Envirothon regionals at Wells Reserve
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-04-30
Education Director Sarah Jolly-Ballantine reports that the Wells Reserve today is hosting the York County Soil and Water Conservation District’s Envirothon. This is the largest national science competition at the high school level and we are excited to have been chosen as the site to host the York and Cumberland county event.
About 60 high schoolers are out and about with 20+ teachers and lots of volunteers. Groups of students are taking “tests” at field stations located across the main campus and on the trails. Teams are tested for 30 minutes on soils, aquatics, forestry, wildlife, and a current issue (for 2008, it’s recreational impacts on natural resources).
The top three teams from today’s event will compete in State Finals in Unity on May 29. The state’s winning team will travel to Arizona for the national Envirothon this summer.
We’re proud to provide southern Maine teams with a great experience at our site while furthering our goal of being a resource to local science teachers and classes.
Have you had an Envirothon experience? Would you like to see more science competitions for students?
Installing Salt Marsh Loop interpretive signs
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-04-14
Eight new interpretive signs are being installed today. Seven are along trail segments known as the Salt Marsh Loop, with the eighth erected beside the native plant demonstration garden.
The Salt Marsh Loop signs answer these questions:
- What is a watershed?
- What is a salt marsh?
- Why are estuaries important?
- How do wildlife use the estuary?
- Who eats whom in the salt marsh?
- What kind of wetland is this?
- What are invasive species?
Wells Reserve education associate Ellen McCann oversaw the sign project and prepared most of the text. James Dochtermann did the paintings. Funding was provided by NOAA, the Horizon Foundation, and the Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust.
The new series of signs will be dedicated in a brief ceremony during the Earth Day Celebration on April 19.
In the photo, Ellen McCann guides workers as they place and level the “watershed” sign along the Knight Trail.
Spotlight on Coastal Resource Library
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-03-31
The Maine State Library is featuring the Coastal Resource Library at Wells Reserve as its Spotlight library through the month of April.
It’s as good a time as any to get familiar with this great resource, if you haven’t already been in. If the standard hours are inconvenient, call ahead and someone will arrange to give you access. And the library will have an open house during the April 19 Earth Day Celebration.
Education Fellowship Available
Scott Richardson ~ 2008-03-27
The Wells Reserve has announced a wonderful opportunity for one Maine college graduate who wants to succeed in the field of environmental education.
Thanks to the foresight and generosity of a long-time Laudholm Trust supporter, the Charles C. and Rebecca S. Richardson Post-Baccalaureate Education Fellow will become engaged in interdisciplinary programs that focus on environmental learning and helping Maine communities address complex environmental issues.
The Fellow will begin a 12-month, full-time position in early June and will…
- Coordinate summer camps
- Develop trail guide materials
- Be involved in designing new interpretive exhibits
- Help develop an Environmental Leadership Program
- Gain experience in the breadth of programs offered by the Wells Reserve
- Gain exposure to other environmental education, research, and stewardship centers throughout the region
- Receive considerable opportunities for networking with regional environmental organizations and agencies
The application window for this unique experience is short. If you or someone you know feels qualified to fill the position, please respond by April 13. Visit the Wells Reserve website for more details.
EstuaryLive Wednesday and Thursday
Scott Richardson ~ 2007-09-26
The North Inlet-Winyah Bay and ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserves are hosting live-stream video programming on estuaries from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm Wednesday and Thursday, September 26 and 27.
To check it out, click here
Maine's Dragonfly and Butterfly Surveys
Sue Bickford ~ 2007-06-27
The Wells Reserve couldn’t run without its army of volunteers. They help with every aspect of activity here. One task that I never have problem getting volunteers to help with is going out into the field with insect nets and catching dragonflies and butterflies.
In 1999 the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife start a state-wide survey of dragonflies. That survey concluded in 2004. This year starts the first year of a survey for Maine’s butterflies. MDIF&W relies on citizen scientists to go out and collect specimens in as many different places in state as possible. To increase our knowledge of what kinds of insects we have at the Wells Reserve, we established several sites to sample here as part of those two programs.
According to the Maine Butterfly Survey website one of the goals of the survey is “Acquiring a solid baseline of the distribution and abundance of Maine butterflies.”
Eastern Tiger Swallowtail
“Because of their short generation times, sensitivity to environmental insults and often narrow habitat requirements, insects can be effective sentinels of environmental change. As the specter of global warming looms, wildlife biologists and ecologists need to be able to monitor the direction and rate of changes in plant and animal populations. The use of any group of organisms to monitor population changes requires a firm baseline of information against which changes can be judged.
With over 115 species native to Maine, butterflies contribute a colorful and conspicuous component to our state’s biological diversity. Butterflies play an important role in terrestrial and wetland ecosystems by serving both as pollinators of many wildflowers and prey (both caterpillars and adults) to larger species ranging from dragonflies to birds.”
Monarch Caterpillar
For more information on both these programs, visit the Maine Damselfly and Dragonfly Survey site and the Maine Butterfly Survey site.