March 2014
Student ConventionForest Watch students and their teachers are invited to UNH on May 30 to display posters of your research, to meet with scientists, and to tour labs.
We will help you prepare your posters and print them for you.
Posters will be displayed in the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space. Students will explain their work to visitors, and then visit research labs. Dr. Kirk Broders will welcome visitors to his fungal research lab.
End the day with a delicious lunch at the UNH dining hall.
Discuss your visit with Martha Carlson at forestwatch@unh.edu.
Dr. Underhill Explains Ozone ActionsDR. JEFFREY UNDERHILL from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services will be our guest speaker at the Student Convention.
Dr. Underhill produced the new charts presented in this year’s Data Book. New Hampshire restrictions on nitrogen gas emissions and on volatile organics have helped to reduce ozone significantly.
The tighter restrictions have affected everyone in our neighborhoods—the local auto body shop, the hair salon, the heating oil company, the print shop, the cleaning business. Our cars are very different from the cars we used to drive in the 1980s. How has your neighborhood been affected by ozone regulations?
Teacher's WorkshopNEW TEACHERS are welcomed to Forest Watch with a three-day workshop August 11, 12, and 13. Learn how to establish a good study plot near your classroom. Measure the heights and diameter of trees and learn how these simple measurements can be used to calculate the health of a forest and carbon sequestration.
Laboratory measurements of needles are proving themselves invaluable to white pine and ozone research. Learn how biometrics touches on both science and math. Learn about the physics of light and what we can learn about a tree’s health from its foliar reflectance. Learn about photosynthesis and the anatomy of a pine needle.
The workshop also explores Landsat imagery and technologies for analyzing forest health in your classroom. We’ll explore fungal health of trees and the fungi that live with our trees. And we’ll talk about the scientific method and inquiry-based learning in the classroom and in the forest.
The workshop costs $600. Scholarships may be available. Email us at forestwatch@unh.edu to register and to see about financial support for the workshop as well as room and board in Durham.
Enrichment Day for TeachersJOIN US for a free workshop, Thursday, August 14. Teachers new and old review field protocols and laboratory measurements and share solutions to prickly problems.
Meet teachers who are carrying Forest Watch lessons into other subject areas with student-generated inquiry.
Get the latest perspective on your school from Landsat 8. Learn about fungi and genetic frontiers. To register, send an email to forestwatch@unh.edu.
Links to Forest Watch PartnersFOREST WATCH has many friends. Check out these valuable and intriguing links:
Solar energy installations: http://www.revisionenergy.com
Picture Post, including our web page for the Great Lawn at UNH: http://picturepost.unh.edu/
Digital Earth Watch offers amazing software for analyzing the size and health of foliage: http://www.globalsystemsscience.org/software/download
Posters by UNH Scientists: See a gallery at the UNH Remote Sensing Lab, http://posters.unh.edu/
New Hampshire Science Teachers' Association is just one of many fine teachers groups which Forest Watch frequently collaborates with. Check out their November convention at http://www.nhsta.net/home/conference_schedule
Atmospheric chemistry and air quality are increasingly important. Read a daily report at the Smog Blog from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County: http://alg.umbc.edu/usaq/