2006 Winning Essays

Part of the Young Naturalist Awards Curriculum Collection.

YNA 2006 Winners Hero

Twelve winning essays from the 2006 contest year of the Young Naturalist Awards by students from grade 7 - 12. Winning essays ranged from a look at Spanish moss as an indicator of air pollution, to the engineering feats of harvester ants, to the affect of ozone pollution on white pines.

Article Toxic Algae: A Threat to Florida Waters? The headline in a local newspaper — "Health Menace Lurks in Lakes" — spurred this young naturalist to find out if the lake... Article An Analysis of Mockingbird Nesting Behavior in Residential Areas Curiosity about why mocking birds had chosen to build their nests in a suburban area close to residential construction set this young... Article Waterworks: A Purification Process Would it be possible to make contaminated water safe to drink using the sun's ultraviolet rays and plastic bottles? Article A Study of Claridy Creek: Water Pollution and the Effects of Phytoremediation on Contaminants This young naturalist started by investigating whether an abandoned Superfund site near his home was contaminating a local creek.... Article Lead Levels in Residential Soil in Proximity to a Superhighway Seeing his young sister undergo a standard blood test for lead got this young naturalist curious about lead levels near the Long... Article Investigation of Water and Soil Quality Upstream and Downstream in a Pond Environment After noticing that the upstream portion of a local pond seemed more polluted than the downstream portion, this young naturalist... Article Human Factor III: The Impact of a Boiling Water Nuclear Reactor Find out what this young naturalist learned when she studied the water quality and microbial communities in both the intake and discharge... Article The Work Habits of the North American Beaver This young naturalist set out to learn more about the North American beaver, an animal she knew only through its handiwork on her... Article Tillandsia usneoides: An Indicator to Air Pollution The observation that Spanish moss, an important part of the Southern United States’ ecosystem, is declining set this young naturalist... Article Environmental Engineering of Pogonomyrmex Harvester Ant Mounds This young naturalist looked to other species to find more effective techniques for harvesting solar power. See what she discovered. Article Ozone Pollution and White Pines: Phase II After witnessing the damage air pollutants had caused to the trees along her route to school, this young naturalist set out to learn... Article The Effect of Hatchery Cell Size on Growth of Juvenile Blue Crabs, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun In an effort to better understand the life cycle of the blue crab and aid with species restoration, this young naturalist studied...