~ Early Web Links ~

Virginia Tech's Dendrology and Forest Biology site is a comprehensive academic resource for tree identification, featuring factsheets, ID keys, a vTree app, and databases covering superlative and remarkable trees. Built by Dr. John Seiler, John Peterson, and collaborators, it serves as a go-to reference for students, landowners, and naturalists interested in woody plants across North America.

Plants For A Future (PFAF) is a searchable database of over 8,000 plants catalogued by their edible, medicinal, and other practical uses, making it an essential reference for permaculture enthusiasts and herbalists alike. The site covers topics ranging from food forests and carbon farming to rare and unusual perennial plants, with browsable indexes and habitat guides built up over decades by a UK-registered charity.

Ariu is a high school junior from Indiana whose personal site documents a remarkable range of pursuits, from Drosophila genetics research and healthcare legislation advocacy to an AI tool for school nurses. The site serves as a living digital portfolio of someone genuinely engaged in science, medicine, and civic life at a young age.

Elasmo.com is a detailed reference site covering the teeth of both extinct and living elasmobranchs, the group that includes sharks and rays. Fossil enthusiasts and paleontology hobbyists will find specialized information on elasmobranch dental morphology, with a focus on Neogene-era specimens from sites like Lee Creek.

A digitized 1922 educational text by Charles Lathrop Pack, President of the American Tree Association, covering all aspects of forestry from how trees grow to national forest policy and the dangers of fire and disease. Hosted on Project Gutenberg, this freely available ebook spans 18 chapters and includes period photographs of forests, rangers, and fire damage, making it a fascinating historical resource on early American conservation thought.

Nature Camp is a collaborative MelonLand Guild bringing together nature enthusiasts who share a love of bugs, plants, mushrooms, rocks, and wildlife photography. The site features a member directory, forum discussion links, and curated nature resources like iNaturalist and BugGuide, all built and maintained collectively by its growing community.

ITIS is the official Integrated Taxonomic Information System, a partnership between U.S. federal agencies and global specialists providing authoritative scientific names and taxonomic classifications for plants, animals, fungi, and microbes worldwide. Researchers and biodiversity professionals can search by common name, scientific name, or TSN identifier, access hierarchical taxonomic reports, and download the full database for integration into their own projects.

Bugland is a Neocities site dedicated to insects and bugs, presenting a single striking image that hints at a nature-focused personal project. The minimal content suggests an early-stage site built around an enthusiasm for entomology and the tiny creatures of the natural world.

Created by Dick and Sandy Daniels, this site functions as a comprehensive online field guide covering over 10,000 bird species organized by genus and family, making it easy to compare related birds side by side. Entries span every major region of the world including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, with links to additional information for each species.

The Kentucky Paleontological Society maintains this hub for fossil enthusiasts in the Bluegrass State, featuring field trip reports, taxonomic fossil photo galleries, and an impressive library of digitized historical geology texts dating back to the 1860s. From Ordovician trilobites to tetrapod trackways, the site covers Kentucky's rich fossil record with resources for both amateur collectors and researchers.