Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:57:25 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/ PostNuke Powered Site en-us http://acadiapartners.org/images/logo.gif http://acadiapartners.org/ bill@acadiapartners.org http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=69 Click here for full program flyer 'Oceanography of the Gulf of Maine: The Geology, Physics, and Chemistry Driving the Biology,' will be presented by Dr. Jim McKenna of the Maine Maritime Academy on Saturday, August 6 at 7pm for the Schoodic "Second Saturday" Lecture Series. Why is the Gulf of Maine one of the richest marine environments in the North Atlantic? Marine biologist Jim McKenna will explain the oceanographic processes responsible for creating the highly productive waters of the Gulf of Maine region. The region's glacial geologic history, ocean currents, tidal mixing, and nutrient chemistry will be discussed and how these result in the biological productivity long used to support rich marine food webs. Thu, 7 Aug 2008 11:57:25 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=68 From August 8-10 SERC will host the 2008 "Bioblitz" -- a 24 hour effort to collect and catalog insect species in the park. This year the focus is on the order Hemiptera, which Wikipedia describes as "an order of insects, comprising around 80,000 species of cicadas, aphids, planthoppers, leafhoppers, shield bugs, and others, collectively known as the true bugs." The bioblitz includes a public program on Sunday morning, August 10, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:17:31 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=67 Click here for full program flyer Are annual differences in aquatic insects of White Mountain National Forest due to normal variation or global warming? On Saturday, August 9, 2008, at 7pm Dr. Don Chandler from the University of New Hampshire will present at the Schoodic "Second Saturday" Lecture Series at the Moore Auditorium. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:18:51 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=66 Click here for full program flyer Children aren't playing outside much anymore—not even in the back yard or the neighborhood park. Young people need opportunities to experience and learn from nature during their growing years in order to become citizens and future decision makers who will take responsibility for the stewardship of the Earth. This Saturday, August 2, 2008, at 7pm, Sheridan Steele, Superintendent of Acadia National Park since May 2002, will present at the Schoodic "Second Saturday" Lecture Series at the Moore Auditorium. Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:39:20 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65 On Saturday, July 26, 2008, the "Second Saturday" Schoodic Lecture Series will feature Susan Brawley, Professor at the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences and three of her research assistants. The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Moore Auditorium at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Acadia National Park. Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:33:12 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=63 Winter Harbor, ME – July 9, 2008. Acadia Partners for Science and Learning announced today that U. S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) have secured $500,000 in federal funding in the fiscal year 2009 Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bill as reported by the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill will now go to the full Senate for its consideration. This funding will help build upon the $4 million in Department of Defense spending secured by the Senators in 2002 for the conversion of the former naval base to an education research center. Wed, 9 Jul 2008 16:47:16 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=62 Click here for full program flyer Dr. Sean Todd of the Allied Whale & College of the Atlantic, is the featured speaker at the “Second Saturday” Schoodic Lecture Series on Saturday, July 12, 2008. The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Moore Auditorium at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Acadia National Park. Dr. Todd holds the Steven K. Katona Chair in Marine Studies at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine, an institution long renown for its human ecological approach to environmental studies, and its unique teaching philosophies that aim to instruct and inform the next generation of socially and environmentally responsible citizens. Wed, 9 Jul 2008 13:21:26 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=61 Friends of Acadia and Acadia Partners for Science and Learning announce the seven research proposals that have been awarded grants through the L.L.Bean Acadia Research Fellowship and Schoodic Research Fellowship programs. From woodland raptors and freshwater insects to mercury and eelgrass, the proposals selected for funding present a wide range of scientific research that will take place in Acadia National Park. The funding for these proposals is made possible by L.L. Bean, which generously donates $25,000 annually to the L.L.Bean Acadia Research Fellowship program and Acadia Partners, which donates $10,000 raised through private donations for the Schoodic Research Fellowships. The National Park Service (NPS) and Friends of Acadia provide additional support. Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:03:37 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=60 This summer the "2nd Saturday" lecture series is expanding. In June, we have the regular, 2nd Saturday event, focused on preserving dark night skies. (See the story below.) Then, starting in July, there will be a program nearly every week. The lecture series brings speakers engaged in research at Acadia, or in related natural resource issues, to the Moore Auditorium at SERC. These programs are jointly sponsored by Acadia National Park, the Schoodic Committee of Friends of Acadia, and Acadia Partners for Science and Learning. Currently scheduled lectures (we hope to add even more!) include talks about whales, life in the intertidal zone, resource management, and a special presentation about children and nature by Acadia's superintendent, Sheridan Steele. Click here for a flyer that describes the talks and dates for July and August. Fri, 13 Jun 2008 17:08:19 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=59 Click here for full program flyer Peter Lord, director of the Island Astronomy Institute, is the featured speaker at the “Second Saturday” Schoodic Lecture Series on Saturday, June 14, 2008. The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Moore Auditorium at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Acadia National Park. Peter will introduce the Island Astronomy Institute’s Starlit Communities Project, and explain why light pollution mapping offers the key to protecting our starry skies. The global dimensions of light pollution will be illustrated with satellite images of lights shining up from earth. Mapping allows communities to understand their current levels of light pollution, so they can set practical goals for the future. Issues of safety, security, and energy conservation intersect with those of science, culture, and tourism to make starlight a natural resource worth protecting. Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:40:33 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=58 Winter Harbor, ME – March 10, 2008. Acadia Partners for Science and Learning and Webber Energy Fuels today announced that they have established the Webber Teacher Scholarships program for Maine teachers to support their participation in Advanced Placement Summer Institutes* at the Schoodic Education and Research Center campus in Acadia National Park. "Providing additional training for science and math teachers is critically important to the future economic health of the State of Maine," said Mr. Michael Shea, President of Webber Energy Fuels. “Webber Energy Fuels has a long history of investing in education and the young people of our state, so we were especially pleased to join with Acadia Partners to make these nationally recognized Advance Placement Institutes more accessible to the teachers of Maine." Mon, 10 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=54 Glen Mittelhauser, director of Maine Natural History Observatory, is the featured speaker at the “Second Saturday” Schoodic Lecture Series on Saturday, March 8, 2008. The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Moore Auditorium at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Acadia National Park. Dr. Mittelhauser's lecture is called “Harlequin Ducks and Purple Sandpipers in Maine and their connection to Labrador, Greenland, and beyond.” Harlequin Ducks and Purple Sandpipers are two species of concern that winter along Maine's offshore coast. Glen will describe his research on these two elusive species over the past 20 years. Wed, 5 Mar 2008 12:15:16 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=56 Students in Jennifer Briggs' and Katie Thompson's classes at Nokomis Regional High School, in Newport, Maine, have been ice fishing on Nokomis Pond this past month. They are involved in a research effort to explore the relationship between fish size, age, and other factors and the amount of mercury in the muscle tissue of the fish. Their work is part of an ongoing collaboration between Acadia partners and a number of schools across Maine that is engaging more students in hands-on scientific inquiry. The student research and the collaborative work with the schools, which is funded in part by the Maine Department of Education and in part by Acadia Partners' private donors, is part of a larger research effort at Acadia Partners that is finding new ways to connect students with the scientific work at Acadia National Park. The goal is to support teachers as they make more use of inquiry-based instructional methods, building on issues and problems that we face at Acadia. Click here to read an article from The Bangor Daily News that has some good photos and that talks about what the students are doing. Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:00:00 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=53 Acadia National Park and Acadia Partners for Science and Learning are sponsoring a hands-on Wilderness First Responder (WFR) course at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Winter Harbor, ME on Apr 14-21, 2008. This intensive backcountry medical training course will show students how to deal with medical emergencies when they are miles from help and dialing 911 is not an option. This course is recommended for all outdoor professionals and enthusiasts who spend time in remote areas. Graduates will be certified by Wilderness Medical Associates. Click here for more information about the course and about registration. Wed, 6 Feb 2008 13:25:06 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=52 Meg Scheid, a park ranger at the Saint Croix Island International Historic Site, is the featured speaker at the “Second Saturday” Schoodic Lecture Series on Saturday, February 9, 2008. The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Moore Auditorium at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Acadia National Park. Wed, 6 Feb 2008 13:11:03 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=51 Dr. Sarah Nelson, an assistant scientist at the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research and a Fitz Eugene Dixon Fellow working with Acadia Partners, will provide a talk geared to non-scientists about the accumulation of mercury in water, soils, and forests in Acadia on Saturday, January 12, 2008. The lecture is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Moore Auditorium at the Schoodic Education and Research Center (SERC) in Acadia National Park. Thu, 10 Jan 2008 15:19:28 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=50 At 7 PM on Saturday, December 8, Linda Welch, a wildlife biologist at Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge, will give a talk that describes the work at the refuge over the past decade to restore tern populations. This talk, which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Moore Auditorium on the Schoodic Education and Research Center campus in Acadia National Park. Arctic, Common, and Roseate Tern populations were decimated in the Gulf of Maine in the late 1800's due to a combination of shooting and egging for food and bait, and feather collection for the millinery trade. Ms. Welch will describe the numerous techniques that the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge has utilized to restore tern colonies to the coast of Maine. Wed, 5 Dec 2007 20:31:03 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=49 The pond at the Waldo County Tech Center does not contain fish--at least not any that we know of. Could it be stocked with fish? What kind of fish could the pond support? What is living in the pond now? How would fish change the pond? Patrice Janssen's natural resource management class at WCTC is launching a study of these questions with the help of Dr. Sarah Nelson of the Senator George J Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research, a scientist who has worked at Acadia National Park for many years. Tue, 4 Dec 2007 16:51:47 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=48 Lisa Kelley's statistics class at Nokomis Regional High School is inaugurating a study of the interaction of water quality and water temperature in Nokomis Pond. The question of water quality in the pond is important because the pond serves as the public water supply for the town of Newport. Dr. Jessica Muhlin, a research scientist, Fitz Eugene Dixon Fellow, and educator who has worked at Acadia National Park and who now teachers at the Maine Maritime Academy, is working with Ms. Kelley and the students to help design and execute the research. Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:18:32 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=47 Maura DiPrete's environmental studies class at Searsport High School has begun studying the intertidal zone ecology around the causeway leading to Sears Island. (Click here for a satellite photo.) Dr. Jessica Muhlin, an Acadia Partners Fitz Eugene Dixon Fellow and faculty member at Maine Maritime Academy, is working with the class, helping them with setting up their research question and designing their research projects. Fri, 16 Nov 2007 11:12:04 -0500 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=46 Join us for a one hour presentation on the science behind hurricanes and tsunamis. Tony Sturey, Warning Coordination Meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Caribou Maine, will discuss the meteorology and oceanography of hurricane and tsunami formation, development, and movement; as well as the potential threat these ocean related phenomenon pose to the northern New England coast. The presentation will take place at 7 PM on Wednesday, August 22 in the Schooner Club on the Schoodic Education and Research Center campus. For more information click here. Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:23:09 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=45 Identifying climate change as "the most serious environmental problem facing mankind in the 21st century," Senator Susan M. Collins (R-Maine) spoke to the importance of training a new generation of scientists and science educators in her keynote speech at the dedication of the John G. Moore Auditorium at the Schoodic Education and Research Center. While recognizing the important role that the new auditorium can play for Acadia Partners and the Schoodic Education and Research Center, the Senator's focus was squarely on the programs emerging from the collaboration of Acadia Partners, Acadia National Park, and other partners: "We are here today to celebrate not only the opening of a wonderful building, but also the accomplishments of an outstanding partnership. The support Acadia Partners for Science and Learning provides to research and education is a team effort. I am proud to be a member of this team." Tue, 14 Aug 2007 21:00:23 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=44 U.S. Sen. Susan M. Collins (R-Maine) was the featured speaker at the August 6, 2007 dedication of the new Jobn G. Moore auditorium on the Schoodic Education and Research Center campus in Acadia National Park. Sen. Collins' remarks (see related story) highlighted the importance of the research and education that Acadia Partners, working with Acadia National Park, is enabling on the SERC campus. The dedication of the John G. Moore Auditorium opens a new chapter in that education and research effort. Mon, 13 Aug 2007 22:00:03 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=43 Learn about the geologic origin, natural history, artistic qualities, and historical significance of local Downeast stone. Join geologist and L.L.Bean Acadia Research Fellow Chris Koteas and stone sculptor Jesse Salisbury for a slide show and discussion being held in conjunction with the Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium. Following an indoor presentation, the program will visit the work sites of the 8 artists participating in the symposium, view their work, and discuss with them their artistic perceptions of the local stone they are working with. All activities will take place at the Schoodic Education and Research Center campus in the Schoodic Section of Acadia National Park, Winter Harbor. For a more information about this event, including time and location, click here. Mon, 13 Aug 2007 17:00:38 -0400 http://acadiapartners.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=42 Acadia Partners for Science and Learning, working in partnership with Unity College, Waldo County Technical Center, Mount View High School, Tri-County Technical Center, Nokomis Regional High School, and the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research at the University of Maine, has been awarded a grant of $106,640 from the Maine Department of Education (MDOE) to initiate programs that will boost professional development for teachers in science and mathematics and improve student achievement. The project will bring together teachers, working scientists and college education faculty to enhance the use of problem-centered learning in math and science and help teachers incorporate the skills and traits of scientific inquiry and technological design into the instructional program. Wed, 20 Jun 2007 17:17:24 -0400