WELCOME TO MRS. TAYLOR'S BACKYARD WILDLIFE PAGE:
USE THIS PAGE TO EXPLORE YOUR YARD LIKE A SCIENTIST!
check out my friend jess at the john f green spartanburg science center - she's a wildlife educator and has a lot of cool stuff to share (including a corn snake named maize)
then scroll on down for more resources to help you identify plants and animals in your own back yard!
I'll be featuring local-ish wildlife education resources as I find them. Our first feature is Jesseca Kusher. She's pretty darn amazing and is offering some very cool resources online. Learn more:
About Jess, from Jess:
"My role is a mixture of teaching (and building curriculum), STEM advocacy (and grant writing!), and also zoo keeping! As the only full time employee of a growing nonprofit, it has been quite the adventure! Since January I’ve taught close to a thousand students about subjects ranging from snakes to sound waves, moon phases to germ theory and everything in between! Additionally, our collection contains over 50 animals, all with exciting different needs!
I highly recommend following The Science Center on Facebook or Instagram for a new lesson from me Monday-Thursday! There’s lots of positive, cute animal content— and I feel like we could all use a break from, well, the world right now.
Here’s my first “Lunch Lesson with Jess” in which I took lots of wonderful questions from my friends about snakes! I had a lot of fun filming it, enjoy!"
Link to the Science Center's Webpage
Link to the Science Center's Facebook page (tune in for live lessons with Jess)
About Jess, from Jess:
"My role is a mixture of teaching (and building curriculum), STEM advocacy (and grant writing!), and also zoo keeping! As the only full time employee of a growing nonprofit, it has been quite the adventure! Since January I’ve taught close to a thousand students about subjects ranging from snakes to sound waves, moon phases to germ theory and everything in between! Additionally, our collection contains over 50 animals, all with exciting different needs!
I highly recommend following The Science Center on Facebook or Instagram for a new lesson from me Monday-Thursday! There’s lots of positive, cute animal content— and I feel like we could all use a break from, well, the world right now.
Here’s my first “Lunch Lesson with Jess” in which I took lots of wonderful questions from my friends about snakes! I had a lot of fun filming it, enjoy!"
Link to the Science Center's Webpage
Link to the Science Center's Facebook page (tune in for live lessons with Jess)
Plant Identification Resources:
Native Plant Identifier
"Weed Identification Guide" (covers lots of common plants found in local yards)
List of Recommended Websites and Apps (not all free)
Reptile and Amphibian Resources
Amphibians and Reptiles of NC
Snakes of North Carolina
(More) Snakes of North Carolina
Bird Identification Resources:
https://www.audubon.org/birding/identifying-birds
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/
https://www.birdwatchersdigest.com/bwdsite/learn/identification.php
Identifying Bird Calls:
https://www.audubon.org/news/how-start-identifying-birds-their-songs-and-calls
Recommended Bird Call Apps (not free; range from $4 to $10)
Another Bird Call App (bird genie - not free; $3.99)
Insect Identification:
https://www.insectidentification.org/
https://www.insectidentification.org/insects-by-state.asp?thisState=North%20Carolina
Spider Identification:
https://www.insectidentification.org/spiders.asp