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The Marshian Chronicles
Live, Close-Up & Personal
Mark your calendars for
a web of interactive intrigue! Join Estuary Live
April 30, May 1 and May 2 for The Marshian Chronicles,
seven fact-packed segments broadcast live from the Rachel
Carson site of the North Carolina National
Estuarine Research Reserve in Beaufort. It's wise
to sign up in advance (required for school groups).
These
life-teeming journeys will offer students and others
around the globe the chance to actively join the field
trips, jump into the mud and muck with e-mail questions,
and observe thousands of multi-legged creatures during
the day and strange sea-beings with wandering eyes at
night.
Susan Lovelace, naturalist and education
coordinator at
the NC National Estuarine Research Reserve,
reveals a new world to NC students.
With
the know-how of Susan Lovelace, educator coordinator
at the reserve, North Carolina students will lead the
trips. Michael Colby, of the weather service, will conduct
a special session on coastal weather. Faculty and graduate
students of Duke University and the University of North
Carolina with also help guide these journeys into the
heart of the estuary, where Rachel Carson once studied.
The famed scientist and writer references the site in
several books, including The Edge of the Sea,
in which she writes about the very areas to be explored
in Estuary Live.
The
reserve is part of a network of 25
research reserves across the country. As magical
sites where America's rivers meet the sea, the estuaries
are spawning grounds and nurseries for at least two-thirds
of the nation's commercial fish and shellfish. Estuaries
filter pollutants from water, buffer shorelines from
erosion and flooding, and nourish birds and other animals.
They also feed the hearts and minds of scientists, poets,
painters, swimmers, boaters, and bird atchers. Reserve
staff work closely with local communities, integrating
research, education and natural resource management.
Exploring
the Rachel Carson reserve will be an intriguing journey.
In addition to real-time broadcasts, the journeys can
be downloaded at no cost for future exploration. The
line-up includes:
- General
ecology with a close look at food webs and estuarine
habitats and how different elements of the estuary
all work together.
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From aboard a Duke University research vessel, lessons
about dredging and trawling to demonstrate how sampling
methods reveal life in the estuary.
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A unique nighttime glimpse into the science and splendor
of the estuary. Expect to catch flounders and blue
crabs!
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Earth science from NOAA's National Weather Service,
with Michael Colby of the
Eastern Region Forecast Office leading the session.
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Live reports about diamondback terapins, red drum
and stingrays - an exploration of life at this very
special place.
Sign
up in advance at
www.estuarylive.org.
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