The news coverage of the destruction from the tornadoes in Oklahoma is pretty devastating. Rather than watch endless shots of newscasters wandering through the rubble, I’ve been paying attention to folks in the geoblogosphere who are speaking to the science as well as the disaster – particularly Dan Satterfield over at Dan’s Wild Wild Science Journal. He’s been doing a fantastic job blogging and tweeting about not only the scientific aspects of the tornado but the situation on the ground.

As much as I wish I could be out doing disaster prevention work, I’m not able to just yet. But there are other ways to help. The Red Cross can always take donations, the Oklahoma Humane Society is asking for help to take care of the animals who have suffered alongside their humans, and Callan’s mentioned a few other options in his recent post (particularly letting your congresspeople know that yes, you do want them to keep funding the National Weather Service, which definitely saved lives on Monday).

But I also got an email from DonorsChoose, which is the go-to charity of the geoblogosphere for promoting science in the classroom. They’ve set up a special recovery fund for the schools that were destroyed in Moore, Oklahoma on Monday, and have specified that any donations will go directly to the teachers and students who need them. (They’ve also done similar things for Joplin and Sandy Hook in the wake of the tornadoes and hurricane last year.) I’ve always been impressed with their efforts in the past, and I’m happy to see that they’ve found a way to help students who have lost their schools entirely.