The Natural Source

The Natural Source project was a broad-based collaboration. It was designed to produce environmental education materials for K-12 teachers in South Dakota, in order to help teachers focus their classes on South Dakota natural resources and problems. These materials were topic-specific, and were presented as individual “fact sheets”. The fact sheets are accurate, science-based, and up-to-date (through 1998). The Natural Source does not strive to advocate any one position. Rather, its purpose is to promote an open dialogue on environmental topics by making a diversity of resources available to South Dakota’s students and teachers.

Initially The Natural Source was distributed in 3-ringed binders, free-of-charge. In 2021, the South Dakota Geological Survey scanned the entire project, placing it on the South Dakota Geological Survey website to make it available in an electronic format to all persons. Some material may not be current; for example, the directory. However, most information remains timeless.

This project was conceived by Dr. Erika Tallman at Northern State University. She brought together more than 40 research scientists, resource experts, and educators across South Dakota from the late 1980’s through the 1990’s to write and publish this document. The South Dakota Geological Survey would like to thank Dr. Tallman for her contribution, her dedication, and her persistence in bringing this valuable resource to the people of South Dakota.