Blog & Video Highlights
Video
- Eric Davidson's Science for Citizen seminar, titled Global, National & Local Trends of Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Agriculture, is now available on IAN's website or YouTube.
Blog
- 2015 promises to be an exciting year for Chesapeake Bay
- Growth and Future of Chesapeake Bay conference at Hood College
- USAUS-H2O Annapolis-Washington DC workshop
Chesapeake Bay health story website launched
A new website designed to tell fact-based stories about Chesapeake Bay health was produced by IAN in a partnership with the Maryland state government. This website uses water quality, fisheries and habitat data, various maps and graphs to create a narrative version of the historical and future trends of Chesapeake Bay health. The website displays annual maps and graphs using a slider bar on a timeline and is richly illustrated with photographs, maps, conceptual diagrams and data graphs. The website also describes major causes of pollution, solutions to challenges, and addresses future directions. We are very interested in obtaining feedback on the website and encourage comments, suggestions or additional information sources.
USAUS H20 U.S. Teacher Workshop 2015
IAN completed its second teacher-training workshop for the USAUS-H2O project in Annapolis, MD. This exciting project aims to educate and inform responsible stewardship of water resources between U.S. and Australian students through an interactive virtual partnership. Teachers from eight schools from around the U.S. are partners in the project including: Mendocino High School (California), Holy Rosary High School (Louisiana), Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child (New Jersey), The Barrie School (Maryland), The Benjamin School (Florida), Zionsville Community High School (Indiana), Cleveland High School (Oregon), and Boothbay Region High School (Maine). The two day workshop included familiarization with the virtual platform that teachers and students will use throughout the project, an introduction to science communication, and a visit to the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C. We are so excited to have such a wonderful group of enthusiastic U.S. teachers on board to work with their counterparts in Australia in educating students about their local urban water cycles. The USAUS-H2O project is jointly funded by the Australian Department of Education and Training and the U.S. Department of State.
Jamnagar 2015 Ecosystem Health Report Card released
The National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (NCSCM), Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), and the Gujarat Ecology Commission (GEC), Gujarat India, released the Marine National Park and Sanctuary (MNPS), Jamnagar 2015 Ecosystem Health Report Card. A science workshop was convened by GEC and NCSCM in Jamnagar in Gujarat State in September 2013. IAN facilitated the workshop, synthesized the results, and produced the report card in close consultation with workshop participants, NCSCM, GEC, Gujarat Ecological Education and Research Foundation, MNPS, and the Gujarat Pollution Control Board. The report card is the first for MNPS and will serve as a baseline to measure progress towards management goals and targets in the coming years.
IAN welcomes Mindy Ehrich
Melinda (Mindy) Ehrich is working at the Chesapeake Bay Program Office as a STAR (Scientific and Technical Analysis Reporting) Team Analyst, specifically working with monitoring needs and environmental indicators. She received her B.S. in Environmental Science from Virginia Tech in 2010, followed by a M.S. in Environmental Science from UMCES' own Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in May 2014. Under the advisement of Dr. Lora Harris, she modeled the effects of oyster allometry and reef morphology on filtration rate and particle capture of the eastern oyster. After graduate school, she continued working with oysters with a seasonal position at DNR's Piney Point Aquaculture facility. She currently lives in California, MD with her husband, as well as her dog, which she proudly rescued. She enjoys walking across the street from her house to enjoy the Patuxent River, bartending (Tiki Bar Solomons), watching and attending Virginia Tech football games, and going to the gym.