IAN in 2015
The Integration and Application Network has an exciting 2015 ahead. IAN has undergone a staffing expansion, with five new staff based at the Chesapeake Bay Program, a new administrative staff position, and two PhD students beginning in January 2015. A concerted teaching effort by IAN is being launched in 2015, with full semester courses in Science for Environmental Management (Spring 2015) and Communicating Science Effectively (Autumn) being offered. In addition to our ongoing Chesapeake Bay and Maryland Coastal Bays projects, we are looking forward to exciting projects in New York (Long Island Sound report card and New York Harbor School - Billion Oyster Project), India (with the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management) and Australia (Charles Darwin University and Great Barrier Reef Foundation). We have a great set of partners that we will be working with this year on a diverse suite of projects.
IAN in The Big Apple!
IAN traveled to New York City on February 9-13 for the Curriculum and Community Enterprise for New York Harbor Restoration in New York City Public Schools project. This NSF-funded project, co-led by PACE University's School of Education and the Billion Oyster Project, aims to deliver environmental restoration education to New York City public schools. IAN is developing a digital platform that will allow students and teachers to access and analyze real time water quality data, view progress of restoration efforts, and create and access new curriculum. As part of the site visit, the IAN team met with the project partners and were introduced to the teachers who will participate in the first year of the fellowship program. The visit also included a ferry ride to Governor's Island to visit the offices of the Billion Oyster Project, and tour the New York Harbor School, as well as a visit to the New York Aquarium. IAN members involved in the project include Bill Dennison, Simon Costanzo, Tracey Saxby, Adrian Jones, Judy O'Neil, and Suzi Spitzer.
IAN attends NSF STEM Design Week in NY Harbor
IAN team members made their way up to New York City for Summer Design Week, a three day conference organized by Pace University. The week was an opportunity to bring partners on the NY Harbor STEM project together in order to give updates, collaborate, and encourage team building. It was here IAN unveiled the new digital platform, an app that students will use to record data at restoration sites. A highlight of the trip was Billion Oyster Project's inaugural STEM Symposium at Governors Island, where partners on the NY Harbor project were able to meet and interact with the middle school students and teachers who will be engaging in the program. Out on Governors Island everyone enjoyed seeing environmental projects done by graduating seniors at The Harbor School, eating oysters and cheeseburgers while looking out on the harbor from the admiral's house, and watching 'Superhero Clubhouse' perform a NY Harbor restoration themed musical production entitled 'Salty Folk'.
A Look Inside New York Harbor poster released for classroom use
IAN released a new poster titled "A Look Inside NY Harbor" for use in classrooms. The poster is available on IAN's website and is an offshoot from the Billion Oyster Project. IAN Science Communicator Brianne Walsh developed a series of four conceptual diagrams for this poster which illustrate the complex waterways, urban development, and iconic structures of New York Harbor. These cross-sectional diagrams transect the land and waterways at well-known locations such as the George Washington Bridge and the Statue of Liberty. The diagrams highlight natural features such as fish habitat or sediment type, the location of infrastructure such as the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, as well as cities and boroughs.
IAN projects become journal publications!
IAN staff published journal papers. Dylan Taillie and Dr. Bill Dennison collaborated with Dr. Judy O’Neil of Horn Point Laboratory to release an assessment of the water quality within the New York Harbor estuarine system. Read about gradients and trends in New York Harbor water quality here. A second publication that described three ecosystem health report cards as case studies, focusing on the various challenges presented by each case and outlining IAN's process of integration for report card production, was authored by Katie May Laumann, Emily Nastase, Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen, Heath Kelsey, Annie Carew, Caroline Donovan, Alex Fries, Suzi Spitzer, and Bill Dennison.