Chesapeake Bay Watershed Report Card released!
On May 19th, Chesapeake Bay Watershed Report Card was released during a virtual event. Speakers included Dr. Peter Goodwin, Dr. Bill Dennison, Secretary Ben Grumbles, Secretary Matthew J. Strickler, Ann Swanson, Kate Fritz, Jake Reilly, and Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. For the first time, Chesapeake Bay watershed health was scored as part of the report card and scored a B- grade. The Chesapeake Bay health score decreased in 2019, dropping from a grade of C to a C-. In addition to ecological indicators, societal indicators were included for the first time. There were over 90 people watching the live webinar event, and 95 million people were reached through traditional and social media. You can view the full report card document here or visit the report card website here.
IAN's staff continues to grow and evolve
IAN graduate student Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen was conferred with the first Ph.D. under the Environment and Society foundation of MEES during the virtual UMCES commencement ceremony. She is now a science integrator at IAN and will spearhead the upcoming COAST Card project. Science communication intern Annie Carew is joining IAN staff as a science communicator. She graduated from UMCES last year. IAN's program manager Alexandra Fries was promoted to FRA3. She was also nominated as the FRA representative to the UMCES faculty senate.
Coming soon: online River Academy science communication training course
River Academy, the latest initiative from International River Foundation, is an interactive learning platform designed to teach anyone in river-related topics. Current course offerings include Leadership for River Practitioners, River Resilience, Science Communication, and River Restoration - Form and Function. IAN is developing the introductory course in Science Communication, which will cover topics ranging from storytelling strategies, to color theory, to data visualization. Upon completing a course with River Academy, participants will be issued a digital badge to showcase on their CV/resume.
International Seagrass Biology Workshop POSTPONED
Due to the global coronavirus pandemic, ISBW14 and WSC2020 are postponed until summer 2022. We will update everyone as we have more information. Please discontinue abstract submission at this time, and stay safe and healthy. Visit the ISBW14 website for more details.