Lifetimes by David L. Rice… Rice, D.L. (1997). Lifetimes. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications. Book review by Lacey Moore; Environmental Educator

-The Plants and Animals of Lifetimes

This is a great book to incorporate into outdoor science school, traditional curricula, or other environmental education programs or workshops. It is a book written (and beautifully illustrated) by two California natives to illustrate the wisdom and importance of every organism on earth. They do this by describing the lifetimes and consequential lessons that various “children of the Universe” teach us. The lifetimes of twenty organisms (plants, animals, and the earth itself) are featured in this book. The book begins with the day long lifetime of a mayfly who teaches us how much can be accomplished in one day. The sixty five year long lifetime of an elephant reminds us to be kind and gentle, especially to those who are not as big or smart as we are. The book ends with the average eighty five year lifetime of a boy or girl. We are important because we are “one of the most creative living things on the Earth. [We] have the ability to take information and ideas and use them to imagine new ideas. [We] also have the ability to one of the most loving and caring creatures on earth. By combining [our] ability to create with [our] ability to care, [we] can help make this ‘Spaceship Earth’ a better place for all us passengers.”

I have used this book in a couple of different ways. When teaching a week long program with a consistent group of kids (or adults!), I have read two or three “lifetimes” a day and asked the group to pick out the adaptations of the organism. I have also used the lifetime of an individual organism to introduce ecological concepts like habitat, carrying capacity, competition, niche, cycles, etc when I have less time and am doing a single daily or hourly program. “Tell about it,” “think about it,” and “look it up” questions occur with each lifetime description as well. These are great to either discuss out loud or have students/participants privately reflect upon in a journal or free write session. For example, the “tell about it” for an earthworm is “tell about a time when you did a good deed, such as picking up trash or helping a spider or bug, and no one saw you do it.” The “look it up” states, “worms can tell if it is light or dark, even though they don’t have eyes. How can they tell?”

The great thing about this book is that it ends describing a human’s lifetime while challenging people to act. It empowers the readers (or listeners?) to appreciate and observe each organism for all of the contributions it makes to the world, life, and universe in general. It encourages people to make a difference. I like to read this story at the end of a week or day to motivate participants/ students to apply what they have learned in any way they can.

Lacey is currently completing her master’s in environmental education from Cal State San Bernardino and working as a substitute naturalist for LA County Outdoor Science School in Wrightwood.