Nature – Alison Pearce Stevens

Blueberry Honor!

Alison — Mon, 24 Mar 2025 18:52:49 +0000

I am delighted to have Animal Climate Heroes selected as a Blueberry Honor book! Created by Evanston Public Library to recognize children’s books that foster a love of nature and the environment, the Blueberry (a blue-planet play on the Newbery Medal) is a huge honor, and I’m grateful for the recognition.

If you want to know more, you can check out Betsy Bird’s overview of the award ceremony here, see the full list of Blueberry Honor books here (be sure to click Show next 15 items at the bottom!), or check out some of the thank-you videos on YouTube.

I had a chat with the founder of Fat Bear Week

Alison — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 20:56:05 +0000

I had a marvelous time talking with Naomi Boak, founder of Fat Bear Week (and an Emmy- and Webby-Award winning creator and producer) as part of the Stanford Alumni for Climate Action webinar series. We talked about Animal Climate Heroes! and the little things we can do to improve the state of our environment.

Check it out!

Surfing electrons create the northern lights

Alison — Mon, 14 Jun 2021 21:31:20 +0000

The flickering glow of the northern and southern lights is known around the world. They occur when electrons from the sun’s solar wind run into Earth’s magnetic field. But in order to build up enough energy to release light, those electrons had to speed up to a whopping 45 million miles per hour! Scientists just discovered how they do that–by surfing along waves in our atmosphere, just like a surfer rides waves in the ocean.

Did you know? Northern lights can only be seen near the Arctic circle. Southern Lights are only seen near the Antarctic Circle. Every now and then they stray closer to the equator, but not by far. source

Want to know more? Check out the different types of auroras, including arcs, bands, and rays here.

This sea slug lost its head!

Alison — Wed, 07 Apr 2021 14:42:46 +0000

You may have heard the phrase to lose your head, which means you’re not acting very sensibly. But this sea slug takes that saying to a whole new level. It quite literally separates its head from its body, then grows a new body, complete with a new heart. Scientists in Japan recently discovered this bizarre behavior, but they don’t yet know why the slugs do it. Check it out:

Did you know? The ‘tentacles’ on a sea slug’s head are used to smell and taste the water around them. source

Want to know more? Find out more about the sea’s most beautiful creatures at National Geographic Kids.

Disappearing waterfall

Alison — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 13:44:01 +0000

The tallest waterfall in the South American country of Ecuador recently disappeared! The 500-foot-fall San Rafael Waterfall used to send thousands of gallons of water gushing over the rocky drop. But in early February, it seemed to dry up. Curiously, the river kept flowing downstream. That’s because a sinkhole opened up just a few feet behind the waterfall, allowing the water to cascade in a different location–one that can’t be seen from the usual viewing points.

photo by Ministry of Tourism Ecuador

Did you know? Sinkholes are created when water flows through certain kinds of rock, dissolving the rock and carrying it away. This creates an underground cavern. When the ceiling gives way, it creates a sinkhole. source

Want to know more? Learn about how scientists study caves to understand their secrets at Science News for Students.

Dancing peacock spiders

Alison — Wed, 01 Apr 2020 16:10:13 +0000

A 22-year-old researcher in Australia just discovered 12 new species of spider, seven of which are colorful peacock spiders. Not only are peacock spiders beautiful (their name reflects their colorfully patterned abdomens), but they are also exceptional dancers. Males wave their legs, wave their abdomens, and put on quite a show when there’s a female in the area.

Did you know? The brilliant blue on these spider’s hind ends is created by teeny-tiny nanostructures on the scale-like hairs located there. source

Want to know more? Find out how peacock spiders’ colors create an optical illusion at National Geographic.

Zap! Newly discovered electric eel generates some serious current

Alison — Fri, 27 Mar 2020 14:37:31 +0000

Scientists recently discovered that there are not one (as they had thought), not two, but three different species of electric eel. And one of the new discoveries packs the biggest punch of all. These eels send out pulses of electricity to zap prey. And smaller pulses to sense the environment when they’re on the hunt. Most eels generate up to 650 volts of electricity. That’s about five-and-a-half times what comes out of a U.S. electrical socket. This new one: up to 860 volts. That’s a serious burst of energy!

photo by Stephen G. Johnson

Did you know? Although many eels live in the ocean, electric eels are freshwater fish. They live in rivers throughout South America. source

Want to know more? The new species of electric eels are the first ones discovered in more than 250 years. Learn more at Science News for Students.

Listen to millions of monarchs

Alison — Thu, 09 May 2019 12:44:48 +0000

What sound does a butterfly make? With it’s delicate wings, not a whole lot–until you get millions of them together in one place. Most monarchs migrate to Mexico for the winter. There, they huddle in trees at night and flit about during the day. There are millions of them–enough that you can hear the sound of their wings when they take flight. Sounds kind of like water to me.

Did you know? It takes several generations of monarchs to fly north in the spring, but just one to return and overwinter. Winter monarchs live much longer than summer ones. source

Want to know more? We’re losing monarchs at a fast pace, but it’s easy to help them out, just by planting some milkweed. Find out more at the Monarch Butterfly siteMonarch Butterfly Site.

Slingshot spider

Alison — Thu, 11 Apr 2019 14:48:55 +0000

You thought cheetahs were fast? Meet the slingshot spider. This resident of the Peruvian rainforest nabs a meal in its web like most spiders. But instead of waiting for the food to come to it, this spider takes its web to the food. It weaves a cone-shaped web, anchored in the middle by a single strand of silk. Then, when tasty-looking prey wander near, it releases the anchor. Spider and web fly through the air to make contact. Lunch!

Did you know? Some spiders nurse their young with “milk” just like mammals do! Who knew these amazing creepy-crawlies were such good moms? source

Want to know more? Slingshot spiders can out-accelerate a cheetah. Find out just how fast they are at Science News for Students.

Ninja kangaroo rats!

Alison — Thu, 04 Apr 2019 17:44:53 +0000

Nature is awesome, and so are the scientists who study it. Researchers studying rattlesnakes and kangaroo rats (common predator and prey) needed to be able to see what happened during those lightning-quick interactions. To do so, they used high-speed video, which let them slow the action to see exactly what’s going on.

The result? The discovery that kangaroo rats have some ninja moves.

Did you know? Rattlesnakes hunt in the dark by sensing heat. Like all pit vipers, they have a special heat-sensing organ in those pits on their faces that lets them “see” in the dark. source

Want to know more? Check out research by scientists at San Diego State University.