Vernal Pool 2014

New Nature TV host in the Making? 

Check out Schoolyard teacher, Tara Fernandez-Davila's vernal pool video and you tell us whether she is TV host material!

Link to Tara's VP Youtube Video

For more details on the Schoolyard Ecology Vernal Pool Study led by Project Ecologist, Betsy Colburn, go to: 

   Harvard Forest.Vernal-Pool Schoolyard Study

For more teacher created resources related to all Harvard Forest Schoolyard projects go to:

HF Schoolyard Ecology Teacher-created resources

Schoolyard Year in Review-2013-2014

School-Year in Review; Schoolyard Ecology

August 2013-June 2014

Anatomy of a Schoolyard Project;

 Introducing Our Changing Forests

It takes a dedicated and diverse team of staff from Harvard Forest/Highstead,secondary  teachers and students from a variety of  locations, and generous  funders, to make the Our Changing Forests project succeed.

Our Changing Forests Year in Review:

After a bunch of behind the  scenes meetings and development of project protocol, data sheets, online database, online graphing tools during the winter and spring of 2013.....

Six High School teachers arrived at Harvard Forest in August to pilot the new project.

Summer Institute For Teachers:  Introducing Our Changing Forests August 2013

After learning the ropes from Ecologist, Edward Faison and Director, David Foster, teachers set up 10 x 10 meter plots in their schoolyards.  Project coach, Jennifer Albertine supported some of these teachers on site.  Teachers and/or students measured and labelled the boundaries of the plot, installed corner markers, identified and labelled trees in their plots.

During the fall, High School students from all six schools completed detailed Field Description Sheets.pdf and collected data on the diameter at breast height and species of each tree in the plot.
They then submitted their data to our online database
 to share on the Harvard Forest website.  

Teachers returned to Harvard Forest in November, 2013 to learn more about data management and graphing project data. 

Dr. Emery Boose led introducing  data management to teachers

Harvard Forest staff led a detailed discussion with teachers about what worked well and what was challenging about the field work for this project. 

Emery Boose providing support to teachers practicing data submission and graphing 

 See  teacher survey for more input from teachers.

As you can see from these graphs, there is a lot that can be told about each forest plot, each year.

While our long term goal is to track how the forest changes over time, we can also learn about what the species composition is like today. We can learn how large the diameters of trees are now, and calculate an estimate of the amount of carbon that tree is storing. From the field site description sheets, students can tell what is the status of invasive species  or forest pests, wildlife, evidence of past human land use,etc..  From all of this, they can learn a lot about what may have  happened to this forest in the  past, and certainly the state of the forest now.  As years go by, more can be told about the kinds of changes that take place in each plot.  One of our most ambitious teachers has already set up 3 plots this year! Her students can begin to do cross-site studies first hand. Other students can look at our online database to compare their sites with diverse sites across the state.


Spring Teacher Presentations:  

Melanie McCracken from Groton Dunstable High School presented her experience trying out the Our Changing Forests project  to an audience of scientists at The Harvard Forest Symposium in March of 2014. See her presentation  Symposium presentation Snow-McCracken-3-14.pdf

Nicholas Kostich from Oakmont High School in Ashburnham, presented his experience with the project to an audience of  teachers at the Spring Workshop for Teachers at Harvard Forest in April of 2014. See his presentation and related teaching resource here: Kostich Spring Presentation.pdf and Schoolyard Field Guide Sample.pdf

After the Changing Forests teachers take a much needed break for the summer, we hope that they will set up a second plot in each of their schoolyards this fall.  Their students will collect data on this  second plot this year, and can add as many plots each year as the teacher wants to monitor.  Eventually, classes will return to the original plot to re-measure and assess changes in their forested plots...how much growth did the trees accumulate?..how did species composition change?  How did invasive  species impact the plot? etc... So 10 years from now, classes may have returned to multiple plots  2 or more  times to monitor change.  

How can you support us in getting more students actively involved in ecology projects outside their schools?

1. Help us Spread the Word! We are looking for a new group of teachers to begin the "Our Changing Forests" project, as well as our "Woolly Bully and the Hemlock Trees" and "Buds, Leaves, and Global Warming" projects soon.  Teachers can register now to attend the introductory session on August 21st at Harvard Forest.   Learn more and download Registration Form

2.  Help us meet our 10 -year anniversary fundraising goal: please share our short video and giving webpage. short video and giving webpage. 

Support Schoolyard Ecology!

                                           

Students Communicate Through Scientific Posters

 High School Students Communicating Results of Buds, Leaves and Global Warming Study

How do you like Hollis High School students'  final projects?   

Teacher, Maryanne Rotelli kindly shared these photos of her students' work with us so we can spread the inspiration.   If you want to consider adopting and/or adapting her idea:  This is the assignment she gave her students:

Leaves and Buds – LTER with Harvard Forest Lab Report and Poster Presentation

Introduction:

·        Background on Phenology both leaf drop and leaf budding (include factors that impact both)

·        Why is this study being completed and how does it relate to climate change?

·        Indicate what factors that you will study using the data collected

·        Hypothesis

Methods and Materials:

·        Describe the procedure for collecting data during the fall and spring sessions

Results:

·        Data and Graphs – remember you will need to have captions that clarify the conclusions that can be drawn from the graph

Discussion:

·        Describe the results as shown in your graphs. What does it tell the reader?

·        Explain how the results support or refute any of the hypotheses you established in your introduction.

·        Draw your conclusions and explain. Tie in with any of the research/reading that you have done.

Poster Portion:

Slide 1: Title and Authors

Slide 2:

·        Common and scientific names

·        Plant identification – leaf, bud patterns, bark

·        History, use of, interesting facts about your species

Slides 3-4:  Key highlights from your introduction

Slide 5: Methods and Materials

Slides 6-9: Key Results – Graphs with captions

Slides 10-11: Conclusion

Slide 12: References

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Please send us any student samples, photos, graphs, assignments, learning tools you are willing to share with the Schoolyard Ecology learning community, a.k.a. teachers like you :)

End of School-year Forest Ecology Videos Anybody?

Did you  know that they have great educational resources related to Forest Ecology at the Museum of Natural History in Cambridge? 

View short informational videos about New England’s forest history, ecology, and wildlife, and learn about the research of Harvard scientists in our regional forests. Visit the museum to experience the exhibition, New England Forests in the Zofnass Family Gallery.

A History of New England's Forests

This video provides an overview of the landscape history of New England, from European settlement to the present, and explains how it has shaped our modern forest.
 
 

Fungi in the Forest

The fungi–including various mushrooms, molds, and yeasts–are critical players in the forest ecosystem. These videos explore the various roles of fungi as parasites, decomposers, and cooperative partners with trees, and feature the research of Harvard scientist Anne Pringle.
 

How do Forests Work?

Trees are essential components of forests, but a forest is more than a collection of trees. These videos animate the flow of water and nutrients through a tree and describe how forests work, including the processes whereby forest ecosystems help recycle carbon and shelter and purify water.

 

Life on a Rock, the Lichens

Lichens grow abundantly on the surface of rocks, trees, and even man-made objects. These videos explain the unusual biology of lichens, show their astounding diversity, and profile the field research of a Harvard biologist who studies them.

 

 

Our Changing Forests

New England’s forests are living laboratories studied by scientists. These videos feature Harvard botanists, ecologists, and atmospheric scientists measuring how forests circulate carbon through the biosphere, interact with climate, and respond to invasive species.
Photo by Bridget Tivnan.

 

Old Growth Forest

Virgin old growth forests once blanketed the New England landscape, however today old growth forest is a tiny, but important, component of our regional forests. This video describes the characteristics of old growth and the rich community of plants, animals, and fungi found here.
 

Wetlands in the Forest

From forest ponds, to bogs and temporary spring pools, New England's forest wetlands are an important link between land and water. This video describes why wetlands are important as habitat for wildlife and to filter and protect our water supply.

These videos came from the Harvard Museum of Natural History webpages at:
http://www.hmnh.harvard.edu/lectures-classes-events/new-england-forests-videos.html

Views of Declining Hemlocks from On High

Photos by David Foster

The views from the Eddy Flux towers in a hemlock stand at Harvard Forest may be providing a good last look at the hemlock forest while it is reasonably intact. According to Harvard Forest director, David Foster, " the foliage is beginning to take on that gray cast of moribundity, light levels are increasing in the understory, and trees are beginning to die as their crowns thin.  But, the forest is still striking as is the view from the top of the tower, though the leaders of tallest trees are showing decline."

For more information on  Eddy Flux tower research, go to: 
http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/research/towers

For more information on the Woolly Bully Schoolyard Study tracking the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid go to: 
http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/woolly-bully-invasive-pest-hemlock-woolly-adelgid

Graphs of Spring 2014 Budding

By Schoolyard Teacher, Maryanne Rotelli, Hollis High School, New Hampshire

How do your budding times compare?  

Students Search for Tiny but Deadly, Woolly Bully; The Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

Holyoke Catholic H.S. students examining the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid closeup 

Students looking for Woolly Adelgid egg sacs

Measuring the section of the Hemlock branch that contains Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Egg sacs

Photos by Lise Letellier

The tiny insect these students seek is not harmful to humans but it is responsible for wiping out large numbers of one of our most common forest trees. Hemlock trees make up almost one quarter of all of Massachusetts' forests, and as such are considered a foundation species of our native forest. Students are tracking this little bug that is sucking the life out of many of our hemlocks, and sharing their findings with Harvard Forest Ecologist,  David Orwig.   

Holyoke Catholic H.S. Teacher Lise Letellier, and her students, along with hundreds of students throughout New England are contributing information about the presence of this invasive Pest, the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid as part of the  Harvard Forest Schoolyard Ecology project: Woolly Bully.  

These images show students searching for the egg sacs covered in white wool -like covering that indicate the presence of tiny insects called hemlock woolly adelgids. Right now, hundreds of students are out investigating their schoolyards and woods as part of the data collection they will contribute to this regional Schoolyard study, led by Harvard Forest Ecologist, David Orwig.  

See which schools are participating and link to their data at: 

Schoolyard Woolly Bully field site map.

See more about Dr. Orwig's Hemlock research at:  http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/other-tags/hemlock-woolly-adelgid-hwa

See more about the Woolly Bully Schoolyard Ecology project at:  http://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/woolly-bully-invasive-pest-hemlock-woolly-adelgid

TEACHERS, to join this Schoolyard study, complete the registration form at: Schoolyard Eco Summer Registration Form