Great Expectations: Teaching from the Field

Many of you asked about the type of work I will be doing, why it is important and what my expectations are for this experience. Great questions. I am here in Nova Scotia to help with a long-term research project that focuses on the effects of climate change on mammals in Nova Scotia. The project is led by Dr. Chris Newman and Dr. Christina Buesching, two research biologists from Oxford University. My Earthwatch teammates and I (also known as Team 5) are now considered “Amateur Scientists” and/or “Citizen Scientists.” Our job will be to look at the populations (numbers) of various animals as well as their distributions (how they are spread out) in the field. We will set up 100 traps each day in a region called Cook’s Lake to see how many small mammals we can catch and count. They will be released after we mark them. The purpose of this is mainly to monitor the voles, mice, shrews and (possibly) chipmunks in this area. Next week we will take a look at some of the larger mammal populations. The data that we collect will be compared to last year’s data, which will give us an idea of how the population has changed over time. More details to come about how this will actually happen.

~Here are a couple of questions for you to respond to in your science notebooks: How do you think mammals are affected by changes in climate? What are your ideas/thoughts about how the climate here might be changing, and why?

When I heard about this Earthwatch opportunity, I thought it would be a great way to find out more about climate change and animal conservation efforts. These are things I am very interested in, and by being here I plan to learn much more about them. I also hope that my work here will inspire you to learn more about the environment and how we might impact it in positive ways. It’s a pleasure to be sharing this experience with you, and I hope you will continue to ask me thoughtful questions throughout this project.