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The Ecosystem Services edition!
Have you ever heard the term “ecosystem services?” Can you imagine what ecosystem services might be? Ecosystem services are provided by healthy natural areas just because they are healthy natural areas. Ecosystem services are valued by people, even if people do not always think about where these services come from. Examples include clean air, clean water, beautiful landscapes, healthy soil, places for wildlife to live, minerals, and even places to do outdoor activities. Even pollination is considered an ecosystem service because pollination is important to the production of food. Ecosystem services are important because they provide goods and services that are vital to human health and quality of life. Click here to order your copy of this edition!

Click here to find out what Terri the Robot has to say about the Natural Inquirer and the environment!

Please check out our newest addition to the Natural Inquirer family- The Investi-gator! The Investi-gator is a free science journal for upper elementary level students. It has the same format as the Natural Inquirer. To find out more, please visit www.scienceinvestigator.org or click here.

Welcome to the Natural Inquirer!

The Natural Inquirer is a middle school science education journal! Scientists report their research in journals, which enable scientists to share information with one another. This journal, the Natural Inquirer, was created so that scientists can share their research with middle school students. Each article tells you about scientific research conducted by scientists in the USDA Forest Service.

All of the research in this journal is concerned with nature, trees, wildlife, insects, outdoor activities and water. First students will "meet the scientists" who conduct the research. Then students read special information about science, and then about the environment. Students will also read about a specific research project, written in a way that scientists write when publishing their research in journals. Students become scientists when they do the Discovery FACTivity, learning vocabulary words that help in understanding articles.

At the end of each section of Natural Inquirer articles, students will find a few questions to help think about the research. These questions are not a test! They are intended to help students think more about research & can be used for class discussions.

Click here to read about the Natural Inquirer in FS Today!

The Natural Inquirer Climate Change Collection.

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Click on any of the climate change articles below to download a pdf of the article.

Beetles Are Supercool! Understanding the Life Cycle of Mountain Pine Beetles

Where in the World is Carbon Dioxide? The Potential Impact of Rising Levels of Carbon Dioxide on United States Forests

It's a Gas! The Exchange of Gases Between the Soil and the Atmosphere

Balancing Act: Urban Trees and the Carbon Cycle