NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY SPECIAL EDITION

The special edition of the Natural History Society is well underway. There are approximately 40 articles and about a dozen local artists have contributed sketches which are guaranteed to either inform or amuse you. The volume will be titled "Winds of Sea and Wood" and the attractive front cover was designed by Daphne Dumont. Several students from West Kent School gave us some excellent sketches and poetry. We are most pleased to be able to dedicate the first volume of this publication to one of Prince Edward Island's most devoted Naturalists, the late Harvey Moore.

We received a grant from the University of Prince Edward Island to help defray some of the initial costs. We plan to recover the remaining costs of publication by sales of the book which we hope will be completed in November. At the October meeting, Kathy Martin will provide further details on this "important" book.

- Kathy Martin Biology Department University of Prince Edward Island

NATURAL HISTORY NEWSLETTER ARTICLES

After a nice long summer, many of you must have observations or articles in which the general membership would be interested. Since P.E.I. does not have a Natural History Museum, there is nobody to record unusual

or usual natural history observations. Our Natural History newsletter is the closest substitute to such a recording body. It is important that such information be made available to present and future Island naturalists. I urge anyone to submit articles on any subject to:

Kathy Martin Biology Department

University of P.E.I.

OUR ADVENTURES AT WARREN GROVE

"Our Adventures at Warren Grove" is the most recent publication on Environmental Education for P.E.I. Its authors are a group of Grade Five students attending West Kent School in Charlottetown. This book, the result of a years nature study program is accurate, informative, innovative and sprinkled with occasional bits of humour.

In the fall of 1974, their teacher, Eileen Stewart, planned a series

of field trips, sometimeS'to be led by resource people like Diane Griffin, Randy Dibblee and myself. After each outdoor session, the children enthusiastically settled down to translate what they saw or heard in prose or poetry. What they produced was left entirely up to them. Consequently the book contains a broad spectrum of styles ranging from scholarly discourses (completed with illustrations) on history

of the area, mushroom identification and water chemistry to spirited poems on leaf types, animal activities in winter and cattails. There is even a leech limerick!

If your knowledge of aquatic life is weak, you will quickly become informed about cattails and bulrushes, muskrat houses and Whirligig morphology.

The class was involved in all aspects of publishing the book and were quite anxious to obtain a copyright, but lacked the necessary capital!

This book is an excellent example of what children at a grade five level can accomplish if their natural enthusiasm is supplemented with guidance, encouragement and limited resources. If you wish to purchase

a copy of this enjoyable and informative book, they are available for $1.50 at 7 Valdane Street, Sherwood, P.E.I. available at the meeting.

Copies will also be

— Kathy Martin Biology Department University of Prince Edward Island