Review - Our National Wildlife Treasures

This month we will take a look at another excellent course at SuiteU in the Environment School – Our National Wildlife Treasures by Wendy Beye, who is herself involved with the preservation and conservation of the Nation’s National Treasures. The year 2003 marked the 100th anniversary of the National Wildlife Refuge System, and this agency used the celebration to inform and expand its image to the public – click on the link above to read Ms. Beye’s Introduction to the course for the history behind this agency and its objectives.

Designed to inform and educate the public on National Wildlife Refuges within the United States, this course is packed with beautiful photographs and insightful commentary. The author has chosen eight wildlife sanctuaries off the beaten track, and invites you to take the trek with her through the history, wildlife and habitat of each. No, Yellowstone Park is NOT in here – we’re talking about those refuges that you really need to hike and enter the wild to see the beauty. As Ms. Beye points out, there are no grand hotels or tourist traps – just the awesome wonder of nature the National Wildlife Refuge System is trying to preserve for its original inhabitants. These are not designed for humans, these are sanctuaries for the wildlife, and humans are invited to visit – for a short time. Many of these areas could only be accessed by canoe or kayak, and have just recently been made a little more accessible for humans. Ms. Beye has made it very accessible for anyone now to view the richness without the disturbing ourselves or the habitat.

Our first stop is to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Here we are introduced to its history and importance. We then follow our guide as Ms. Beye takes us through the particular habitat and of course its significant wildlife – plenty of pictures and images to satisfy our curiosity. As there are so many new terms to learn, we are treated to a Glossary with pronunciation – a definite plus! We are also given pertinent links to augment our tour and help us understand and expand our new-found knowledge.

Each lesson follows this format – and is a delight for eyes and information. Other refuges include the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and the Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge, as well as five others – you’ll have to take the course to find out the rest! And perhaps we can request Ms. Beye to create another course – now that she has whetted our appetite on these Refuges – how can we get there? Are there other refuges? Any plans for a Suite Tour to any of these?

Go To Page: 1 2