The use of symbols in the various conceptual diagrams that the Integration and Application Network staff have been employing as part of science communication taps an ancient and effective communication technique. Symbols are universal, transcending cultural and language barriers, as demonstrated by the global adoption of the IAN symbol libraries. I recently experienced two examples of the development and utilization of IAN symbols which shed light on the symbols that we employ.

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I attended "The Great Ocean Adventure: An evening with Jean-Michel Cousteau" event at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) in Baltimore's inner harbor on 9 October 2013. The event included dinner with fish that were raised in the Aquaculture Research Center, a facility pioneered by Yoni Zohar, which is developing sustainable aquaculture approaches using recirculating aquaculture facility in the ground level of IMET.

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John Bertram passed away last week in Brisbane, Australia. John and Sue Bertram were two of the first people that Judy and I met when I joined the Botany Department in 1992. John and Sue were one of the reasons I so very much enjoyed my decade at the University of Queensland. John was the department histologist and Sue was the department secretary.

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The Integration and Application Network has teamed up with Opinion Works LLC, an Annapolis based group of researchers interested in understanding behaviors related to environmental policies. This effort is funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and is part of the effort by the Mid-Atlantic Tributary Assessment Coalition of various watershed groups to effect better watershed stewardship.

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The 16th annual International Riversymposium was held in Brisbane, Australia during September 2013. I traveled to Australia with Heath Kelsey and we made presentations during a stimulating session on environmental report cards, which featured the long-term Southeast Queensland report card program, the Great Barrier Reef report card, our fledgling Mississippi River report card effort, and a bit about the process of creating and maintaining report cards.

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This was my first trip to the subcontinent so everything was new to me. The stopover in Mumbai (Bombay) was my first encounter with the traffic, noise, smells and crowds of people. The airport is surrounded by dense housing, much of which includes blue tarps and corrugated iron as roofing and walls. I could smell the masses of people, even in the airport.

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We were impressed with the industrious people in the region surrounding the Gulf of Kachchh. The Gulf of Kachchh is a major economic driver for India, importing and refining oil, and producing fertilizer, food and salt. The rich natural and cultural resources were considerable. The abundant bird life, wildlife, mangroves, corals and fisheries are examples of the rich natural resources. Corn, cotton and other crops are grown in the region, and the region is also known for its dairy products.

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We conducted a second workshop in Gandhinagar, the capitol of Gugarat, India, which immediately followed our report card workshop in Jamnagar. This workshop was held at the Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation. Gandhinanger was about 5 hours drive from our report card workshop in Jamnagar. GEER is a bit like one of the UMCES laboratories with an environmental research and education mission.

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The IAN crew (Bill Dennison, Heath Kelsey, Bill Nuttle, Caroline Wicks) traveled to Moline, Illinois to facilitate the first of a series of workshops that will occur throughout the massive Mississippi River watershed. This workshop was focused on the Upper Mississippi River watershed - extending from Minnesota and Wisconsin in the north,including large portions of Illinois, Iowa and Missouri, and extends to the junction of the Missouri River near St. Louis, MO.

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We had two field trips to the Gulf of Kachchh. One trip was to the Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary near Jamnagar. We visited in the late afternoon and were treated to a nice breeze and a beautiful sunset over the water. The sanctuary used a levee with spillways to impound freshwater to maintain high quality bird habitat during the dry season.

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