Paul Dobbins of Ocean Approved recently gave a talk as part of GMRI’s Sea State Lecture series. The Gulf of Maine has long produced some of the world’s most delicious fish and seafood offerings, but the idea that it can also be a source of vegetables like kelp is truly fascinating. If you missed the lecture or live too far from Portland to join us, you can listen to an audio recording of Paul’s talk.

Much of the life in the world’s oceans is smaller than a grain of rice.  Rebecca Jones, a UMaine scientist who works in GMRI’s lab, is in Norway as part of a special research expedition to learn more about a type of zooplankton, called Calanus, which powers the marine food web in the North Atlantic. Read more on Rebecca’s blog:  http://rjjzoop.wordpress.com/

Twenty educators representing Maine elementary schools, middle schools, high schools and a 4-H program joined three Vital Signs Educator Leaders at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute on April 6 to learn about and participate in our Vital Signs program.

Visit the Vital Signs blog to learn more.

By Gayle Bodge and Christine Voyer, GMRI Education Team

It was a beautiful, sunny, warm day in March. What could possibly draw 350 people inside?

On March 20th, Colby College hosted the 3rd Maine STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) Summit. This event brought together teachers, administrators, informal educators, students, leaders in education, and industry professionals from across the state. They shared their passion and efforts to bring STEM learning opportunities to K-12 students.

The morning was filled with inspirational talks that envisioned Maine as a leader in green energy and innovator of life-saving technology, with statewide-networked education opportunities. The afternoon was based on EdCamp’s unconference model. Participants were presented with an inspiring morning of talks, discussion, and networking. The afternoon schedule was blank — the perfect recipe for an afternoon full of engaging, powerful, and relevant discussions led by the participants themselves. GMRI staff participated in discussions about project-based learning, media literacy, service learning, and building learning communities. Conversations among participants continue on the STEM Summit unconference website.

It was a great day of building new connections, reconnecting with old friends, and sharing questions and expertise. What an amazing set of people and organizations — all personally invested in education for Maine’s students!

Team GMRI at the STEM Summit

Greg Emerson, a teacher at Woolwich Central School, created this great video of 5th grade students from Woolwich and Phippsburg during their visit to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute for the LabVenture! program.

By Ashley DeLong, Communications Intern

Wally Stevens, Executive Director of the Global Aquaculture Alliance, recently presented a lecture as part of GMRI’s Sea State 7.0 Public Lecture Series. He gave GMRI staff a preview of the lecture over lunch, with a focus on aquaculture and some of the key aspects of the organization. Wally has spent over 40 years in the seafood industry.  Aquaculture, or the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, is one of the fastest growing industries in the world!

Wally began by introducing some of the problems that the Global Aquaculture Alliance deals with. He discussed some of the issues concerning mangroves around the world as well as the challenges the aquaculture industry faces regarding fishmeal.  Wally’s lecture helped define for me the importance of mangroves because of their highly productive ecosystems and numerous benefits to coastal communities. Although nearly 50% of historic mangrove resources have been lost due to agriculture, urban development, and other devastations I was pleased to learn that there has been some major progress in the redevelopment of mangroves especially in areas such as Honduras and Ecuador. Wally also stressed the continuous struggles the aquaculture industry faces around how to feed the growing volume of farmed fish. With aquaculture production projected to double within the next ten years, the industry is working hard to address various concerns surrounding the impact to marine life from the use of fishmeal, as well as looking for alternative food sources.

Next Wally talked about some of the key elements of the Global Aquaculture Alliance. One program within the organization is called the Best Aquaculture Practice or the BAP. This program was created to provide guidelines for the organization to follow. The BAP was instated to ensure responsible practices across the aquaculture industry and oversees the development standards for hatcheries, farms, processing facilities and feed mills. The BAP is divided into five focus areas: social ethics, environment, animal welfare, food safety, and traceability. Each of these five focus areas has specific rules and regulations to follow as well as staff dedicated to ensuring these practices.

Listen to an audio recording of the lecture here.

Christine Voyer, Vital Signs Community Specialist

February 26-March 3 is National Invasive Species Awareness Week and there are many local events planned. Visit our Vital Signs blog to check out events in your community!

GMRI's LabVenture! staff at Greene Central School

For the past six years, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) has been inviting 10,000 5th and 6th grade students to our lab for a LabVenture! experience. This year we received an invitation to visit Nancy Flick’s 6th grade class at Greene Central School!

Inspired by their trip to GMRI for the LabVenture! program, Lobster: Untold Tales, Mrs. Flick’s students each investigated the Gulf of Maine, creating 3-D maps of the watershed, researching and writing a report, and using their creativity in the design of tri-fold posters. But her students didn’t want to stop there! Inspired by the topic, and engaged in the research process, each student chose a Gulf of Maine species to study further, and share with others.

We arrived to find floor to ceiling murals painted by the students decorating every wall of the classroom and larger-than-life ocean animals hanging from the ceiling. It was a delightful undersea experience! Shortly after we arrived, a class of 2nd graders joined us as an eager audience. Each of Mrs. Flick’s 6th grade students presented their species, shared a poem, and welcomed questions.

A student with his Gulf of Maine poster

The Horseshoe Crab
I bleed blue,
What a marvelous hue.
The scientists have been told,
That I’m 450 million years old.
I’m 2/3 the size of my wife.
My tail is sharp as a knife.
Spiders and scorpions are my kin,
I have a shell not any skin.
I have eight legs that are mine.
My pearly green eggs look quite fine.
Who am I?
The spectacular Horseshoe Crab!
- Aidan Parmenter

After the presentation, we spent an hour visiting with the students. The pride in the work they had accomplished was evident. They welcomed questions and asked their own of us. The creativity and collaboration these students demonstrated in their work was inspiring. We felt honored to have experienced their Gulf of Maine project!

View more work by Mrs. Flick’s 6th grade class.

Mrs. Flick's 6th grade class

Collecting zooplankton samples aboard the research vessel the Lawrence M. Gould

Karen Stamieszkin, a graduate student who has worked in the Ecosystem Modeling lab at GMRI, is on a two-month National Science Foundation-sponsored research cruise to Antarctica. She is part of the zooplankton sampling team associated with the Palmer Station Long Term Ecological Research site – and she’s blogging to keep in touch. Check out her latest post on the Ecosystem Modeling lab blog.

By Justine Glynn, Gayle Bodge, and Susan Pienta, GMRI Education Team

On December 3rd, thirty-eight educators gathered at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) for an Unconference — no agenda or prepared presentations, just a blank schedule and a shared goal of advancing science literacy in Maine. Over coffee, croissants, and conversation, the participants generated the day’s sessions based on their collective interests and expertise, and they became the presenters.

This diverse group of educators (representing classrooms, administration, informal settings, and others) generated a dynamic mix of sessions. Participants could join any of the wide-ranging discussions, including “Mobilizing and Training Citizen Scientists,” “Improving Writing using Social Networking,” and “The Next Generation of Science Standards.” Or participants could explore “Using Theater to Teach Science,” “Nature Journaling,” and “Google Tools for Educators.” This is just a small sample of the 23 sessions participants offered throughout the day.

Participants reflected on the experience:

“Everyone has valuable information to share, or can lead the discussion around an issue or question, so I think everyone should consider presenting.”

“I realized we all work and have expertise in unique areas. Presenting gave me an opportunity to both provide information but also get wonderful input.”

“The tone of the conference is low key and collegial. We are learning about ideas that we want to know about.”

“I had a great time and spoke with people I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of being able to make choices.”

“This was my first unconference and I didn’t know what to expect. I found it very educational and informative. I would attend another conference without hesitation.”

Not all of the unconference took place through personal conversations. There was also some high-tech “back-chatter” through Twitter and posts to a shared website. To view the networking and resource and idea sharing that this unconference sparked, please check out our Science Literacy Unconference website.