Forum
2014 STEM
Ecology
May 3, 2014
Milfoil Mitigation Program Involving ROV Technology
Ryder Scott and Ryan LeShayne
University of Maine Cooperative Extension
4H Camp and Learning Center
Bryant Pond, ME
Bryant Pond is one of hundreds of lakes and ponds in Maine suffering from variable-leaf milfoil infestation. Milfoil, a weed-like invasive that grows in fresh water in depths up to 18 feet, destroys habitat for native species, and makes swimming and boating undesirable. Annually more than 200 students at the 4-H Camp & Learning Center use underwater ROV technology and public education to identify and prevent invasive species in our region’s at risk lakes and ponds. Students build the robots from scratch and control them with a tether as they search the waters for milfoil. 4-H’ers have learned to identify the plant, and mark the spot using GPS for removal. http://www.seaperch.org/page.php?identifier=news&article_id=362
Presentation Abstracts
Restoring Atlantic Salmon Populations and Their Habitats
Don Sprangers
Washington Academy
East Machias, ME
Begun in 1992, Washington Academy students are actively involved in hatchery husbandry at the East Machias Aquatic Research Center (EMARC), habitat surveys involving remnant log-drive dams and road crossings that pose fish passage issues, and conducting riparian tree planting projects that stabilize river banks, control erosion, and provide shade to the river. Students involved in the salmon restoration efforts at Washington Academy learn biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering principles in an applied manner.
School of Roots
Ann Boover
Herring Gut Learning Center
Port Clyde, ME
Jim Masterson
St. George School (RSU13)
Tenants Harbor, ME
School of Roots is a program run by alternative education middle school students that involves developing aquaculture and aquaponics student operated and managed businesses. In addition to managing the water quality, fish hatchery, and greenhouse so that they have healthy fish to provide nutrients to their produce, students are also learning how to market and sell their product.
Eelgrass Restoration in Frenchman Bay
Aidan Coyne and Helen Zhang
Bangor High School STEM Academy
Bangor, ME
With support of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL), students were able to participate in an intense research internship during the summer of 2013. With scientists and students from all across the U.S. and Europe, students collected sediment, water, eelgrass, and macro-invertebrate samples to try to understand the issues created by the staggering disappearance of eelgrass from the bay over the last decade. As a keystone species for the entire biological community, overfishing, sedimentation, and ocean acidification are apparently playing various roles in eelgrass decline. And just at the end of research efforts this summer, another potential culprit was discovered; the explosion of the green crab population.
The Life Cycle of a Beach
Jim Doane
Scarborough Middle School
Scarborough, ME
SMS students have been active participants in The Southern Maine Volunteer Beach Profile Monitoring Program, a unique collaboration among local volunteers, participating municipalities, and scientists, resulting in 15 years of critical data on the status of one of Maine's most vital and valuable natural resources. Beach profiling is a simple surveying technique used to measure changes in the contour of the monitored beach. Comparing profile lines recorded at different times makes it possible to measure changes in the distribution of sand on the beach. Tracking these changes over long periods provides Maine Geological Survey with data to identify seasonal, annual, and even track long-term trends in beach erosion.
Maple Syrup in the Western Foothills of Maine
Caleb McNaughton
Buckfield Jr./Sr. High School
Buckfield, ME
The objective of this project is to develop a financially viable, productive, maple syrup producing facility that could benefit the school and community as well as serve as a model for other schools across the state. The 2013 average cost of Maine produced maple syrup is $40-$50 per gallon. The goal of this project is to produce 4 gallons the first year with a doubling of production each following year. This program is an extension of the school's award winning garden program, and is one of 14 schools involved in Farm to School programs in Maine.
Stemming the Tide of Green Crabs
Laura Venger
North Haven Community School
North Haven, ME
Rachel Thompson
Island Institute
Rockland, ME
WeatherBlur is an online learning community that the Island Institute has built in partnership with teachers, climate research scientists, and fishermen to explore the local impacts of climate and weather shifts in their coastal communities. This year the project is working with 6 schools in Maine and Alaska to pilot the project. The first investigation the online community addressed this Fall was an investigation into bycatch. Participants were interested in understanding what species are present, both now and historically, on the ocean floor. What species live with lobsters today and is that different than the species that lived with lobsters in the past? What could influence the types of species, or bycatch, fishermen pull up in their traps? Participating Maine schools are: North Haven Community School, Peaks Island School, Cliff Island School, Long Island School and Chebeague Island School. Schools in Sitka Alaska are Keet Gooshi Keen School and The SEER School.
Reclaiming Mackworth: Habitat Restoration One Student at a Time
Jamien Jacobs
Friends School of Portland
Falmouth, ME
In 2011, with support by USM's Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, students investigated the effects of invasive species on Mackworth Island by inventorying native and invasive species on a 50m x 50m plot on the island, studying the role of invasives on ecological communities, then manually removing invasive plant species (primarily bittersweet). The students created a variety of educational materials related to the project (brochures, signage, videos, public service announcements) and the following fall, the students replanted the area with native species. Students have actively been using the Vital Signs platform provided through Gulf of Maine Research Institute to identify and map the location of invasives and natives and to collaborate with other island schools.
A High Tunnel Greenhouse for Winter Food Production
Julie Willcott
Foxcroft Academy
Dover-Foxcroft, ME
FA students were involved in all aspects of designing and constructing an off-season high tunnel greenhouse approximately 20' wide, 40' long, and 12' high. The greenhouse is now being used by students in a newly developed greenhouse management course. Students research crops and crop production, carry out planting, taking responsibility for crop management and the final harvest. The course includes seasonal seedling production and local food production during the fall, winter, and spring months. In addition to serving as the site for the greenhouse management course, the greenhouse provides a unique learning site for other courses, extracurricular offerings, and boarding students.
Mercury Accumulations in Fresh Water Mussels
Brenda Jackson
Old Town Elementary
Old Town, Maine
Gudrun Keszöcze and Dick Andren
Hirundo Wildlife Refuge
Alton, Maine
Benefiting from a Stephen & Tabitha King Foundation grant to Hirundo Wildlife Refuge, 5th grade students at Old Town Elementary School have worked closely with Hirundo Wildlife Refuge staff to study fresh-water mussel ecology and mercury accumulations in the mussels. The goal has been to provide approximately 100 students with an inquiry-based science project. The project offers practical experience with fundamental scientific principles, including creating a hypothesis, field data collection, data analysis and interpretation, and presentation of conclusions.
Connecting Maine’s Teachers, Students and the Environmental Community
Eastern Maine Skippers Program
Tom Duym
Deer Isle-Stonington High School
Deer Isle, ME
Ian Watkins
Island Institute
Rockland, ME
As a participant in the Eastern Maine Skippers Program (EMSP), students are studying the current rules that constrain development of a new fishery--including those that provide strict regulation of fishing gear use and design. With this information, school teams have been engineering a flounder trap to maximize the amount of legal flounder and minimize bycatch. Starting this spring, students will collect data that will also address the question of whether it is possible to start an economically and environmentall sustainable fishery in Downeast Maine.
Taking Care of Crabbiness: The Europen Green Crab Project
Morgan Cuthbert and Students
Frank H. Harrison Middle School
Yarmouth, ME
Frank H. Harrison Middle School was named one of 15 finalists nationwide in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest that challenges students to demonstrate how science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM fields) can be used to improve their local communities. The students along with science teacher, Morgan Cuthbert, developed a research proposal to study the invasive European Green Crabs that have threatened the local shellfish industry and coastal ecosystem. This school year they collaborated with University of Maine Professors, local town officials, and the Maine Clamming Association to collect data and information on the Green Crabs and their impact on the bivalve populations along the coast. This spring and into the fall, students will work in conjunction with the DownEast Institute to conduct a netting study at Pogey Cove in Yarmouth, ME to look into solutions to the invasive green crab predator.
