Special feature from the 2008 Bioblitz
A school child's sketch of species diversity at Santa Monica Mountains.
Photograph by Mary Crooks/NGS
May 31, 2008
POSTED BY FORD COCHRAN/BIOBLITZ TEAM AT 4:44 AM PDT
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Special feature from the 2008 Bioblitz
It's midnight, the temperature's dropping fast, and we're halfway through the Santa Monica Mountains BioBlitz.
A field team just arrived at Base Camp with, in the words of one volunteer, "a pretty humongous spider. This is, like, the main event!"
Blaine Hebert of Pasadena City College, who led the spider search, isn't immediately certain what kind of spider this is. "I'm not even sure what family it's in. I've encountered three or four today that I've never collected before."
Blaine's group carries bags of small sealed plastic tubs containing wolf spiders, orb spiders, a sun spider (ironically named--they come out at night), and several varieties of daddy longlegs.
Next up? "I'm headed out now to find some scorpions."
Photograph by Mark Christmas/NGS
May 31, 2008
POSTED BY FORD COCHRAN/BIOBLITZ TEAM AT 12:14 AM PDT
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Special feature from the 2008 Bioblitz
The male song sparrow, Melospiza melodia, is angry. He swoops from branch to branch, jumping up and down, vibrating his wings, searching for the loud-mouthed intruder in his territory. Every so often, he sings softly, a highly aggressive response song intended only for the intruder.
But the intruder is not deterred. It's Bill Hoese of Cal State Fullerton. Bill has placed a speaker in the thicket below and broadcast a territorial intrusion call. When you study bird song for a living, sometimes you have to fool the birds.
Alli, an 11th grader at El Camino Real High School, holds a parabolic microphone pointed at the action. "The bird sounded like it was right here chirping at my shoulder!" Listen for yourself!
Photograph by Doug Meyer, audio recording by Bill Hoese
May 30, 2008
POSTED BY EMILY LANDIS/BIOBLITZ TEAM, 8:35 PM PDT
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Special feature from the 2008 Bioblitz
A California newt, Taricha torosa, found by wildlife biologists Todd and Heidi Hoggan while leading 11 volunteers in Leo Carrillo State Park. Cute, yes, adorable to be sure, but these newts contain the same deadly toxin as Japanese fugu or puffer fish. Look but don't eat!
Photograph by Heidi Hoggan/U.S. Forest Service
May 30,2008
POSTED BY FORD COCHRAN/BIOBLITZ TEAM, 6:33 PM PDT
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Special feature from the 2008 Bioblitz
Saunter down the main street of Paramount Ranch and you get the odd feeling that you've been here before. That sheriff's office and the swinging door of the saloon look familiar, don't they?
Before the all-star BioBlitz team came to town, stars of a different variety filled this ageless ranch. More than 100 classic western films were shot here in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s. Outlaws and lawmen settled duels in such famous titles as Gunfight at the OK Corral, Geronimo, and Gunsmoke. John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich,and Roy Rogers all worked here. More recently, "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" dispensed therapeutic wisdom from what is now the BioBlitz's First Aid building.
The National Park Service purchased the ranch and surrounding lands in 1980. When it's not reserved by Hollywood, Paramount Ranch finds fame as host to the Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest, the Calabasas Pumpkin Festival, and various weddings, bar mitzvahs, and family picnics. This well-loved site lends a palpable sense of place and human history--actual and imagined--to the BioBlitz.
Photograph by Ford Cochran/NGS
May 30, 2008
POSTED BY EMILY LANDIS/BIOBLITZ TEAM, 4:52 PM PDT
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Special feature from the 2008 Bioblitz
Disney animators created Simba, Mufasa, Nala, and Scar at a Burbank studio just north of Griffith Park, eastern outpost of the Santa Monica Mountains BioBlitz. But the Lion King stars aren't the only big cats to prowl these hills: The Santa Monica Mountains are home to mountain lions (also known as pumas) and bobcats.
Inventory teams routinely find paw prints and scat, but the animals themselves prove elusive. Ingenuity and technology--trip cameras rigged to photograph prowling mammals as they pass, radio collars and tiny GPS transmitters--help people keep tabs on rare and stealthy felines, says National Park Service biologist Seth Riley.
Major highways divide Santa Monica's few mountain lions from larger populations in neighboring public lands. Scientists are keen to understand how they're coping with this challenge, to locate lion kills, to measure their home ranges ("Puma 1," the park's dominant male, routinely traverses the entire breadth of the National Recreation Area), and to observe and tag newborn kittens.
Seth takes teams out night and day to track cats and collect data. How often does he see the animals? "Almost never."
Photograph of Puma 1 courtesy National Park Service
POSTED BY FORD COCHRAN AND EMILY LANDIS/BIOBLITZ
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Special feature from the 2008 Bioblitz
"We're just here to educate, engage ... and survive!" says Karma Graham, District Interpretive Specialist with California State Parks.
Paramount Ranch is abuzz with rangers sporting their classic uniforms, complete with hats and sequoia cone belts. Some serve as interpreters and educators, others manage logistics, security, and crowd control. Everyone is busy ensuring that all goes well in a two-day event that represents the culmination of one full year of hard planning.
And what do they most want to accomplish during the BioBlitz? NPS Chief Ranger Evan Jones says it's about "reaching kids. To keep the concept of the National Park alive, the younger generation needs to inherit the vision."
In California, the youth population is on the rise, not declining as in some parts of the country. "So reaching out to kids is the most important thing," agrees Ranger Amy Lee. "We're interpreting the language of nature. Once you start learning about something, then you can really begin to appreciate it. What was once just a sparkly rock is now a microcosm of geological history."
Photograph by Phil Crosby, Volunteer/California Department of Parks and Recreation
POSTED BY EMILY LANDIS/BIOBLITZ TEAM, 1:30 PM PDT
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Bioblitz 2008 Special Feature
Someone plays an audio recording of a bird call.
Schoolchild: What's that?
Expert: It's a barn swallow.
Schoolchild: Did you get it on iTunes??
Expert: I recorded it this morning!
May 30,2008
POSTED BY FORD COCHRAN/BIOBLITZ TEAM AT 1:15 PM PDT
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...3, 2, 1
The Santa Monica Mountains BioBlitz is underway!
"Take a look around," said Ray Sauvajot, chief of planning, science, and resource management for the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. "This is what we're exploring, from Griffith Park all the way out to the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains at the Oxnard plane and Mugu Lagoon.... Jump over the top of these hills and you're down at the coast. All these places provide habitat for different species, and we're going to find them."
KNBC-TV meteorologist Pablo Pareira hosted kickoff remarks with a sunny forecast. Jon Jarvis, director of the National Park Service's Pacific West Region, dedicated the BioBlitz to the memory of the late Jill Swift, a former teacher who loved to hike and helped lead the effort to create the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in the 1970s. Director of California State Parks Ruth Coleman celebrated the state's commitment to keep all the parks in the region open despite a tough economy.
National Geographic Vice President for Research, Conservation and Exploration John Francis called the National Parks "America's hearth: They reflect what we value, what we love." U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman, a champion for the nearly-complete Backbone Trail that spans the Santa Monica Mountains, noted that in this park so close to Los Angeles "we've kept nature near the kids. With gas at $4 a gallon, that's a good deal!"
Duke University professor and conservation biologist Stuart Pimm summed up why we 'Blitz: "We know so much about our universe. And I get to travel to exciting places all around the world, looking at nature. But here, just over the hills from Los Angeles, we don't fully know what's here."
Photograph by Ford Cochran/NGS
POSTED BY FORD COCHRAN/BIOBLITZ TEAM AT 12:14 AM PDT
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Here they come... a series of updates on the second annual Bioblitz, occurrring right NOW at Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.
Over the last 24 hours or so scientists, school kids, park rangers, volunteers, and all manner of visitors have gathered to take part in this foray into citizen science. We've "weathered" extremes of daytime highs in the 80s ,to nighttime lows of 30 degrees. We've managed to avoid the rattlesnakes, though we have spotted quite a few sliding their way across the grassy chaparral landscape! And of course, My Wonderful World has been distributing cool tattoos, stickers, and t-shirts to get kids thinking about the many geographic connections.
Through it all, expedition teams have been racing to identify as many plant and animal species as possible. So far, the count exceeds last year's catalogue recorded at the first annual blitz in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C. But don't take my word for it--Ford Cochran brings the latest facts and figures, images, videos, and interviews to the public through the Bioblitz blog. HIGHLIGHTS TO FOLLOW!
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Image courtesy of makeuseof.com
1. Competions: Akshay Rajagopal Wins National Geographic Bee
On May 21, 2008, eleven-year-old sixth-grader Akshay Rajagopal of Lincoln, Nebraska, took top honors at the 20th National Geographic Bee held in Washington, D.C. He won a $25,000 college scholarship and lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society. Akshay, who attends Lux Middle School in Lincoln, did not miss a single question in the preliminary, final and championship rounds.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that socio-political boundaries (i.e. those designating cities, states, and countries) are shaped through, well, just that—“social” and “political” experiences. In his new book, Stein provides a glimpse into how and why certain U.S. states’ borders came about. Through the use of history and geography, How the States Got Their Shapes is the first book to tackle why our state lines are where they are.
Download the Podcast from NPR
Google has unveiled new interactive online mapping features. The upgraded Google Maps now has a “more” button, which allows users to further explore spatial points of interest through links to images and Wikipedia entries. Interested in learning more? Check out this article.
4. Education: “We’re not in Arizona any more.”
Dennis Rees, a teacher at Oakwood Elementary in Peoria, Arizona recounts his inspiring story of traveling to the Galapagos Islands with Principal Paul Bower. During the trip, Rees learned about the islands’ rich biodiversity and shared his own expertise of Arizona geography with local students. Back home, students followed the journey through an interactive blog. The Galapagos getaway was granted by the National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions as part of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship Program.
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Image courtesy of BioBlitz:
Santa Monica National Recreation Area
It’s a bird! It’s a…quail! It’s a California quail (Callipepla
californica)!
Twenty-four hours of serious citizen science is less than 24 hours away. This weekend May 31-June 1, 2008 My Wonderful World and National Geographic will join the National Park Service and thousands of volunteers, educators, scientists, performers and others for the second annual Bioblitz. This year’s 24 hour species-identification race will take place at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in California. Did you know that SMMNRA is the world's largest urban national park? Comprising 153,075 acres, it has more area codes (5) and zip codes (26), including the notable 90210 zip code of Beverly Hills, than any other unit in the National Park System!
It’s sure to be an outstanding day full of fun, real science, and awareness-building—especially for those like me who can’t tell a quail from a crane. I’m particularly excited about a unique blogging opportunity accompanying the event. Ford Cochran, National Geographic’s Director of Education Technology, will chronicle the ‘blitz as it unfolds for the full 24 hours. He’ll feature interviews with participating school kids and scientists, historical information about the park, photos from the field, and much more!
To help get the word out and do our part for conservation awareness, My Wonderful World has made a special arrangement to post select portions of that content on our own blog. So check the blog Friday through Saturday for highlights from the Bioblitz. And for those of you serious bio/eco/enviro/ enthusiasts and night owls, be sure to tune your RSS feed to the Bioblitz blog for late-breaking, minute-to-minute reports from Ford. As always, we welcome you to join the conversation!
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Geography Lesson 2:
Cultural diffusion
I would never suggest spending precious time abroad watching
television in lieu of getting out and actually experiencing another culture.
However, I have found that it can
provide some valuable insights--in small doses. Television and other mass media
platforms are primary means for cultural communication in many societies, after
all. Most nights that I was in the U.K, I would take a couple of
hours to unwind while I drank some Earl Grey tea and watched a bit of British
television.
Cultural diffusion: Entertainment
Like many Americans, I am aware that hits like The Office and American Idol were British phenomena before the concepts were
exported to the
Another reality show called The Baron appears to adopt elements of the The Simple Life: Celebrities travel to small, relatively isolated communities where they live with and attempt to get along with locals, albeit with a distinctly British twist: Three English celebrities compete in an election to become the "baron"-- a title indicating leadership and noble status, transferable to descendants--of a "traditional" Scottish fishing village called Gardenstown. A provocative exploit into dynamics of culture, politics, class, history, etc., the unique program displays the influence of cultural diffusion--and resistance to it--in a single community struggling to find its place in the modern world. I found myself glued to the "tube" (the television, not the London "Underground" subway) late at night watching the episodes.
Gardenstown, Scotland. Image courtesy of gardenarms.co.uk
Cultural diffusion:
Politics
Most of us know from our
I'll conclude my series of U.K geography lessons with
another feature on British culture: food, language, and holidays.
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Due to some technical difficulties that prevented posting last Friday's "five for," we're bringing you a --slightly abbreviated-- list of links to start off the work/school week. Enjoy!
It’s
spring time, and that means baseball season for many sports fans out there. If
you’ve seen this "United Countries of Baseball" map at your local Nike retailer
and thought it purely aesthetic, you may be interested in Nike’s
quasi-scientific approach to creating the next iteration. Add your zip code and
contribute to this exercise in cultural geography! While you're at it, check out the similar mapping project at CommonCensus.org. I wonder if they'll find similar results?
2. 20
World Geography Facts that may [or may not] surprise you
I had to include this item because it is a
perfect example of what geography is NOT: 1) the study of places as static locations, or 2) the study of factors in isolation. I suspect that most with
an intermediate knowledge of geography will not be “surprised” by these
geography facts, a list [mostly] of apparent discrepancies between latitude and
climate. It’s not “magic” behind the counterintuitive observations, it’s
geography! True, latitude is one
factor affecting climate, a focus of physical geography. But climate is
complex, the result of many factors beyond simply latitude—e.g. elevation,
geology, wind patterns, continentality (i.e. proximity to the ocean), ocean currents, etc. No offense, of course, to the undoubtedly well-intentioned
blogger who posted the list. Hopefully, it will succeed in piquing your
interest and prompting you to think--geographically!
3. I
Like2Learn…geography!
Ilike2learn.com
features a wealth of fun geography quizzes. A great workday distraction, err, I
mean productive skill-enhancement activity.
4. MWW shout-out.
The “Homeschooler Savvy” blog highlights My Wonderful World
as a “cool geography site for kids.” Why thank you!
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Image courtesy of "You Are Here, Hon"
I recently got the opportunity to visit the Baltimore Festival of
Maps at the Walters Art
Museum in
I had the pleasure of being able to view the entire exhibit
at the Walters when I went. In the main section of the exhibit there are an
assortment of maps ranging in style, projection, and age. The Baltimore Map
Festival has something for everyone--the map of J.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, an
ancient coastline wood cut out, a computerized version of Washington D.C.
during the War of 1812 created by students at UMBC (University of Maryland
Baltimore County), and the game board for the game "Risk", to name a few. One of
my favorite pieces was the computerized depiction of the Civil War, scaled down
to only four minutes, that showed the opposing sides' territories on a United States
map. Another is a lady's white glove that amazingly has a map of London drawn
on it, created by George Shove for the 1851 Great Exhibition. I also got to see
a version of the lion map of Belgium
and Holland
Overall my favorite feature of the exhibit is the rotating
section "Maps on Purpose".
These maps are of local Baltimore
neighborhoods and were created by children and other members of each community.
During my visit, the maps from Druid Hill Park,Tuscany Canterberry, and Patterson Park/Patterson Place were on display. This held a
great personal connection for me as my dad's family is from Druid Hill Park;
it was really exciting to see a part of my family heritage on display.
I had an amazing trip to the Baltimore Map Festival at the Walters Art Museum and would highly
recommend making the trip. For more information about the exhibit at the
Walters go to their maps
home page. Additionally, for more information about the city wide festival
visit their site,
and to get the latest dish about maps and Baltimore
check out the official blog, "You
Are Here, Hon".
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Image courtesy of B.Navez, from Wikimedia Commons.
Have you explored your backyard or local park lately? Create your own BioBlitz and tell us what interesting plants, animals, bugs, and other organisms are native to your neighborhood. If you're in the Los Angeles area, make sure to stop by the second annual Bioblitz in the Santa Monica Mountains, California, May 30-31. This 24 race to identify as many species as possible will involve scientists, naturalists, and volunteers like you. The event is hosted by National Geographic and the National Parks Service, and My Wonderful World will be on hand to join in the fun and help infuse a geographic perspective.
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It’s
time once again for our Friday sampling of geographic news articles and
resources on the web!
National
Geographic and GlobeScan have just revealed the results of the first ever
international survey of consumer environmental behavior. No surprise here:
Americans rank at the bottom, scoring worse than those in any other country, developing or
developed, on housing, transportation and goods. They are by far the least
likely to use public transportation, to walk or bike to their destinations or
to eat locally grown foods. Visit the Greendex website to learn more and calculate your
own Greendex score.
2. North Carolina and Indiana Primary Results Maps.
We
can’t get enough of these election maps! Check out this set from the most
recent presidential primaries in Indiana and North Carolina, from
PoliticalMaps.org. A wealth of information is presented, from predictions, to
victory margins, to comparisons with previous elections.
3.
Meridian International Children’s
Festival
This
Saturday, May 10, the Meridian International Center in Washington, D.C will host the Meridian International
Children’s Festival, an “interactive and educational fun-fair that promotes cultural
exchange and understanding among children of all ages.” Representatives from 18
international embassies will share themes of world geography. But the learning
doesn’t stop there: Funds raised from the festival will help support Meridian’s International Classroom, a
global education program. Stop by if you’re in the area!
The Municipal Arts Society Planning Center has produced an excellent,
interactive online resource called “Planning for all New Yorkers: An Atlas of
Community Based Plans in New York City." The atlas forms part of an initiative to engage local residents, government
officials, and stakeholders in the creation of livable, desirable
neighborhoods.
Test
your geographic prowess with this fun, online game that is a favorite on social
networking sites, like Facebook.com, and has gained national media attention.
It may seem simple at first, but it speeds up and becomes quite tricky!
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One of the Cabinet War Rooms(figures are wax likenesses--not real
people!)
You may have noticed an absence of my signature here these
last couple of weeks. Out on a vacation to the
Imperial War
Nestled beneath the streets of London are a series of [once] secret chambers
that served as "command central" for the British Military during World War II.
Here, Winston Churchill and his cabinet of top officials and advisers met to
plan and execute military strategy. These advisers often lived full time in the
underground recesses.
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Image courtesy of Little Smarties
This Friday, we're serving up five of our favorite geographic videos for your viewing pleasure. We’ve managed to compile a diverse list that runs the gambit from slightly silly to ambitiously educational. Enjoy!
1. Geography Promo Video #1:
A group of students from the Czech Republic explain why “We Love Geography.”
4. Blast from the Past #1: Carmen Sandiego’s “Rockapella” sings the theme song from the hit television series. “Where in the world is____ ____?”
5. Blast from the Past #2:
The Animaniacs’ Yakko sings a song naming all the countries of the world.
Pretty impressive!
Sarah for
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