Blog posts categorized by Learning Science

Hunting for Harmful Algal Blooms (Video)

Max Hermanson ·
25 October 2019
Learning Science | 

Over the summer I had the good fortune of accompanying Judy O'Neil and a score of other scientists on a two-day research cruise off the coast of Ocean City and Assateague Island. The purpose of the cruise was to gather data on offshore harmful algal blooms (HABs), whose appearances are becoming more frequent with increasing global temperatures and excess nutrient runoff.

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Monitoring conferences in 2019

Caroline Donovan ·
25 April 2019
Environmental Literacy | Science Communication | Learning Science | 

This past March I had the pleasure of attending both the Citizen Science Association’s biennial conference (CitSci2019) and the 2019 National Monitoring Conference. Going to back-to-back monitoring conferences presents an opportunity to highlight the similarities and differences within one seemingly homogeneous topic. I attended the CSA 2019 conference with Alexandra Fries and Suzi Spitzer.

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Western Lake Erie environmental literacy

Bill Dennison ·
23 April 2019
Environmental Literacy | Environmental Report Cards | Science Communication | Learning Science | 

Lake Erie is one of five Great Lakes between the United States and Canada. The Great Lakes form the largest freshwater system on the planet, containing approximately 1/5 of the world's freshwater supply. Lake Erie is the southern most Great Lake located downstream of Lakes Superior, Michigan and Huron, but upstream of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. The great lakes at night from above. Photo National Weather Services.

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Uncovering five values of citizen science at CitSci2019

Suzanne Webster ·
15 April 2019
Science Communication | Learning Science | 

Last month, Caroline, Alex, and I attended the Citizen Science Association (CSA) conference, CitSci2019, from March 13-16th in Raleigh, North Carolina. This conference was a great opportunity for us to learn more about what is happening in the field of citizen science, network with other professionals, and share updates on some of the projects that we are involved in at IAN.

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Chesapeake Bay SAV Watchers: A new citizen science program for monitoring Bay grasses

Suzanne Webster ·
12 April 2019
Learning Science | 

Last month we put the finishing touches on a year-long effort to develop a monitoring program for volunteers who collect data on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) throughout the Chesapeake Bay. The new program is called Chesapeake Bay SAV Watchers. Throughout this project, we collaborated with various stakeholders, including SAV experts, volunteer monitoring coordinators, and citizen scientists.

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Spanning boundaries at the Society for Applied Anthropology conference

Suzanne Webster ·
1 April 2019
Applying Science | Learning Science |     1 comments

Earlier this month, Bill, Katie May, Vanessa, and I travelled to Portland, Oregon to attend the Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) conference from March 19-23. We were all excited for the opportunity to learn from researchers and practitioners who work in the social sciences, and to absorb new ideas and approaches that will help us enhance IAN’s capacity to do work that spans natural and social science disciplines.

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An Array and a Ray

Kate Petersen ·
11 February 2019
Learning Science |     1 comments

Photo credit: SERC … This blog post is the second of a two-post series examining cownose ray (Rhinoptera bonasus) history and ecology in the Chesapeake Bay. Hauled aboard a fishing vessel on the Chesapeake Bay, most of the creatures caught in the net would never return to the sea. But one supple parallelogram with a kind smile was afforded a less adverse fate.

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