It is nearly impossible to imagine a biology classroom without a few newspaper articles posted on the bulletin board. Some student will develop a life-long interest in a topic because she read one of these items. Conservation organizations follow the newspaper with similar interest. It is their way to see if their message is getting through to the community. It is where they can Notes and Links A demonstration web site shows how such a newspaper-oriented system will work.
Newspaper articles are a starting point.
What is missing is a way to look beyond the newspaper story. For example, recent articles have discussed the problem of Miconia , a very invasive plant that threaten's the Hawaiian forests. What readers don't yet know are that researchers have discovered the distributions of these plants and their eradication efforts involving biological control. To the interested student, or even an average citizen, seeing the researcher's distribution map may provoke actions that go beyond interest and result in involvement. The opportunity may come from finding a community organization that is sponsoring a Miconia eradication project.