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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Acid Lake

Add acidity to a healthy lake and see what happens to the plants and animals in this interactive activity adapted from EcoKids.

An Alaska Native Community Helps Seals

This video from First Alaskans Institute spotlights the Alaska Native community of St. Paul and its hands-on commitment to care for the land and animals on which it depends.

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Analyzing an Ecosystem

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta, identify the living and nonliving things in an ecosystem. Then look further at the living things to identify the producers, the consumers, and examples of mimicry.

Carbon Cycle Diagram

This diagram from NASA's Earth Science Enterprise illustrates the Earth's carbon cycle .

Carnivorous Plants of Texas

In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, learn about carnivorous plants that act as both producers and consumers in an ecosystem. See sundews and blatterworts capture and digest insects.

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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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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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Documenting Glacial Change

This collection of comparative glacier images adapted from the National Snow and Ice Data Center shows substantial changes in five Alaskan glacier positions over periods of 60 to 100 years.

Energy Flow

This feature, adapted from Interactive NOVA: "Earth," follows the path of energy as it is transferred via the food chain from one type of organism to another.

Energy Flow in the Coral Reef Ecosystem

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, describes the energy flow in a coral reef, including its food web.

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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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Homo Sapiens Versus Neanderthals

This video segment, adapted from NOVA, explores reasons why Homo sapiens had an advantage over Neanderthals in the pursuit of territory and natural resources.

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The Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle

This video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department describes how humans are helping restore safe nesting grounds for the critically endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtle to ensure its successful repopulation.

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Life Cycle of a Seed Plant

In this interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta, learn about each step in the life cycle of a seed plant.

Light Pollution

In this interactive activity adapted from the National Park Service, learn how light pollution affects the night sky, animals, and humans, and then explore several possible solutions.

A Night in the Coral Reef

Coral reefs are often portrayed as brightly lit, bustling underwater marvels full of colorful creatures. This video segment, adapted from NOVA, paints a different picture as it explores the nocturnal behavior of organisms in the reef.

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The Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen, one of the most abundant elements in the universe, is essential to life. This interactive activity adapted from the University of Alberta provides an overview of the nitrogen cycle.

Prairie Dogs

In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, learn about the prairie dog, the importance of its role in its ecosystem, and how it is affected by an ever-growing human population.

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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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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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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.

The Value of Wetlands

This video segment adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department explores the role of the wetlands in our environment, including providing habitats for wildlife, acting as natural water filters, and playing a part in the greater water cycle.

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Wild Animal Rehabilitation

In this video adapted from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, see how volunteers care for sick or injured animals. Also learn why human interaction is not always the best solution.

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