Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Episode 651 (3-20-23): Oceans and Marine Biodiversity in International Focus in March 2023

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (5:12).

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Sources

Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.).


Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 3-17-23.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the weeks of March 20 and March 27, 2023.

MUSIC – ~24 sec – Lyrics: “We are on a ship, a great big ship.  It takes all of us to take care of it.  And we can use the stars to navigate our trip.  We are riding on a ship.”

“That’s part of “On a Ship,” by Blacksburg, Va., musician Kat Mills.  It opens an episode about two recent international meetings on our planetary ship’s ocean waters.  Have a listen for about 15 seconds to sounds of two ocean-going creatures—a Humpback Whale, and a Leach’s Storm-Petrel—and see if you know what aspect of ocean biology was a key focus of the meetings.  And here’s a hint: you’ve got this, if you’ve got a lot of different living things in the sea.

SOUNDS  - ~17 sec

If you guessed marine biodiversity, you’re right!  According to the American Museum of Natural History in New York, biodiversity means, quote, “the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life,” unquote.  In early March 2023, two international gatherings focused on biodiversity in marine waters, including in what’s called the “high seas,” the waters and ocean floor areas that are more than 200 nautical miles from any nation’s shores and are not under any single nation’s jurisdiction.  According to the Marine Conservation Institute, the high seas cover about half of the Earth’s surface, contain great biodiversity, and are among the least-protected areas on Earth.

On March 2 and 3, the eighth Our Ocean Conference was held in Panama, with participants from government, business, and non-profits making voluntary commitments for $20 billion towards protecting marine areas, addressing marine pollution, helping indigenous coastal communities, and other objectives.  Since 2014, Our Ocean Conference participants have made over 1800 commitments worth over $100 billion.  Meanwhile, at a United Nations conference on March 4 in New York, a majority of the world’s nations agreed on language for a so-called “High Seas Treaty,” in the works since 2004.  If ultimately ratified by individual countries, it would facilitate protected areas, fund marine conservation, provide guidelines for marine genetic resources, and provide capacity building and technology transfer to developing states.

Both meetings are part of a worldwide effort called 30 by 30, that is, by 2030 to conserve and restore 30 percent of the world’s land and oceans important for biodiversity, a target set at a U.N. biodiversity conference in Montreal in December 2022.

Thanks to Kat Mills for permission to use “On a Ship”; to the National Park Service for the Humpback Whale sound; and to Lang Elliott for the Leach’s Storm-Petrel sound, from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs.  We close with another musical selection whose title and tune may conjure up images of the oceans.  Here’s about 15 seconds of “Driftage,” by Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand.

MUSIC - ~17 sec – instrumental [start at about [5:14 and go to abrupt end at 5:30].

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Ben Cosgrove for his version of “Shenandoah” to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“On a Ship,” from the 2015 album “Silver,” is copyright by Kat Mills, used with permission.  More information about Kat Mills is available online at http://www.katmills.com/.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 609, 12-27-21.

The Humpback Whale sound was from the National Park Service ‘Sound Gallery,” online at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/sound/sounds-humpback-whale.htm, as of 3-16-23.

The Leach’s Storm-Petrel sound was from the Stokes Field Guide to Bird Songs-Eastern Region CD set, by Lang Elliott with Donald and Lillian Stokes (Time Warner Audio Books, copyright 1997), used with permission of Lang Elliott.  Lang Elliot’s work is available online at the “Music of Nature” Web site, http://www.musicofnature.org/.

“Driftage,” from the 2004 album of same name, is copyright by Andrew and Noah VanNorstrand and Great Bear Records, used with permission.  More information about Andrew and Noah and their bands is available online at https://andrewandnoah.bandcamp.com/music.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (2 min./22 sec.) of the “Shenandoah” arrangement/performance by Ben Cosgrove that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Cosgrove is available online at http://www.bencosgrove.com.

IMAGES

Humpback Whale.  Image from the NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] Photo Library, “NOAA’s Ark/Whales,” online at https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/NOAAs-Ark; the URL for the specific photo was https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/NOAAs-Ark/Whales/emodule/722/eitem/30376, as of 3-21-23.

Wilson’s Storm-Petrels.  Photo by Lieutenant Elizabeth Crapo, accessed in the NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] Photo Library, “NOAA’s Ark/Birds,” online at https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/NOAAs-Ark; the URL for the specific photo was https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/NOAAs-Ark/Birds/emodule/727/eitem/28716, as of 3-21-23.

SOURCES

Used for Audio

Elizabeth Claire Alberts, “Panama ocean conference draws $20 billion, marine biodiversity commitments,” March 6, 2023, online at https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/panama-ocean-conference-draws-20-billion-marine-biodiversity-commitments/.

American Museum of Natural History, “What is Biodiversity?”  Online at https://www.amnh.org/research/center-for-biodiversity-conservation/what-is-biodiversity.

Audubon, “Leach’s Storm-Petrel,” online at https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/leachs-storm-petrel.

Michael Casey, “Historic biodiversity agreement reached at UN conference,” Associated Press, December 19, 2022.

Catrin Einhorn, “Nations Agree on Language for Historic Treaty to Protect Ocean Life; The United Nations agreement is a significant step toward protecting biodiversity under growing threat from climate change, overfishing and seabed mining,” New York Times, March 4, 2023.

Catrin Einhorn, “Nearly Every Country Signs On to a Sweeping Deal to Protect Nature,New York Times, December 20, 2022.

Christina Larson and Patrick Whittle, “Nations reach accord to protect marine life on high seas,” AP [Associated Press] News, March 5, 2023.

Marine Conservation Institute, “Protecting the High Seas,” online at https://marine-conservation.org/high-seas/.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, “Indonesian Delegation Successfully States Commitment to Protecting the Marine Environment at the Our Ocean Conference 2023,” March 3, 2023.

NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] Fisheries, “Humpback Whale,” online at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/humpback-whale.

Our Ocean Panama March 2-3. 2023, online at https://ouroceanpanama2023.gob.pa/, as of 3/16/23.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Editorial Board, “Editorial: Developing accord could vastly improve oceans' survival chances,” March 12, 2023.

United Nations, “UN delegates reach historic agreement on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters,” UN News, March 5, 2023.

United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, online at https://www.cbd.int/article/cop15-final-text-kunming-montreal-gbf-221222, “COP15: Final text of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” December 22, 2022, News Release.

United Nations Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, online at https://www.un.org/bbnj/.

U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), “USAID Announces New Programs to Protect Our Ocean at the 2023 Our Ocean Conference,” March 3, 2023.

Worldwide Fund for Nature, “Whales Without Boundaries – Why the High Seas Matter,” online at https://wwfwhales.org/news-stories/whales-without-boundaries-why-the-high-seas-matter.

John Yang and Lorna Baldwin, “Historic deal to protect ocean biodiversity reached at UN conference,” PBS NewsHour, March 5, 2023.  [6 min./45 sec. video with transcript.]

For More Information about Biodiversity in Oceans and Elsewhere

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), online at https://www.noaa.gov/.

Some of the agency’s many specific topic pages are the following:
“Biological Diversity and Related Issues,” online at https://www.noaa.gov/biological-diversity-and-related-issues;
“Ocean Exploration Facts,” online at https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/facts.html;
“Marine Life,” online at https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/marine-life;
“U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observing Network,” online at https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/apr16/mbon.html.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Birds” and “Mammals” subject categories.

Following is a link to a previous episode on biodiversity (generally in Virginia, not specifically marine biodiversity).

Episode 260, 4-6-15 – Biodiversity in Virginia and the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Following are links to some previous episodes on organisms inhabiting oceans.

Episode 399, 12-18-17 – Whales in Song, Sound, and Migration Past Virginia.
Episode 542, 9-14-20 – Dolphins in Sound and Music.
Episode 551, 11-16-20 – Sea Creatures Sound Off.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in the episode’s post.

2020 Music SOLs

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2018 Science SOLs

Grades K-4: Living Systems and Processes
2.5 – Living things are part of a system.
3.5 – Aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems support a diversity of organisms.

Grades K-5: Earth and Space Systems
3.7 – There is a water cycle and water is important to life on Earth.
4.7 – The ocean environment.

Grades K-5: Earth Resources
3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.
4.8 – Virginia has important natural resources.

Grade 6
6.6 – Water has unique physical properties and has a role in the natural and human-made environment.
6.8 – Land and water have roles in watershed systems.
6.9 – Humans impact the environment and individuals can influence public policy decisions related to energy and the environment.

Life Science
LS.6 – Populations in a biological community interact and are interdependent.
LS.8 – Change occurs in ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms over time.
LS.9 – Relationships exist between ecosystem dynamics and human activity.

Earth Science
ES.6 – Resource use is complex.
ES.10 – Oceans are complex, dynamic systems subject to long- and short-term variations.

Biology
BIO.8 – Dynamic equilibria exist within populations, communities, and ecosystems.

2015 Social Studies SOLs

Grades K-3 Economics Theme
2.8 – Natural, human, and capital resources.
3.8 – Understanding of cultures and of how natural, human, and capital resources are used for goods and services.

United States History: 1865-to-Present Course
USII.9 – Domestic and international issues during the second half of the 20th Century and the early 21st Century.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.6 – Government at the national level.
CE.10 – Public policy at local, state, and national levels.

World Geography Course
WG.2 – How selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including climate, weather, and how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.
WG.4 – Types and significance of natural, human, and capital resources.
WG.18 – Cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.

Virginia and United States History Course
VUS.14 – Political and social conditions in the 21st Century.

Government Course
GOVT.9 – Public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
GOVT. 12 – Role of the United States in a changing world, including responsibilities of the national government for foreign policy and national security.
GOVT.15 – Role of government in Va. and U.S. economies, including examining environmental issues and property rights.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/instruction (as of 2-23-23).

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.

Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
Episode 606, 12-6-21 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.

Monday, March 6, 2023

Episode 650 (3-6-23): Early March Brings Severe Weather Awareness Week to Virginia

CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:27).

Sections below are the following:
Transcript of Audio
Audio Notes and Acknowledgments
Images
Extra Information
Sources

Related Water Radio Episodes
For Virginia Teachers (Relevant SOLs, etc.).


Unless otherwise noted, all Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 3-3-23.

TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO

From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the weeks of March 6 and March 13, 2023.

MUSIC – ~ ~21 sec – instrumental.

That’s part of “Driving Rain,” by the Charlottesville- and Nelson County, Va.-based band, Chamomile and Whiskey.  It opens an episode on Severe Weather Awareness Week in Virginia, which in 2023 is being observed March 6 through March 10.  Have a listen to the music for about 25 more seconds, and see if you know six kinds of severe weather threats.

MUSIC - ~24 sec – Lyrics: “In the driving rain,” then instrumental.

Six weather-related disaster threats, as listed by the “Prepare” Web site of the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, or VDEM, are the following: extreme heat; flooding; hurricanes; thunderstorms plus lightning; tornadoes; and winter weather.  Helping people be aware of and prepared for weather-related threats is the reason for Severe Weather Awareness Week, which in Virginia is being promoted by VDEM and the National Weather Service’s Wakefield Forecast Office.  As VDEM states in its online information, the week is, quote, “designed to refresh, remind, and educate everyone about the seasonal threats from severe weather and how to avoid them.  It’s also a great time to make and practice your emergency plan!,” unquote.  Each weekday of Severe Weather Awareness week is dedicated to a particular topic; for 2023, the topics are these: Monday, March 6 – watches and warnings; Tuesday, March 7 – tornadoes, including a chance to practice a safety plan during a statewide tornado drill at 9:45 a.m. that day; Wednesday, March 8 – severe thunderstorms and associated hail, lightning, and wind; Thursday, March 9 – flash flooding; and Friday, March 10 – outdoor weather safety.  Information on all of these topics, and on how to participate in the March 7 statewide tornado drill, is available from VDEM, online at vaemergency.gov/severe-weather-awareness.

Thanks to VDEM, the National Weather Service, and other federal, state, and local agencies and organizations that help people prepare for and respond to severe weather and many other kinds of emergencies.  Thanks also to Chamomile and Whiskey for permission to use this episode’s music, and we close with about 15 more seconds of “Driving Rain.

MUSIC  - ~16 sec – instrumental.

SHIP’S BELL

Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment.  For more Virginia water sounds, music, or information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call the Water Center at (540) 231-5624.  Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of “Cripple Creek” to open and close this episode.  In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.

AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

“Driving Rain,” from the 2012 album “The Barn Sessions,” is copyright by Chamomile and Whiskey and by County Wide Records, used with permission.  More information about Chamomile and Whiskey is available online at http://www.chamomileandwhiskey.com/.  This music was used previously by Virginia Water Radio most recently in Episode 629, 6-6-22.

Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode.  More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.

IMAGES

(Except as otherwise noted, photographs are by Virginia Water Radio.)

Flooding-awareness sign along Fort Valley Road, beside Passage Creek, at the county line between Shenandoah and Warren counties in Virginia, August 22, 2016.

Weather-emergency shelter sign on the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, March 11, 2019.

Rain bands of Hurricane Isobel over Virginia as seen from National Weather Service radar at Wakefield, Va., September 18, 2003.  Photo accessed from the NOAA Photo Library (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/U.S. Department of Commerce), online at https://photolib.noaa.gov/, accessed 3-6-23 (specific URL for the image was https://photolib.noaa.gov/Collections/National-Weather-Service/Exploring-the-Atmosphere/Radar-Other-Methods/emodule/649/eitem/4199).

EXTRA INFORMATION ABOUT WEATHER SAFETY

The following safety recommendations were taken from National Weather Service/Wakefield, Va., Forecast Office, “Virginia Severe Weather Awareness Week 2023/Friday: Outdoor Weather Safety,” online at https://www.weather.gov/akq/SevereWeatherAwareness, as of 3-6-23.

“Know Before You Go! Before heading outdoors, check the latest forecast from https://www.weather.gov/akq/ [for the Hampton Roads, Va., region], or from [another] trusted weather source.  If severe weather is expected, stay home, or go before the weather is expected to deteriorate.

“Monitor the Weather.  Have a NOAA Weather Radio, and/or apps that have radar and lightning data.  Make sure you have a way to receive weather warnings. 

“Stop all Activities when you hear thunder or when weather conditions look threatening.  The first lightning strike can come out of a clear blue sky many miles ahead of an approaching thunderstorm cloud.

“Know your area.  In hilly terrain, flash floods can strike with little or no advance warning.  Distant rain may be channeled into gullies and ravines, turning a quiet stream into a rampaging torrent in minutes.  Never camp on low ground next to streams since a flash flood can catch you while you're asleep.

“Turn Around Don't Drown.  If you come upon flood waters, stop, turn around, and go another way.  Climb to higher ground.

“When Thunder Roars Go Indoors.  There is no 100% safe shelter outside.  The only place of safety from lightning is inside a vehicle or a substantial, enclosed structure.  Do not take shelter in small sheds, under isolated trees, or in convertible automobiles.  Stay away from tall objects such as towers, fences, telephone poles, and power lines.”

SOURCES USED FOR AUDIO AND OFFERING MORE INFORMATION

National Weather Service/Wakefield, Va., Forecast Office, online at https://www.weather.gov/akq/SevereWeatherAwareness/.

Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM):
“Severe Weather Awareness Week” (including information on the statewide tornado drill), online at
https://www.vaemergency.gov/severe-weather-awareness/; and
“Prepare: Be Ready When Disaster Strikes,” online at
https://www.vaemergency.gov/prepare/.  At this site, the kinds of severe weather listed under “Disaster Threats Information,” as of 2-28-23, were the following (with links to more information):
Extreme heat:
https://www.vaemergency.gov/threats/extreme-heat/;
Floods:
https://www.vaemergency.gov/threats/floods/;
Hurricanes:
https://www.vaemergency.gov/threats/hurricanes/;
Lightning and thunderstorms:
https://www.vaemergency.gov/threats/lightning-and-thunderstorms/;
Tornadoes:
https://www.vaemergency.gov/threats/tornadoes/;
Winter weather:
https://www.vaemergency.gov/threats/winter-weather/.

RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES

All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html).  See particularly the “Weather/Climate/Natural Disasters” subject category.

Following are links to some other episodes on severe weather preparedness.

Episode 489, 9-9-19 – on storm surge.
Episode 568, 3-15-21 – on tornadoes.
Episode 629, 6-6-22 – most recent annual season-preview episode.
Episode 470, 4-29-19 – on weather messages (watches, warnings, etc.).
Episode 643, 12-5-22 – most recent annual winter-preparedness episode.

FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS – RELATED STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) AND OTHER INFORMATION

Following are some Virginia Standards of Learning (SOLs) that may be supported by this episode’s audio/transcript, sources, or other information included in this post.

2020 Music SOLs

SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”

2018 Science SOLs

Grades K-3 plus 5: Matter
K.4 – Water is important in our daily lives and has properties.

Grades K-5: Earth and Space Systems
1.7 – There are weather and seasonal changes; including that changes in temperature, light, and precipitation affect plants and animals, including humans.
2.6 – There are different types of weather on Earth.
2.7 – Weather patterns and seasonal changes affect plants, animals, and their surroundings.
3.7 – There is a water cycle and water is important to life on Earth.
4.4 – Weather conditions and climate have effects on ecosystems and can be predicted.

Grades K-5: Earth Resources
3.8 – Natural events and humans influence ecosystems.

Grade 6
6.6 – Water has unique physical properties and has a role in the natural and human-made environment.
6.7 – Air has properties and the Earth’s atmosphere has structure and is dynamic.

Life Science
LS.5 – Biotic and abiotic factors affect an ecosystem.
LS.8 – Change occurs in ecosystems, communities, populations, and organisms over time.

Earth Science

ES.11 – The atmosphere is a complex, dynamic system subject to long-and short-term variations.
ES.12 – The Earth’s weather and climate result from the interaction of the sun’s energy with the atmosphere, oceans, and the land.

Biology
BIO.8 – Dynamic equilibria exist within populations, communities, and ecosystems.

2015 Social Studies SOLs

Grades K-3 Geography Theme
1.6 – Virginia climate, seasons, and landforms.

Virginia Studies Course
VS.10 – Knowledge of government, geography, and economics in present-day Virginia.

Civics and Economics Course
CE.6 – Government at the national level.
CE.7 – Government at the state level.
CE.8 – Government at the local level.

World Geography Course
WG.2 – How selected physical and ecological processes shape the Earth’s surface, including climate, weather, and how humans influence their environment and are influenced by it.

Government Course
GOVT.7 – National government organization and powers.
GOVT.8 – State and local government organization and powers.

Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at https://www.doe.virginia.gov/teaching-learning-assessment/instruction.

Following are links to Water Radio episodes (various topics) designed especially for certain K-12 grade levels.

Episode 250, 1-26-15 – on boiling, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.
Episode 255, 3-2-15 – on density, for 5th and 6th grade.
Episode 282, 9-21-15 – on living vs. non-living, for kindergarten.
Episode 309, 3-28-16 – on temperature regulation in animals, for kindergarten through 12th grade.
Episode 333, 9-12-16 – on dissolved gases, especially dissolved oxygen in aquatic habitats, for 5th grade.
Episode 404, 1-22-18 – on ice on ponds and lakes, for 4th through 8th grade.
Episode 407, 2-12-18 – on snow chemistry and physics, for high school.
Episode 483, 7-29-19 – on buoyancy and drag, for middle school and high school.
Episode 524, 5-11-20 – on sounds by water-related animals, for elementary school through high school.
Episode 531, 6-29-20 – on various ways that animals get water, for 3rd and 4th grade.
Episode 539, 8-24-20 – on basic numbers and facts about Virginia’s water resources, for 4th and 6th grade.
Episode 606, 12-6-21 – on freezing and ice, for kindergarten through 3rd grade.