Teen and Adult Programs

Adults and Teens

Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at Jug Bay
Saturday, November 1; 1:00-4:00pm
Location: McCann Wetland Study Center

Come learn about Geographic Information Systems using Map Window, free GIS software, to view and analyze Jug Bay data. We will cover some essential GIS introductory material, but will focus mostly on using GIS data available from a number of Web sources. We will take a short hike to "ground truth" some of our results and collect some GPS (global positioning system) data to add to our map. This program is for adults involved in field work at Jug Bay.

Life in Extreme Environments: Is There (or was there) Life on Mars?
Thursday, November 13; 7:00-9:00pm
$5 per person
Location: McCann Wetland Study Center

Biogeochemist Marilyn Fogel will use photographic slides to describe her research on the remote islands of Svalbard in northernNorway. Marilyn works with a team of "astrobiologists" funded by NASA who use high-tech sampling equipment to search for microbes, biomolecules and other traces of life amidst the cold, windswept rocks, ice and glaciers. Svalbard is a "Mars analog" site, one of the places on our planet with environmental conditions similar to those on Mars. Results of these discoveries are used on the unmanned explorations of Mars. Polar bears, walruses, arctic foxes, skuas,and arctic terns share the habitats where her studies take place.

Taking Natural History Field Notes
Thursday, December 4; 7:00-9:00pm
Saturday, December 6; 8:00am-4:00pm
Cost $25
Location: McCann Wetland Study Center

This short course by Chris Swarth will introduce participants to a method for recording natural history observations in a field notebook and journal. The "Grinnell Method," where field notes are recorded in a standardized fashion in a field notebook, will be explained and illustrated. We'll learn how to describe locations, habitats, weather, to estimate numbers of species observed, and how to describe behavior or other observations. Each participant will keep a field notebook and a journal. Thursday night we'll discuss how field notes are made, their value and how to strive for clarity and completeness. We'll review examples of field journals. On Saturday we'll head into the field at the Sanctuary to observe animals and to record observations.

Diving Ducks and their Invertebrate Prey
Tuesday, December 16; 7:00-9:00pm
$5 per person
Location: McCann Wetland Study Center

Chris Swarth will describe the results of his ongoing study of the wintering waterbirds on the Patuxent River estuary and the invertebrate prey that sustains them. Dozens of volunteers help with this long-term study that takes place annually in February. A key finding is that duck species segregate along the 55-mile length of the estuary where they find just the right mix of food items that they require.