Author Archives: Nissa McKinney

  • A Forest Service employee stands next to a child who is trying on firefighting gear.
    October is Fire Prevention Month! While many of the month’s activities are focused on what you can do to prevent fires at home (check your smoke detectors and change your batteries!), Fire Pre...

    Fire Prevention Month: Careers in Fire Prevention

    | | Events
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  • A display of three different Readers with an illustrated bee
    Reader Strategies Blog Series In this series, we will be walking through some strategies for using the Natural Inquirer Readers with children from kindergarten through 2nd grade. Eac...

    Reader Strategy 1: Fiction and Nonfiction

    | | Teaching Strategies
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  • Official graphic for National Public Lands Day 2024
    People across the nation will join “Together for Tomorrow” on September 28 for National Public Lands Day. Maybe a special birthday (looking at you, Woodsy Owl) will be inspiring them to “Le...

    National Public Lands Day . . . and a Special Birthday!

    | | Events
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  • The covers of Meet Smokey Bear's Team and Meet Dr. Warwell with a banner reading
    We have two Readers newly available on our website for order or download (FREE!). One of them, Meet Smokey Bear’s Team, is brand new and was released in time to commemorate Smokey Bear’s 80th bir...

    This Just In! New Readers from Natural Inquirer

    | | This Just In
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  • The Woodsy Owl journal, Advanced Fire Scientist coloring book, and Roderquita Moore's scientist card.
    The summer has flown by and already it’s time to gear ourselves up for another year of learning adventures! The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time of new possibilities, fresh f...

    Back to School with Natural Inquirer

    | | Events, From the Library
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  • A man stands outdoors and holds a ball python around his neck and across his shoulders
    Who doesn’t enjoy a leisurely stroll on a sunny day? Mooshu the ball python enjoys his walks from the vantage point of Forest Service ecologist Victor Fitzgerald’s shoulders. “We walk him aroun...

    Outdoor Safety for Outdoor Exploration

    | | NI in the Field
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  • Students take a photo of a sample area marked by a pink ring on a rock face.
    Looking for ways to bring education outdoors? Whether you are an environmental educator on a park or forest, a classroom teacher for Pre-K to 12th grade students, or a parent looking for outdoor enri...

    The Outdoor Activity Compendium

    | | From the Library
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  • Collage of the six new scientist cards featured in the blog
    We have a new batch of scientist and engineer cards joining our collection! We love featuring the huge variety of people and careers in the Forest Service. Learn about how they got interested in thei...

    This Just In! New Scientist Collector Cards

    | | This Just In
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  • Two people sit in camp chairs beside a tent and look down towards a body of water where a kayaker is paddling.
    Kids are out of school for summer, vacations and camps are in full swing, and the outdoors are calling! How do we carve out time to enjoy the outdoors and all the benefits it has to offer? Natural In...

    Great Outdoors Month 2024

    | | Events, Nature Health Benefits
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  • A bee in a pink flower, both coated in pollen.
    National Pollinator Week (June 17-23, 2024) is around the corner, so let’s learn about some ways we can all help native pollinators. Did You Know? Bees aren’t...

    Pollinator Week 2024

    | | Events, Let's Learn About . . .
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    Nissa McKinney stands outside next to a wooden walkway.

    Nissa McKinney

    I am a science writer for Natural Inquirer. I work with scientists to translate their research into language that’s easy for students to understand. I used to be a high school English teacher, so I love getting to connect with other students and teachers across the country. In my spare time, I love to sew and knit, travel to new places, and hang out with my two children, my husband, my friends, and my pets – seven cats and one dog!