1 / 26

From The Swamp To The Classroom: A Voyage Of Discovery

From The Swamp To The Classroom: A Voyage Of Discovery. Paul Weihe, Central College (IA). Who IS this guy…??. Taught ES annually since 1997 APES Reader/Leader since ‘06 Trained as ecologist (specialty: wetlands) Married; two sons in HS Avid gardener; homebrewer

tanner-hull
Download Presentation

From The Swamp To The Classroom: A Voyage Of Discovery

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. From The Swamp To The Classroom: A Voyage Of Discovery Paul Weihe, Central College (IA)

  2. Who IS this guy…?? • Taught ES annually since 1997 • APES Reader/Leader since ‘06 • Trained as ecologist (specialty: wetlands) • Married; two sons in HS • Avid gardener; homebrewer • Recent interest: Ethnobotany

  3. AGENDA • Some background on wetland science • Recent additions to our ES resources • Sharing & brainstorming • Think of this as a conversation starter… • Note: this Powerpoint and other materials are available for later review.

  4. WETLANDS • Disclaimer…my role here… • The only ecosystem type protected by Federal law…(court interpretation of Clean Water Act’s “Waters of the U.S.”) • “Protection” does allow for wetland disturbance/removal with a permit [QUESTION: which Agency in charge…?]

  5. What IS a wetland…? • Definition: it is an ecotone---an ecosystem with characteristics intermediate between two types (i.e., terrestrial & aquatic) • Delineation tells one where to draw the perimeter line; use the Federal Manual with three “indicators” (water, plants, soil) • Classification for inventory, assessment…

  6. Dredge & Fill Permit • Army Corps of Engineers will issue permits if necessary • What’s a good reason?

  7. Agency may require “mitigation” • Typically, need to replace lost wetland • Restore or build a new wetland

  8. Can we really build wetlands? • YES. Lots of examples of successful wetland restoration & creation…some are even accidental! • HOWEVER… this is the wrong question. http://swamp.osu.edu/

  9. DO we really build wetlands? • National goal has been “No Net Loss” • We are failing. • Iowa study (Vandewalle et al 2008): 58% of State highway projects were successful…as measured by permit requirements. • Difficult to get a national perspective, but this is probably indicative of overall trend

  10. Purple Loosestrife…

  11. Purple Loosestrife(Lythrum salicaria) • Beautiful flowering perennial of wetlands • Introduced from Eurasia • Spread throughout northern U.S., Canada • Reduces cover/biomass/frequency of native plant species • Is less-used by animals for food & cover, than are native plants

  12. AND, it also may/may not… • Cause local populations of native animals/plants to decline • Reduce overall biodiversity • Affect hydrology, sedimentation, carbon storage, nutrient dynamics in soil/water • Be significantly reduced by introduced biocontrol agents (insects form Europe)

  13. My current research… • What is “The Smoking Gun?” • Looking for the ecological effects (impacts??) of the plant on ecosystems • Last Fall, did a small experiment with my students: how does nitrate level in water compare in test tubes with Loosestrife vs. tubes with cattail? (=about the same)

  14. The Big Questions • How do we describe wetland function in a landscape context (reference systems) • To what extent, and in which ways, can we solve water quality issues using wetlands? • What is the interaction between wetland systems and Global Climate Change?

  15. Wetlands & Climate Change: • Walter et al 2006: Methane bubbling from Siberian thaw lakes as a positive feedback to climate warming -- http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v443/n7107/abs/nature05040.html • Schuur et al 2008: Vulnerability of Permafrost Carbon to Climate Change: Implications for the Global Carbon Cycle -- http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1641/B580807 • Shakhova et al 2010: Extensive Methane Venting to the Atmosphere from Sediments of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf -- http://www.sciencemag.org/content/327/5970/1246.short

  16. Wetlands…. • Discussion? • Questions…?

  17. Confession: Pedagogy gives me a headache http://www.ed.uiuc.edu/courses/edpsy317/sp03/learning-maps/index.html http://www.personal.psu.edu/wxh139/construct.htm http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/6316

  18. BUT…we care about learning… • Great interest in recent years in effective use of technology: distance learning, flipped classrooms, etc. • Ongoing research --how students learn • Our students are changing?? (experiences, attitudes, goals…)

  19. Resources you may know… • We have an EDG listserv & other good stuff at AP Central (http://apcentral.collegeboard.com/apc/public/courses/teachers_corner/2128.html), Environmental Literacy Council(http://www.enviroliteracy.org/),GOAPES wiki (http://goapes.wikispaces.com/) • Coming soon: APCommunity (@CB) • New books…see table…

  20. Also: interesting reads.. • AAAS report: Vision & Change (www.visionandchange.org) • Book by Ken Bain: What the Best College Teachers Do (free summary pdf):http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/courses-jmgay/documents/SynopsisWhatBestCollegeTeachersDo.pdf

  21. Bioscience Education Network • Biosciednet.org/portal • BEN is an Internet portal to (mostly free) resources to teach ES (not just Biology!) • Searches through on-line libraries of various professional societies • Categorizes resources; metadata • Peer-reviewed (before and/or after)

  22. SciencePipes • YOU pick the data • IT makes the graph

  23. SciencePipes • http://sciencepipes.org • In development…coming soon! • Sponsored by Cornell U. (Ornithology lab) • Generates “data visualizations” (graphs/charts/statsistics) on the fly • LARGE data sets to be included • When operational, will include lessons

  24. THANKS • For all you’ve taught me about ES & teaching/learning • For making the Readings fun 

  25. Now, YOUR TURN…share… • A cool/fun/stimulating idea/activity you have for teaching APES? • What isThe Next Big Thing? What should we (“somebody”) work on/develop? • Technology? • $$$ for…? • Other ideas? • Please visit the “stations”

More Related