I had the chance to go catch up with students from the Maine School of Science and Mathematics for a weekend of learning and sharing about research careers here in Maine. The students left the potato fields of Limestone, and I left the bustling metropolis of Portland, and we met up at the Schoodic Education Research Institute along with scientists from the National Park Service, Bigelow Laboratory, Jackson Laboratory, and GMRI....
The Maine Forest Service will begin a hemlock woolly adelgid survey on Mount Desert Island. Today's press release encourages people on MDI and throughout Maine to check hemlock trees for the adelgid, and to use Vital Signs to report what they find. Check it out....
Jamien and Amy are two teachers in the Vital Signs community. Their students have been hard at work exploring their local ecosystems. I'll give you some hints, and see if you can guess where these student scientists are hard at work.
There have been so many awesome species observations this fall. Check out these observations. Tell us what makes a good observation or even a great observation!
The fall field season has been a busy one. Students and citizen scientists have added valuable found and not found data to the Vital Signs database on invasive and native species across the state, playing an essential role in statewide efforts to document and respond to invasive species.
Guy Meader - grade 7 science and math teacher extraordinaire in Augusta - reflects candidly on his rookie year with Vital Signs. Guy is an enthusiastic member of our 2010 Citizen Science in Classrooms cohort that implemented the Population change over time unit of study.
The June Teacher Institute was a great success with an incredible group of teachers and educators. For a taste, here are some shots of our biodiversity investigation at Fort Williams Park in Cape Elizabeth.
Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge staff and a group of committed volunteers staged a well fought battle against invading garlic mustard in and around a rare plant area in Kittery on Tuesday, May 11th.
On a walk through Mill Creek Park in South Portland, the Mahoney Environmental Explorers noticed that a woody vine with orange berries was wrapping itself around a large bush with winged stems. “That is strange,” said a curious explorer.
