Aquaculture-in-Action Update

Striper Release Day

Acclimating fish

On June 4th, 1999, teachers and students from 4 schools, North County HS, Gateway School, Urbana HS, and Middletown HS, gathered at Sandy Point State Park to release striped bass they had raised in their classrooms during the school year. The striped bass were provided to them by the Horn Point Lab in Cambridge, MD, as part of the Aquaculture in Action project that involves schools in Maryland using aquaculture to enhance science teaching. Fish were transported to the release site in a dilute anesthetic solution along with portable aerators. All the fish made the trip successfully and students and teachers involved in the project provided the transportation.

Releasing Fish

Once at the site, the fish were acclimated to the Bay water for about 30 minutes by performing exchanges with the water used for transport. One by one each school netted and released their fish back into the Bay as Maryland Sea Grant Film Producer Michael Fincham video taped the event.

After the release the groups gathered together and discussed their experiments, successes and dilemmas related to aquaculture and raising striped bass during the school year. Some innovative ideas were shared among the group one of which was the techniques used for capturing the fish from the system for weighing and measuring. The most unique idea came from the group from Urbana HS. The students dropped a bird net into the tank, which covered the bottom, and then pulled the net to the surface easily catching the fish.

Green Schools Program

Green Schools celebrates Maryland's model environmental education efforts which combine classroom studies with the use of best management practices at schools and involves the community. These are noncompetitive awards to recognize and celebrate the achievement of schools meeting strict environmental education criteria. The program was developed by a diverse team of educators representing the Maryland Association for Environmental and Outdoor Education, Office of the Governor, the Maryland Association of Student Councils and the Maryland Departments of Education, Natural Resources and Environment.

All public and non-public schools in Maryland are eligible to participate. No special curriculum is needed. Schools must demonstrate that they meet criteria in the following areas:

• The school uses the environment as an integrating context or as an integral part of the school's instructional program
  
  
• Best environmental practices are modeled in the operation and design of the school facility
  
  
• The school extends its learning into the community through a variety of projects which address local environmental issues

In 1999, 34 schools from 15 counties and Baltimore City were selected to be Green Schools.

NOAA Education Web Site Ready For The Beginning Of School

Microbes for Hire Summer Workshop 1999

The Microbes for Hire Summer Workshop sponsored by the Pfizer Foundation, The Foundation for Microbiology, and Bell Atlantic-Maryland was held from July 6-16, 1999 in the Center of Marine Biotechnology SciTech Education Lab located in the Baltimore Inner Harbor. The workshop hosted 6 Maryland high school teachers and was designed to translate the applied microbial research at COMB into laboratory activities for teachers and students in Maryland. Teachers gained laboratory skills and enhanced content knowledge on topics including;

Bioremediation and the Effectiveness of Biosurfactants
Bioluminescence and the Application of Biosensors
Bacterial Biofilms and Their Relationship to Biodiversity
Microbial Screening Techniques for Identifying Bioactive Compounds
The Science of Winogradsky Columns and Marine "Microbial" Sediment
The Role of Bacterial Biofilms in Biological Filtration for Aquaculture
Digital Imaging and Microscopy in the Classroom
Microbes on the Web

Each topic area was presented by a COMB scientist or graduate student to provide the essential background of the research and was followed by a "hands-on" lab that exposed teachers to new techniques, laboratory materials, and ideas for their classroom. Teachers were allowed to design experiments and test out new techniques as a means of assessment and preparation for classroom follow-up. In addition, teachers were supplied with materials that were required for successful implementation of each lab activity within their classroom for the coming school year and 2 credits from the Maryland State Department of Education.

At the conclusion of the workshop teachers were asked to evaluate the usefulness of the instruction and the activities and make comments on program strengths and areas for improvement (see attached copies). A rating scale of 1-4 was used in which a "1" indicated a strong disagreement with the statement and a "4" indicated a strong agreement with the statement. All scores from all teachers, with exception of one statement from one teacher ranked at "3", were ranked "4". The teachers involved were diverse in experience from 20 year veterans to second year "up and comers". This gives added value to their evaluations since it illustrates the impact of the Microbes for Hire material at all experience levels. Oh yeah, they said they had fun too!

All teachers agreed that they would implement each lab and will be willing to share their experiences, ideas, and lessons with the next set of Microbes for Hire participants in the spring of 2000. This will be an exciting process as we develop the labs with input from the "field experts" and apply appropriate modifications that are sure to develop within the process of classroom implementation with a variety of students.