As the nation's eleventh largest school district, Dallas Independent School District serves more than 160,000 students who come from homes where 58 different languages are spoken. Operating with a $1 billion dollar budget, DISD employs 18,613 employees including 10,000 teachers in 220 schools.
14 Feb 2001
International tree biologist to meet with Dallas environmental science academy students FEB. 15-16 International tree biologist Dr. Reese Halter, founder of the research institute Global Forest, will participate in science classes at Dallas Environmental Science Academy to discuss with students their weather-station discoveries 8:30 a.m.-noon Thursday, Feb. 15, and how to expand their exploration. The academy is located at 2940 Singleton Blvd. The middle school science students will get a chance to compare scientific findings with the forest explorer and author who donated their school's weather station.
The Dallas Environmental Science Academy is one of 14 schools on four continents to receive data from the state-of the-art weather station. For almost a year now, the students have been comparing their data with counterparts in Canada, Great Britain, Israel and Australia.
The weather station includes instruments for measuring wind speed and direction, a gauge that measures rate as well as amount of rainfall, a barometer, a thermometer and instruments for measuring both solar and ultraviolet radiation. The equipment is connected to computers whose software allows the students to print out graphics showing weather patterns recorded over periods of time.
Along with his school projects, Dr. Halter has personally financed more than 50 scientific projects on three continents including studies exploring ant colonies in Japan, the relationship between fog and redwoods in northern California, and the genetic extinction of fish in southeastern British Columbia.
"Kids are going to be the salvation of our wild forests," says Dr. Halter. "These weather stations and our other educational initiatives are designed to get them motivated, mobilized and influential in forest exploration and conservation".