Kurt Hollecher.
Intricate patterns and resplendent colors can be found in any aspect of nature ... even in her basic building blocks, minerals and rocks. This is an image of staurolite, garnet, and fibrous sillimanite in a schist taken from Kurt Hollecher's web site. He has a dozen more of these images produced from thin slices of rock showing the minerals that make up rocks.

Newsgroups:
• sci.geo.geology

Wind & Water

Weather Mania
A place where you can find a variety of weather information and links.

Newsgroups:
• alt.talk.weather
• sci.geo.hydrology
• sci.geo.meteorology
• sci.geo.rivers+lakes

The Sea

Cousteau Society
On June 25, 1997, Jacques-Yves Cousteau passed away. He was an explorer, adventurer, conservationist, enchanter, and probably most important -- a teacher. Visit the web site that is in both english and french. Cousteau's famed exploration ship sank in Singapore in 1996, but his widow has vowed to continue plans for the Calypso II.

Ocean Planet Exhibition
A site from the Smithsonian for exploring our oceans and seas. In their words: "This exhibition reminds us that in ways we may never have even considered, we're all seafarers, and it offers us ways to become more seaworthy--to think about what everyone can do to conserve the Ocean Planet." I Couldn't have said it any better. A definite must see. Stop in and browse through the exhibit (floor plan included).

Newsgroups:
• sci.geo.oceanogrpaphy

The Heavens

NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is a great place to begin any journey through the stars. It has FAQ's; links to other NASA organizations; photo, audio, and video galleries; and great online informational services. One of the most educational government sites I've found, fulfilling one of their stated goals to .. "enlighten inquisitive minds!"

Plant World

Virtual Garden
An absolute monster of a site, so much that I still haven't experienced it all. Multi-layered with information, searches, bulletin boards,and even chat rooms.

Minter Gardens
The actual gardens are located in British Columbia and they have some great photos, but this link is to their excellent tip of the day page. They also have an archive of previous tips.

Mary's Garden
Dedicated to the flowers named in medieval times as symbols of the Blessed Virgin Mary as recorded by botanists, folklorists, and lexicographers. Lots of pictures of these "Flowers of Our Lady."

Joseph Zorin and Assocites
From forest management consultants with some interesting general forestry stuff including a lot of good selections from Walden Pond by Thoreau, and some excellent links.

American Forests
A citizens conservation group for trees and forests working for healthy communities and forest ecosystems. In existance since 1875, its the oldest national organization of its kind in the U.S.

Arbor Day Foundation
Front page news for the world of trees.

Forest History Society
Links the past to the future by identifying, collecting, preserving, interpreting, and disseminating information. Established in 1946, its focus is on the history of interactions between people, forests, and their related resources -- timber, water, soil, forage, fish and wildlife, recreation, and scenic or spiritual values.

Herbal Village
Located in "Natural Land." It has botanical descriptions; growing and cooking herbs; medicinal remedies; and discussion groups.

Herb FAQ's
A very comprehensive listing of frequently asked questions taken from postings on the newsgroups.

Newsgroups:
• alt.binaries.pictures.gardens (has some great images)
• bionet.plants
• rec.gardens
• alt.folklore.herbs
• sci.agriculture
• bionet.agroforestry
• sci.bio.botany

Animal Friends

Hugs For Homeless Animals
Home of the Snuggles Project who provide blankets for homeless animals in shelters. Includes tips on pet ownership. Also has a worldwide animal shelter directory (organized by state), and lost and found pet page.

Feline Information Page
Contains articles on cats. A good place to start.

Gable's Raccoon World
Has information on volunteer wildlife rescue work focusing on raccoon experiences. Good tips and links on raccoons, wildlife, and nature resources, including rehab and rabies info. Has tales of Meeko, The 3 Babies, Tiki, Poko & Mandi. On the darker side -- coon hunting and raccoon terrorizing is addressed.

House Rabbit Society
Rescues abandoned rabbits and educates the public on rabbit care. Includes information on rabbit care, behavior, and adoption, as well as a page for the kids. It has some good pictures of rabbits too.

The Guinea Pig Hutch
Has great information on the care of Guinea pigs including nutrition, housing, biological data, guinea pig language, and more. Also has a Guinea pig photo album.

The Bear Den
Just as the name implies. Lots of the bear facts (pun intended) on eight species of bears, fun facts, a memory game, and links to other sites.

Yucky Bug World
So as not to overlook the insects in the animal world, this site calls itself the yuckiest site on the net. It has even focused on everything you want to know about the lovable and cuddly cockroach.

Alternative Animal Recipes
If Yucky Bug World wasn't yucky enough, there's this site for those angered by the senseless slaughter of animals for food. Just like grandma used to make.

Honey Bees and Beekeeping
If you want to know about honey bees and and how to take care of them, check out this site which describes rooftop beekeeping, how to begin beekeeping, and pest control. Good educational value with subjects such as Inside A Bee Hive, About Bee Swarms, the Queen-Drone-Worker, and first aid if you get stung. Also includes some games.

Amphibians
Over 40 images of amphibians from Sorin Damian, a "naturalist in love with photography."

Newsgroups:
• alt.animals (topics on animals in general)
• alt.animals.wildlife (devoted specifically to wild animals)
• alt.animals.{badgers,bears,dolphins,foxes, racoons}
• alt.animals.felines.{lions,lynxes,snowleopards}
• talk.politics.animals (for political discussions)
• alt.binaries.pictures.animals (pictures)
• alt.pictures.fuzzy.animals (more pictures)
• For discussions outside of the newsgroups, there is Nature Net which has a number of forums covering different aspects of nature.

The Environment

Wired for Conservation
A great web site from the Nature Conservancy, an organization dedicated to the ideals of protecting our environment, but through positive and realistic solutions for all parties concerned. Catch their mentoring project where they plan to bring 500,000 children to nature preserves throughout the United States, all through private donations.

Environmental Education
Provides information and ideas to help educators explore environmental issues with students. Includes resoures, contacts, reference material, and regional information. Even if you don't teach, the reference area is a great place in which to browse.

Tree of Knowledge
From a true nature enthusiast. A site dedicated to promoting understanding and respect for the natural world through the use of art and activities. Includes information, instruction, and motivation to guide you in sharing nature with your friends and family.

Keep America Beautiful
Dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and environment in American communities and improving waste handling practices. A good site with lots of information, teaching aids, events, and stuff for the kids.

Envirommental Information Center
A resource center for major public education campaigns about environmental issues, largely through a network of grassroots organizers.

Friends of the Earth
An environmental advocacy organization founded in 1969. They dedicate themselves to protecting the earths's environment and preserving its biologic diversity; empowering citizens to influence the decisions affecting the quality of their environment and consequently their lives.

Recycling Guide
This is a great place to start to answer all your recycling questions. Billed as the information center for regular folks, their goal is to help make recycling easy and automatic.

Newsgroups:
• alt.org.earthfirst
• alt.save.the.earth
• bionet.ecology.physiology
• earth.general
• sci.bio.conservation
• sci.bio.ecology
• sci.environment
• talk.environment