Forest Watch Teachers Professional Development Courses

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Professional Development Chatboard

Forest Watch Teachers Professional Development Courses

by Martha Carlson

Jun 7, 2012

FOREST WATCH is a proven program with students conducting basic and applied research on forest ecosystems in New England. In addition to impacting students and teachers, FOREST WATCH has made a number of important scientific findings over the past 20 years. Student data and indices document the following: • White pines respond to summertime (growing season) variations in ozone levels, which vary from year to year. • Needle health (based on chlorophyll content and moisture levels) is inversely correlated with growing season ozone levels: White pine health is good if ozone levels are low during a growing season. White pine health is poor if needles are exposed to high ozone levels during a growing season. • Trees growing at coastal locations exhibit poorer health than trees growing inland. Levels of ground-level ozone are higher along the coast and lower inland. • In the early to mid-1990s (1991-1996), white pine needle health overall was poor, but improved dramatically between 1...See MoreFOREST WATCH is a proven program with students conducting basic and applied research on forest ecosystems in New England. In addition to impacting students and teachers, FOREST WATCH has made a number of important scientific findings over the past 20 years. Student data and indices document the following: • White pines respond to summertime (growing season) variations in ozone levels, which vary from year to year. • Needle health (based on chlorophyll content and moisture levels) is inversely correlated with growing season ozone levels: White pine health is good if ozone levels are low during a growing season. White pine health is poor if needles are exposed to high ozone levels during a growing season. • Trees growing at coastal locations exhibit poorer health than trees growing inland. Levels of ground-level ozone are higher along the coast and lower inland. • In the early to mid-1990s (1991-1996), white pine needle health overall was poor, but improved dramatically between 1997 and 1999, corresponding to a significant drop in ozone levels over the same time period (1997-1999); • Since 2000, needle health has been generally very good, a time period in which regional ozone levels have been significantly lower than the time period from 1991-1996.

Teachers and students are eagerly awaiting their newest measurements, as they will try to find an explanation for a curious loss of two-year-old needles early in the 2010 growing season. UNH Extension foresters believe the needle cast was caused by fungi. Here in the Forest Watch laboratory, we suspect a new atmospheric pollutant, peroxylacetyl nitrate (PAN).

Four three-day Forest Watch teacher professional development courses will be offered this summer in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont. The workshop fee is $600.

July 11, 12 and 13, St. Johnsbury School, St. Johnsbury, VT August 1, 2, and 3, 2012, Morse High School, Bath, Maine August 8, 9, and 10, UNH, Durham, NH August 13, 14, and 15, Keene State University Conference Center, Keene, NH

Significant time during the course will be spent in fieldwork. Topics to be covered will include: Tropospheric ozone and the white pine as an indicator species Climate change and the sugar maple as an indicator species Field protocols for observation and sampling in the forest near school Biometrics of needles and leaves Spectral measures Biochemistry Remote sensing and mapping Data analysis and synthesis Inquiry--structured, guided and open Practicing science and school standards

For more information about FOREST WATCH go to: [link removed].

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