Great Lakes Worm Watch is a project that requires a half day training session that teaches you about the ecology, extraction, identification, and preservation of earthworms. Samples of worms are collected three times during late summer and early fall at different sites using the liquid mustard extraction method. By working in cooperation with Great Lakes Worm Watch out of Duluth, MN and uploading the data collected to the NatureMapping website, you provide valuable knowledge about the locations of established populations of earthworms in Wisconsin forests.
Calflora is a web site you can use to learn about about plants that grow in the wild in California: both native plants and weeds. You can enter the common or scientific name of a plant to view an illustrated table of plants that match the name you entered. Click one of the plants in the table to learn a lot of detail about that plant, in particular, where it's been observed in California. You can also enter a place and get an illustrated list of the plants that grow "here". You define "here" by zip code, place name, or any of a number of other ways. Then click "Search for Plants" to get an illustrated list of plants.
Cornell's Laboratory of Ornithology will develop the "Cornell Nest Box Network (CNN)". This is an educational/research project that will enable lay people to participate in scientific research and it builds on a successful NSF grant "National Science Experiments". For this project, CNN participants will build and place nest boxes in their communities and monitor the boxes gathering information on the breeding success of their occupants. Participants will summarize and analyze their data and then send it to the Lab for more comprehensive analysis. Lab biologists will analyze the compiled data and report results in a variety of media including scientific reports and popular newsletters. The CNN includes both an educational and research agenda. Participants will learn about birds while participating directly in the scientific process. The research questions, requiring huge, continent-wide databases, will focus on the effects of acid rain on bird populations, geographic variation in avian clutch size, effects of ectoparasites on nesting birds and population dispersal, among others. The protocol will encourage group participation and will be especially suitable for families. It will involve a corps of trained "ambassadors" who will help sustain the project a local levels. One of the goals of the project is to move participants up a ladder of science knowledge from projects involving minimal knowledge and skill to those requiring more. It also addresses national education standards that call for increased opportunities for students to engage in extended inquiry and authentic research activities. After the fourth development year, this research/education project will become self-sustaining.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Andre DhondtRick BonneyJohn FitzpatrickDavid Winkler