Exploring the Link between Invasive Species and the Canal

The Erie Canal has historically played an important role in the introduction of invasive (exotic) plants and animals into and between the Great Lakes, Hudson River, and the Finger Lakes watersheds. Learn about the Erie Canal and invasive species and how you and your students can help prevent their introduction and spread.

A one-day workshop for 4th through 12th Grade Teachers
Sponsored by US Fish and Wildlife, NY Sea Grant, Great Lakes Program
Formal and Non-Formal Educators Welcome

Workshop is Being Offered at 2 Different Locations Along the Canal
(Space is Limited - Participants can only register for one location)

Lockport - Tuesday, July 29th (Includes a boat tour of the canal) - 10:00 - 3:00 pm
Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum - Thursday, August 21st *
* Half-day session, no lunch provided - 12:00 - 3:30 pm

Come join us for hands-on activities and a demonstration of biological sampling techniques that could be used with your students for a monitoring program.
Classroom materials (and lunch provided for Lockport session) - free!

For more information and registration, contact:
Helen Domske, New York Sea Grant, Great Lakes Program (716) 645-3610, e-mail: hmd4@cornell.edu or
Mike Goehle, US Fish and Wildlife Service (716) 691-5456, e-mail: mike_goehle@fws.gov

Lake Ontario Environmental Science
Shipboard Course on Lake Ontario

Join us aboard the US Environmental Protection Agency's "Lake Guardian" for a hands-on, experiential course to study Lake Ontario. Participants will board the ship in Buffalo, NY, and cruise through the Welland Canal before spending time on the waters of Lake Ontario. The ship will return to Buffalo, NY at the end of the cruise.

The Lake Guardian will serve as both a floating laboratory and a home-away-from-home for participants, but Lake Ontario and its tributaries will be the real classroom for this course. Teachers - grades 4-12 (and a select group of college students) will study its fish biology, environmental issues such as toxic contamination, Areas of Concern - including the Niagara River, Genesee and Oswego River, and invasive species such as zebra mussels and the round goby. The course will include lectures, lab work and several off-ship field trips to study environments on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Cost: $1,000 for 3-graduate credits at Niagara University, plus $175 for food & supplies.

Application Materials: Interested teachers must send their name, address, phone, email, school name and address along with a 1-2 page application letter. This letter must include related course work and educational experiences, rationale for taking this course and how they will infuse the Great Lakes materials into their classrooms. Since only 10 teachers can participate, letters will be used to select participants and can be used for the distribution of any scholarship monies that the organizers can generate.

Contact any of the following for more information or to apply:
COURSE WEB SITE: http://faculty.niagara.edu/wje/ontario.htm

Dr. William J. Edwards, Assistant Professor, Biology Department, Niagara University,
716-286-8251, wje@niagara.edu
Helen Domske, Associate Director - GL Program at SUNY Buffalo, NY Sea Grant Extension,
716-645-3610, hmd4@cornell.edu
Mike Weimer, Fishery Biologist, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Lower GL Fishery Resources Office
716-691-5456 (x39), mike_weimer@fws.gov

Interactive Online Farm Game Available

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has released an interactive farm-based computer game for school-age children called "Agventure." The game was launched at the 2003 National 4-H Conference Share Fair, where organizations exchanged innovative approaches and resources with 4-H youth from across the nation. "Agventure is a cyber-tour game of a typical American farm to help Americans learn more about rural life and U.S. Agriculture," said FSA Administrator James R. Little. "The game also serves as an educational tool to inform users about historical aspects of food production in America." The game is on the FSA website at www.fsa.usda.gov/fsakids/.

New Agriculture Fact Book Available

The Agriculture Fact Book 2001-2002 is now available online or in hard copy. "This new publication provides useful information on a variety of topics including homeland security, conservation, biotechnology, organic foods, and energy sources," said Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman. The Agriculture Fact Book 2001-2002 can be accessed through the web at www.usda.gov/factbook. The site includes links and other media that provide further information about agriculture, food, conservation, nutrition, food safety, and related issues. Hard copies of the publication are available for sale by the Government Printing Office and can be ordered online through a link from the above website.

International Migratory Bird Day In Rochester

A festival celebrating International Migratory Bird Day (IMBD) will be held on May 10, 2003 at Braddock Bay Park. (Admission Free) The festival will be presented by BirdCOR - a nonprofit coalition of over a dozen local environmental organizations and agencies.

The festival will celebrate the beauty and wonder of migratory birds while calling attention to the need to conserve birds and their habitats. The program will include educational demonstrations, fun learning activities for the kids and family, and many opportunities to find out more about migratory birds and the organizations that support their conservation. After the festival, projects and conservation activities planned and carried out as part of IMBD will leave a lasting legacy to benefit birds in the Rochester area.

This year's theme for the nationwide IMBD celebration is Birds: Catalysts for Conservation. Come to the festival.... Have a great time.... Be a catalyst for conservation.

Find more details here: www.eecg.org/birdcor

Science Congress 2003 Winners

New York Sea Grant, along with the Central Western Section Science Teachers Association of New York State, Inc. is proud to announce this year's winners for outstanding projects in marine or lake sciences.

This year's senior level winner is Kevin Smith from Minerva Deland School in Fairport. The title of his project is, "Do Macro Algae Improve the Water Quality of a Reef Aquarium?."

The junior level winner is Theodore Garlock from Pittsford Middle School. The title of his project is, "Electrotropism - Underwater Plants React." The winners received a plaque from New York Sea Grant. Congratulations to these students for a job well done!

Fish Food

Fish from the wild are a big part of the diet for other fish that are raised in captivity. A lot of the fish that we buy in supermarkets or eat in restaurants comes from fish farms, not from the open ocean. But the species that are raised in farms themselves need a diet of fish from the wild. Some people are concerned about the long-term impact of harvesting some fish from the sea to feed other fish in cages.

Pete Granger is an aquaculture expert with the Sea Grant program at the University of Washington. He says salmon aquaculture is an example of modern feeding techniques. The salmon eat food pellets that are a mixture of vegetable matter and ground-up anchovies and other oily fish.

"The original intent there was to try to duplicate what the fish would be eating in the wild so that the nutritional content of the fish, the flavor of the fish, could be duplicated in the aquaculture setting. And fish meal and fish oil really have such a high energy and fat level that it's the most high energy diet that you can feed to these fish."

Granger says the fish used in this feed are typically oily ones that people don't like to eat. But he says they still have a place in the marine ecosystem, and people are aware that over-exploiting them could cause problems. For that reason, aquaculture experts are developing fish food that relies more on vegetables and less on fish meal and fish oil. But Granger says major changes might be slow in coming. For the foreseeable future, I don't think we can make the switch totally away from fish meal and fish oil. I think you can continue to add grains and vegetable oils, but I don't think you can totally substitute at this point.

Source: Earthwatch Radio at http://ewradio.org