November: Community Connections
“If you don’t know where you are, you don’t know who you are.” Wendell Berry
What is a community?
A human community is a group of people who live and interact with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental, social, and political conditions. A natural community is a group of plants and animals that live and interact with one another in a specific region under similar environmental conditions.
Our human communities are essential for our daily life. They satisfy our needs for food, and shelter, as well as provide social interactions. Human communities are dependent on the larger natural community which contains the soil, water, air, plants, and animals on which the human community is sustained. The natural community supports itself and our civilizations.
Every community is unique. Each has its own historical background, natural resources, attractions and unique features.
Community History
Study the history of the human and natural community in your area. What was here before? How has it changed? Who settled your community? What traditions did they bring with them?
Prairie Voices: Iowa Heritage Curriculum
http://www.uni.edu/iowaonline/prairievoices/index.htm#I.%20The%20Land%20and%20the%20Built%20Environment
Explorations in Iowa History Project
http://www.uni.edu/iowahist/Default.htm
Iowa Folklife: Our People, Communities, and Traditions
http://www.uni.edu/iowaonline/folklife/intro/index.htm
IPTV Iowa Pathways: Explore Iowa History
http://www.iptv.org/iowapathways/
Creative Teaching with Historic Places
http://crm.cr.nps.gov/issue.cfm?volume=23&number=08
Reflections of Yesterday: Processes for Investigating Local History
http://moodle.aeapdonline.org/file.php/638/Reflections_of_Yesterday_Processes_for_Investigating_Local_History.pdf
People, Communities, and Their Iowa Environment
http://moodle.aeapdonline.org/file.php/638/People%20Communities%20and%20their%20Iowa%20Environment.pdf?=
Iowa’s Biological Communities
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/IAN201.pdf
Changing Land Use and Values
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/IAN501.pdf
Iowa Biodiversity
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Publications/IAN407.pdf
