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Redwoods at Redwood National Park

This video segment from NatureScene describes the characteristics of redwood trees at Redwood National Park.

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Reptiles of the Congaree Swamp

In this video segment from NatureScene, discover some reptiles in the swamp forest ecosystem at Congaree Swamp National Park.

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Root Systems of Trees at the Congaree Swamp

Learn about root systems of trees in the Congaree Swamp National Park in this video segment from NatureScene.

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Sandhill Cranes

This video segment from Wild Nevada examines one of Nevada's oldest living creatures, the sandhill crane.

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Scorpions

This video segment from Outdoor Nevada takes a look at an ancient desert dweller, the scorpion.

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Tarantulas

This video segment from the Nevada Department of Wildlife looks at tarantulas' survival skills and their habitat.

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Tracking Polar Bears

In this interactive activity adapted from the USGS Alaska Science Center, track the movements of a polar bear as it migrates across the changing Arctic sea ice and compare the paths of four different polar bears.

Turtle Defense

In this video from WPSU’s series Outside, learn how turtles ward off danger in the wild with special characteristics that enable them to survive in their habitat.

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Who Comes to the Feeder Interactive

Children learn about the different birds they can attract to a backyard feeder in this original video from KET.