2014 SEEDS Spring Newsletter

ESA SEEDS Spring Newsletter

Greetings SEEDS Members!

Happy first day of Spring! We could not be happier that the season has changed (finally!) and that many of you are enjoying your spring break.  We are very busy with program components this semester with the 2014 SEEDS Leadership Meeting in Fort Collins, Colorado on April 9-13 (read more about this below).  We are also busy with the 2014 SEEDS National Field Trip to the Center for Limnology of the University of Wisconsin on May 8-11 and another SEEDS Regional Field Trip to Mountain Lake Biological Station run by the University of Virginia on May 22-25!   

April 22nd is EARTH DAY! Check out our segment on the SEEDS National Coordinated BioBlitz to create the event for your SEEDS Chapter! We will be sharing pictures, video and data collected from our chapters in the next edition of the SEEDS Newsletter!

To stay up to date with information on all of these cool and unique trips and opportunities, visit our website www.esa.org/seeds and follow us on social media: Facebook, Twitter and now on Linkedin with the ESA SEEDS discussion group!

In this Issue:

Chapter Grant Updates
SEEDS Chapter BioBlitz
SEEDS Video Contest
2014 SEEDS Leadership Meeting
Chapter Grant Updates

Check out what some of our chapters have been up to lately!

Fort Lewis College SEEDS held a showing of “Crude: The Real Price of Oil”, a documentary that narrates the story of a lawsuit filed on behalf of tens of thousands of Ecuadorans against Chevron for the contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon. The documentary produced a lively discussion of related worldwide environmental issues. Plans for the next semester were proposed, including a discussion with a professional ecologist and a possible environment clean up day.

McPherson College SEEDS Chapter members participated in a research project in Puerto Rico in conjunction with AKKA SEEDS Students from the University of Puerto Rico - Rio Piedras campus.  The project is focusing on a refuge that was recently established in Fajardo, PR, known as the Northeast Ecological Corridor.  Students from the project have submitted an abstract to present at this year's ESA Annual Meeting!


Dillard University SEEDS Chapter has begun work on an exciting opportunity - Invasive species research in the Jean Lafitte National Park located in Louisiana.  Under the tutelage of Dr. Julia Whitbeck, students have been familiarized with the park and are in the midst of doing library research in preparation for the project design.

University of Puerto Rico - Bayamon L.I.F.E SEEDS Chapter has begun work on their phenology project. The students have completed the preparations needed to begin sampling, which they have been doing on a weekly basis. The sampling includes: collecting and sorting leaves, fruits, and flowers in a laboratory setting. 

SEEDS Chapters Bioblitz:   Earth Day Event!

During the weeks surrounding Earth Day (Tuesday, April 22), we hope you will be able to join us in this year’s National Coordinated Chapter BioBlitz, and help your community celebrate its biological diversity. BioBlitz is an excellent way to engage community members, whether it is students on your campus to a larger public event, surveying the species of an area in your community is sure to surprise and thrill people with the abundance of life that exists right in their own backyard. Great possibilities exist for educational and scientific impacts when all 87 Chapters get involved!   

How do you sign up?! Visit our SEEDS BioBlitz page for more information!

SEEDS Video Contest

Are you creative? Could you use some extra spending money? If you answered yes to any of these, then start brainstorming your entry into the SEEDS Video Contest! This fun and easy project is a great way to get involved individually or with your SEEDS chapter, and get rewarded for doing so. All that is required is for you to share YOUR story about SEEDS on camera. Remember, you're the star - so share your thoughts, get creative, have some fun, and apply today!

Deadline: June 6, 2014.

Details, guidelines, and award information posted on the website: SEEDS Video Contest!

2014 SEEDS Leadership Meeting - Fort Collins, Colorado  

The SEEDS program is excited to be offering its 9th Leadership Meeting! The meeting will be hosted Dr. Jill Baron, President of the Ecological Society of America at the John Wesley Powell Center and Colorado State University in Fort Collins.  The event will take place from April 9-13 and the theme of the meeting will be "Food Security, Food Justice: Sustaining Agricultural Abundance and Healthy Communities".  We will be joined by 30 students from SEEDS Chapters all across the US and Puerto Rico, who will take part in the four day event with workshops, breakout groups, field trips and lots of FUN!

For more information on this meeting and past leadership meetings, visit our SEEDS Leadership Meeting website for pictures and descriptions!  

Student Opportunities

Appalachian Laboratory University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science  
Student Internship in Phenology and Macroecology 
UMCES is offering a summer research experience to study the adaptation of forest trees to climate. This NSF funded project is an ideal fit for students interested in forest ecology, climate change, and spatial analysis. To apply, please email a CV (including a list of relevant coursework) and a statement of interest to Dr. Andrew J Elmore at  Aelmore@Umces.Edu 
Deadline: April 1, 2014

Stay Connected to Seeds
  
For more visit http://www.esa.org/seeds