As the only two Science Communication Assistants on the Integration and Application Network’s little team, it was a great feeling for Emily Nastase and I to venture out on our own and attend a workshop in New York City in search of new ways to present data and expand our science visualization toolboxes. The workshop fell on Monday, August 21st - the same day as the eclipse! - down in Midtown Manhattan, at the Dolby Theatre on 54th St.

Read more

In late June, I accompanied Dr. Judy O’Neil into New York City for the Billion Oyster Project’s annual symposium. Before attending the conference, which I wrote about in another blog, I spent part of an afternoon exploring Manhattan. I spent most of my time wandering past the 9/11 memorials and new buildings. I ate cheap (but shockingly good) pizza, visited Wall Street, and even took the time to write a quick note to myself: At the foot of the World Trade Center.

Read more

On August 2nd, 2017 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the IAN team hosted the first of three Everglades regional workshops in order to develop the Everglades Report Card and 2019 System Status Report. This workshop laid the groundwork for grading the Southern Coastal Systems region of the Everglades, which encompasses Florida Bay, Biscayne Bay, and most of the south Florida coastline. This region in particular is highly impacted by changes in the hydrology of the system.

Read more

After the afternoon talks ended at the aquarium and before drinks and dinner began, the Tennessee River Basin Network (TRBN) and UMCES held a short session on the Tennessee River report card. We were happy with the high attendance at our session and the progress we made during it. I started the session off with a spoken version of a song, adapted from the Chattanooga Choo Choo swing band song from 1941. The lyrics are as follows: The Chattanooga Choo Choo.

Read more

A large contingent from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) participated in the Tennessee River Basin Network (TRBN) annual meeting in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 15-16 Aug 2017. The contingent included Heath Kelsey, Dylan Taillie and Bill Dennison from the UMCES Integration and Application Network and Andrew Elmore and Eric Davidson from UMCES Appalachian Laboratory.

Read more

On July 21, 2017, the Guanabara Bay Report Card was released in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is the first ecosystem health report card in Brazil, and the second report card we have done in South America. The first report card in South America was for the Orinoco River in Colombia last year. For the Guanabara Bay Report Card, we partnered with PSAM (Environmental Sanitation Program of the municipalities surrounding the Guanabara Bay) with support from the Inter-American Development Bank.

Read more

As I learn more about science communication at IAN, I have begun to observe the plethora of methods available for science communication. "Whirling disease," written by professor R. T. Smith of Washington and Lee University, struck me as a particularly mesmerizing and pertinent example. R.T. Smith is the current producer of the Shenandoah Literary Magazine, and often contributes to other literary journals.

Read more

What makes a port city iconic? Geography, history, sense of place, water everywhere, economic engines, melting pots and vistas. My first visit to Rio de Janeiro convinced me to include this harbor city in my short list of iconic global ports. My previous personal list for amazing harbor cities was the following: New York City in the United States of America (USA), San Francisco in the USA, Sydney in Australia, and Cape Town in South Africa.

Read more

Environmental literacy principles for the Tuul River, Mongolia … • The Tuul River in northcentral Mongolia is a tributary to the Orkhon River. The Orkhon River flows through Lake Baikal, Russia via the Selenga River and into the Yenesei River, which is the largest tributary into the Arctic Ocean. • Water from the Tuul River is heavily utilized, mostly for domestic and industrial use in their capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Read more

Several weeks ago, I attended a symposium for the Billion Oyster Project with Dr. Judy O’Neil. This marked my first time in New York City and my first oyster conference. On the day of the symposium, Judy and I walked to the ferry terminal, located in the Battery Maritime Building. My first thought was how pungently it smelled like a city. I grew up in the country, so I’m used to the earthy scent of woods and fields.

Read more