[LTER-sbc_help] News from The Hubbard Brook Research Foundation

[Hubbard Brook Research Foundation]

 ‌ ‌ December 2020 Promoting the understanding and stewardship of forest ecosystems through scientific research and monitoring, policy outreach, and education Click the image above to read HBRF's Annual Report for 2020 It felt like the Earth rocked on its axis more than once in 2020. Thanks to the stabilizing support of our friends, partners, and donors, we pivoted, rebalanced, and stand ready for the challenges ahead. At HBRF, it was a year of introspection, growth, and service in spite of and also inspired by the colliding crises we faced together. If you haven't already, I hope you'll take a few minutes to read about our work in our recent annual report and consider sharing it with a friend. With deep gratitude and hope for 2021, I and my colleagues at HBRF wish you a safe, happy, and healthy holiday season. Sincerely, Anthea Lavallee HBRF Executive Director HBRF's Annual Fund Drive is Underway! As a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, contributions from individuals are essential to our science outreach. It will be an important year, and we are scanning the post-election landscape for new opportunities to provide science in service of policy, practice, education, and community. We hope you'll consider a year-end gift and would be honored to count you among our supporters. OUR APPEAL CONTRIBUTE Featured Program Young Voices of Science portraits by Duke University student, Cydney Livingston The Hubbard Brook Research Foundation welcomed its first Young Voices of Science cohort in the fall of 2020 with generous support from the Canaday Family Charitable Trust and an anonymous foundation. The program is designed to "turn up the volume on young voices of science" by providing environmental graduate and undergraduate students with science communications training and outreach experience at an early career stage. Participants attended a series of expert-led Zoom workshops and are now developing their own outreach projects. "I learned more about scicomm in this program than I ever have. It was awesome!" "The material was great to be exposed to and be able to take moving forward, but I also really appreciated the community. It's nice knowing that so many other wonderful people share similar interests and concerns." —Young Voices of Science participants For the inaugural program, HBRF selected 21 students from 11 academic institutions. Workshop topics included The STEM Ambassador Program and finding your impact identity, writing opinion pieces, the art of storytelling, engaging with policymakers, and empathy in science communication. Proposed student projects include an op-ed about the crucial need for environmental education in the school curriculum, an audio postcard about a hemlock stand besieged by hemlock woolly adelgid, and a Tu B'shvat Seder at a local synagogue celebrating both the biological and traditional Jewish classifications of trees and fruit. Stay tuned for the spring 2021 program announcement and call for applications! READ MORE Photos from the Lab (Click to Enlarge) With COVID restrictions limiting field work, we thought we'd try something a little different for this issue: photos from the lab! Avery Cox, an undergraduate student at Castleton University, is working with Dartmouth Professor Matt Ayres, Castleton Assistant Professor Christine Palmer, and Boston University graduate student Corinne Vietorisz on a mycorrhizae project. In the process, Avery has become highly skilled at macrophotography, capturing stunning images of lichens, bryophytes, and ectomycorrhizae from Hubbard Brook. Explore some of his up-close-and-personal images of "The Little Life of Hubbard Brook" below, with identifications provided where possible by Nat Cleavitt. Cladonia squamules (lichen) with Orthodicranum sp. (moss) Ptillidium pulcherrimum (liverwort), Hypnum pallescens (moss), and Cladonia squamules (lichen) Ptillidium pulcherrimum (liverwort) capsule with perianth leaves Moss sp. Brachythecium sp. (moss) Cladonia squamules (lichen) & Orthodicranum sp. (moss) Moss sp. Plagiomnium sp. Hypnaceous peristome on a typical moss sporophyte Outreach Highlight: Zoom-a-Scientist To support K-12 teachers and students during the pandemic, HBRF launched “Zoom-a-Scientist.” Since the spring, Hubbard Brook scientists have been partnering with classes for live, virtual science presentations and discussions. This fall, Sara Kaiser, Director of the Hubbard Brook Field Ornithology Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, presented “Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest: An Entry Point Into Field Ornithology” to the Principles of Ecology course at the Cambridge School of Weston in Massachusetts.   Nat Cleavitt, vegetation team leader at Hubbard Brook, led Zoom outreach presentations for three 5th grade classes at Gilmanton Elementary school who are using her book, Seeking the Wolf Tree, in their science curriculum. Research Highlight: Ice Farming! Field technician Gabe Winant takes an ice measurement on the "Ice Farm" The Ice Storm Experiment (ISE)—a team effort among researchers, technicians, and students to create the world's first-ever experimental ice storm in a safe, controlled environment—has gained a reputation as one of the "coolest" studies to emerge from Hubbard Brook in recent history. It's also an example of how public engagement with science can lead to new questions and co-designed research that addresses on-the-ground issues. The "ice farm" project, one component of the ISE, is the direct result of stakeholder engagement. The aim of the project was to identify low-cost collectors for measuring ice build-up that could be distributed broadly, across volunteer observation networks, such as the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). The ISE team established a plot near headquarters with a variety of "branch-like" materials (wires and rods of different diameter), mounted on pedestals and installed at different angles. Next, they created a miniature ice storm by spraying the farm with stream water under freezing conditions. The team found that rods mounted at an angle yielded the most consistent ice measurements—useful information for understanding, measuring, and predicting the impacts of these destructive and extreme winter weather events. The ice farm before, during, and after icing READ MORE In Case You Missed It Winters across northeastern North American forests are losing their cold and snow, with profound implications for water, wildlife, forests, and people. The Confronting Our Changing Winters Science links report outlines specific indicators of changing winter conditions—right now, on the ground—in northeastern North America. To prepare the synthesis, scientists examined one hundred years of winter temperature and precipitation data from weather stations across the forested areas of the northeastern United States, eastern Canada, and Great Lakes region. A new digital version of the report is now online. READ MORE Upcoming Event - TONIGHT at 7:00 pm December 9: Winter Wonderland No More? Climate Change & Northeastern Forests Join Hubbard Brook scientists Peter Groffman and Lindsey Rustad for a virtual Cary Science Conversation with Cary Institute President Joshua Ginsberg. They will discuss how winters are changing, consequences for forest ecosystems, and adaptations. Register (for free) at the following link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/winter-wonderland-no-more-climate-change-northeastern-forests-tickets-128675906099 As always, thanks for your interest in Hubbard Brook. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, ideas, or suggestions, and help us to spread the word by forwarding this email to a friend. JOIN OUR MAILING LIST VISIT OUR WEBSITE MAKE A DONATION Corporate Sponsors Chester Forest Products Chroma Technology Corp. Durgin & Crowell  Lumber Co., Inc. FORECO LLC King Forest Industries Lakeside Engineering, Inc. Law Offices of Joyce E. Scott Loveland Forestry The Lyme Timber Company New England Forest Products Northland Forest Products Schiffman, Dattilio & Commpany, P.C. HBRF is grateful to the New Hampshire Sustainable Forestry Initiative for their annual support of student interns at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest. HBRF Trustees Charles Driscoll, Chair, Syracuse University Stan Williams, Vice Chair John Smitka, Secretary   Michael Shoob, Treasurer   Deecie Denison Peter Groffman Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, CUNY Advanced Science Research Center, Brooklyn College Dorothy B. Heinrichs Dartmouth-Hitchcock Ali Jackson Sciencenter Roger Larochelle Squam Lakes Conservation Society Gene E. Likens Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies Peter Martin Nicholas Rodenhouse Wellesley College Anant Sundaram Tuck School of Business Dartmouth College  Pamela Templer Boston University  Harriet Van Vleck Lindsey Rustad U.S. Forest Service Anthea Lavallee HBRF Executive Director The Hubbard Brook Research Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the Hubbard Brook Ecosystem Study. Hubbard Brook Research Foundation | 30 Pleasant St., Woodstock, VT 05091 Unsubscribe sbc_help at lternet.edu Update Profile | About our service provider Sent by sciencelinks at hubbardbrookfoundation.org powered by Try email marketing for free today!
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.lternet.edu/pipermail/sbc_help/attachments/20201209/e8923bef/attachment-0001.html>