PBS Terra on redwoods and moss for World Rainforest Day

Happy World Rainforest Day! Today is the first time I'm celebrating the environmental holiday with a dedicated post during an even-numbered year — progress!

As I have the past two times I observed World Rainforest Day, I'm blogging about the temperate rainforest of the Pacific Northwest, particularly the Coast Redwood forest of California, beginning with PBS Terra explaining Redwoods Shouldn't Be So Tall. Here's Why They Are.

Beyond its iconic height, the Redwood Forest is sacred to the Yurok Tribe and a scientific frontier for the study of vast biodiversity that exists nowhere else on Earth. This episode of Untold Earth explores the varied relationship between The Redwoods, their forest ecosystems, and the humans who live and work among them. Asking, at every turn, what makes these trees epically singular in nature?

This is a sequel of sorts to the PBS Terra video I embedded in last year's post. Like that video, I've shown it to my students. Welcome to blogging as professional development.

Going from the tallest plants in the temperate rainforest to the smallest, I'm sharing PBS Terra telling its viewers You Aren’t Paying Enough Attention to Moss.

Mosses were among the first land plants to evolve out of the ocean roughly 450 million years ago. It grows everywhere, from the world’s harshest landscapes to cracks in the sidewalk. This episode of Untold Earth gets up close and personal with the mosses of the Hoh Rainforest to understand their vital role in this ecosystem and potential to offer a glimpse into our planet’s future.

If I haven't already shown this video to my students, I should and probably will, as I will lecture on mosses on Monday. Again, welcome to blogging as professional development.

Before I leave today, National Day Calendar has updated its photo once again.

June 22 is World Rainforest Day to raise awareness and encourage everyone to set some time aside to join the fight to protect rainforests. Join us today as we encouraging action to protect them.

That's both the message for today and a wrap for today's environmental holiday post. Stay tuned for the final consecutive holiday entry, a double celebration of Souther on Detroit-Style Pizza Day. Wombats eating pizza instead of ice cream!