News - National Wildlife Federation - Eco-Schools USA
June 2018 News Brief
News
Participating in the ENSO Campaign? Join the New Water Quality Collaboration Group!
Are you taking water quality measurements as part of the Phase III GLOBE ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) Student Research Campaign? Then join the new GLOBE Water Quality Collaboration Group (GWQCG)!
Led by Bob Connick, GLOBE schools from across the world are taking water quality measurements that help explore one of the ENSO Campaign's Guiding Investigative Questions, "What is the quality of water in our environment?" When you join the GWQCG, you can share ideas, upload documents, and post questions.
By learning all about water quality measurements in a local setting, you can learn just how these local measurements help us understand the global picture of water quality and its health, agricultural, cultural, and socioeconomic impacts.
To join the GWQCG, click here.
U.S. Department of State Highlights GLOBE Scientist Busy Helping Citizen Scientists Act as "Agents of Change" in Battle Against Zika
A recent DipNote blog (the official blog of the U.S. Department of State) highlighted a long-time GLOBE Earth Scientist, Dr. Russanne (Rusty) Low, and her innovative project to teach citizen scientists to roll down their sleeves and engage in the battle against infectious disease outbreaks – including the current Zika outbreak – with the help of the GLOBE Observer App.
Working with The GLOBE Program since 2001, Rusty continues her affiliation with GLOBE as a Master Trainer and as a member of the GISN (GLOBE International STEM Network). She also provides significant contributions to GLOBE through her work as a climate scientist at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES).
As the Lead Scientist for the GLOBE Observer (GO) Mosquito Habitat Mapper, Rusty has focused on inspiring citizen scientists to join in the battle to reduce the risks of disease buzzing in and around their own backyards and communities. “Citizen scientists can be agents of change,” Low said, “reducing the risk of Zika and other vector-borne diseases.”
The GO Mosquito Habitat Mapper App, a mobile app funded by NASA, allows everyone with a smartphone to get down-and-dirty in the fight against mosquito-related infectious diseases. Citizen scientists can easily download and use the app to identify potential mosquito breeding sites and to count samples of mosquito larvae.
In 2016, Low received a grant from the Combating Zika and Future Threats Grand Challenge (funded through USAID). As a result, Low was able set up a pilot program in Peru and Brazil. Through this endeavor, students – acting as citizen scientists – used the GO Habitat Mapper to collect and share mosquito data, and to help develop local mitigation measures to reduce the risk of disease. “The project,” Low said, “will create new data sets that do not exist today; help students better understand their environment and mitigate risk; deliver the new data sources to health officials and their communities; and enable the efforts to be replicated throughout the world.”
To read the entire DipNote blog, click here.
To learn more about the GLOBE Observer App (and the Mosquito Habitat Mapper) and how you can download and put it to use today, click here.
U.S. GLOBE Partners Highlight Accomplishments at 2018 North America Regional Meeting
The Purdue University GLOBE Partnership hosted the 2018 North America Regional Meeting (NARM) and a Pedosphere Train-the-Trainer, 26-29 March, in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA. NARM began on 28 March with a welcome by the NASA Program Manager, Dr. Lin Chambers, and a guest speaker, Dr. Jonathan "Nate" Slade Jr., discussing how the effect of air quality policies can be seen in long-term data.
The meeting was attended by approximately 50 people representing 30 partnerships and affiliated organizations. Jennifer Bourgeault, Dr. Tony Murphy, Jessica Taylor, and David Overoye shared program updates from the perspectives of the United States office, the GIO, GLOBE Working Groups, and the website.
Lightning talk sessions (a series of six-minute presentations followed by a block of time for participants to speak with presenters) and strategic planning discussions filled the rest of the meeting. Time was also set aside throughout the NARM for participants to network and build collaborative relationships. The lightning talks covered such topics as HoloGLOBE, a pre-service focus group, NGSS-aligned high school curriculum, GIS and GLOBE, the fire fuel protocol (currently in development), and incorporating engineering into GLOBE.
United States GLOBE partners can access the agenda, list of participants, slides, and pictures of the event in the "Documents” folder for the U.S. GLOBE Partners.
NOAA's Adopts a Drifter Program Engages Schools in Ocean Climate Science -- Adopt a Drifter Today
The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) Adopt a Drifter Program (ADP) is to establish scientific partnerships between schools around the world and to engage students in activities and communication about ocean climate science. GLOBE schools are invited to adopt a drifter today!
What is a drifter? A drifter (or a drifting buoy) is a piece of scientific equipment that collects data on the ocean’s surface. Drifters allow scientists to track ocean currents and changes in temperature, salinity, and other important components of the ocean’s surface as they float freely and transmit information.
The ADP was started in 2004. Since then, more than 80 schools worldwide have participated. The program links together schools from the United States and around the world to learn more about ocean temperature and currents.
To read more about the program, click here.
To look at potential lesson plans, click here.
If you’re interested in joining the program, click here.
If you have any questions, please email Emily Smith (ADP Coordinator) at: emily.a.smith@noaa.gov.
Need Assistance? Maybe There's a Website Tutorial for That!
GLOBE Community Support Team (CST) staff are constantly creating and adding new website tutorials for the GLOBE community. Check back often, because maybe there is a website tutorial that can help you today! And, if there isn’t a tutorial for an issue you’re having, remember that you can always contact the CST for assistance.
The CST is available Monday through Friday at 1-800-858-9947. You can also read through the Frequently Asked Questions, and/or post and view comments in the Community Feedback Forum. We want to hear from you!
Anniversaries
Congratulations to the ten GLOBE countries celebrating anniversaries of successful GLOBE implementation during the month of June:
Argentina – 23 years
28 June, 1995
Bahrain – 17 years
16 June, 2001
Republic of Congo – 13 years
28 June, 2005
Dominican Republic – 21 years
20 June, 1997
Estonia – 22 years
19 June, 1996
Ireland – 23 years
12 June, 1995
Kenya – 21 years
9 June, 1997
Kyrgyz Republic – 23 years
9 June, 1995
Madagascar – 21 years
11 June, 1997
Monaco – 18 years
29 June, 2000
News origin: GLOBE Implementation Office