‘Environmental Literacy’ series … • Guanabara Bay is a tropical (22°S) embayment with a restricted opening which forms a natural harbor in Southeast Brazil with a monsoonal/savanna climate. • The watershed around Guanabara Bay is an internationally iconic location, including metropolitan areas like Rio de Janeiro, Niteroi and Sao Goncalo, beaches like Copacabana and Ipanema, and sights like Sugarloaf and Corcovado.

The Integration and Application Network (IAN) staff recently completed teaching a new course in Science Visualization. This course was part of the Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Science (MEES) Program through the University System of Maryland. Praxis, the word that Aristotle used to mean "thoughtful, practical doing", refers to the emphasis that this course had on developing the practical skills of science visualization.

The … Five IAN workshop components: 1. Workshop preparation. Workshop preparation is important, but often overlooked. Preparation includes carefully formulating a list of invitees well in advance in order to maximize participation of key people. An attempt is usually made to assemble a diverse set of participants to ensure diverse input and to avoid leaving out potential detractors. It is generally better to have detractors in the room than outside undermining the effort.

This blog is part of the Basin Report Card Initiative: a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) We have had two retreats with our WWF colleagues on the front porch of the DuPont House which serves as the Center Administration for UMCES. The DuPont House is on the Choptank River and we can enjoy the view while brainstorming and writing. We find that our retreats with WWF are very productive and immersive.

This blog is part of the Basin Report Card Initiative: a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) Don Boesch and I had lunch with our World Wildlife Fund colleagues Carter Roberts and Tom Dillon recently. Carter asked a question that a) we couldn’t answer immediately, and b) stimulated me to think about what makes our partnership unique.

Conceptual cross-section diagrams are a new technique developed by the IAN symbol library, allows for a geographically accurate depiction of coastal waterways. The first use of these cross-section approach was for New York Harbor, developed because of the complex waterways, islands, bridges and tunnels in New York Harbor. Brianne Walsh created a series of multiple cross sections using east-west transects extending from New Jersey to Long Island.

As part our two-day workshop with the South Central Climate Science Center to discuss ecological drought in March 2016, I have presented the following songs: Red River Valley … 29 Mar 2016 … William “Woody” Dennison … Come and develop adaptations, if you like me … Do not hasten to bid drought adieu … Just remember the Red River Valley … And the cultural richness that is true.

Brianne Walsh organized a tour of the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma following our workshop with the South Central Climate Science Center in March 2016. The National Weather Service is part of NOAA, which operates the facility in a partnership with the University of Oklahoma. We were immediately impressed with the spacious interior atrium with a wall of large glass windows facing southwest.

A one-day conference sponsored by the Harry Hughes Agro-Ecology Center and Town Creek Foundation was held at the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club on 18 March 2016. This conference was originally scheduled earlier in the year, but it was snowed out. The venue on Kent Island was beautiful, with views of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. View of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from the Chesapeake Bay Beach Club where the conference was held.

As a participant of the EcoHealth Matrix workshop held at the Harte Research Institute in Corpus Christi, Texas on 9-11 March 2016, I found myself in the unusual position of not being one of the organizers or facilitators. With all this extra time on my hands, I wrote a series of songs throughout the workshop.