Category: Blog

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Wednesday Wild: Catbird

© Loree Griffin Burns
© Loree Griffin Burns


One of my sons has been learning to bird by ear, and he’s inspired me to try it myself. It’s hard! In fact, I’ve found that the few bird sounds I did recognize by ear have been pushed right out of my brain by the flurry of new calls and songs that I’ve been trying to cram in there. Thankfully, our resident catbird (above) has made it his personal mission, it seems, that I not forget his mew call.

Wanna hear it?

If you press that link, scroll down, hit the play arrow on the audio file labeled “mew call”, and repeat for an hour or two, you’ve got the soundtrack to my Wednesday.

Catchy, no?

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Life on Earth

[vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/34922807 w=400&h=300]

I’ve spent the past week or so exploring e-books, in preparation for the creation of the enhanced electronic version of TRACKING TRASH. Among the gems I’ve discovered so far is E.O. Wilson’s LIFE ON EARTH. What is available now is only an introduction to the enhanced textbook that will eventually be available, but the introduction is free–and stunning–so I recommend checking it out if you have the devices to do so.

To me, LIFE ON EARTH is an incredibly well-done glimpse into exactly what an enhanced e-book can do. As a codex-clutching skeptic, I thought I’d never be converted. Oh, my. If I’m not converted, I’m at least intrigued. This is not the textbook of old. It includes the same information, but presented in engaging ways that enhance understanding and didn’t for a moment distract me as a reader. There is footage of E.O. Wilson in the field, animations of cellular components, stunning full color image galleries, and more, all accessible (or not) as often as you like. Of all the e-books I’ve explored so far, the textbook genre is the one in which the electronic format makes the most sense.

Also? I think E.O. Wilson is a national treasure. In a short video interview introducing the chapter on small creatures, which you can see above, he explains why he has spent a lifetime studying ants. They are abundant and easy to find, he explains, simple to study and intensely interesting. And then, with a boyish chuckle that melts the part of me that so admires passion, he adds “I honestly cannot understand why most people don’t study ants!”

Me either, Mr. Wilson. Me, either.

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Twice-stabbed on an Apple Tree

© Loree Griffin Burns

Yesterday, in central Massachusetts, the sun came out. In celebration, my daughter and I spent a couple of hours outside after school. She did her homework on the picnic table, I scoped out one of our two apple trees. I’ve been reading a truly inspiring book on tree-watching–SEEING TREES, by Nancy Ross Hugo and Robert Llewellyn–and have decided to take up the sport. Somewhere between noting the gorgeous pattern of the bark (it was spongy and wet, mottled dark and light all over and then sprinkled with moss and lichens) and checking out the leaves, I found some critters. Not surprisingly, I was distracted. Ants. Slugs. And a ladybug! Not just any ladybug, mind you, but one I’ve not yet seen in the wild.

Can you see it up there in the photo?

That, my friends, is a Twice-stabbed Ladybug (Chilocorus stigma). Or maybe its a Once-squashed Ladybug (Chilocorus hexacyclus)*? I will never know for sure, because when I tried to catch it for a closer look at its chromosomes**, it dropped down into the grass. Lost forever. But I did manage this picture, which I’ll submit to Lost Ladybug Project soon.

So, eleven different species on my ladybug life list now. Hooray for the sun, and for tree-watching, and for ladybugs!

* I am not making these names up, I swear. They are from this excellent ladybug field guide.

**Okay, now I’m making things up. The only way to distinguish the two species is to examine the chromosomes, but I had no intention of doing so. I’m not that geeky. Plus, I don’t have the proper microscopes yet.

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Center City Public Charter School

Photos courtesy of An Open Book Literacy Foundation

Last month, while in Washington, D.C. for the USA Science & Engineering Festival, I was invited to visit the Center City Public Charter School in Center Heights. Sponsored by An Open Book, my morning visit with Ms. Vanessa Elliott’s sixth grade science class was, in a word, spectacular. Ms. Elliott’s students were excited and inquisitive and completely jazzed by the concept of citizen science. And I was completely wowed by their enthusiasm.

The morning would have been a success no matter what, because Dara La Porte from An Open Book had prepared the school, and Ms. Elliott had prepared her students, and because these kids were so very open to rewriting the definition of a scientist. (You know, so that it included them.) But my supremely generous publishers, Henry Holt Books for Young Readers and Houghton Mifflin Children’s Books, pushed the event over the top by donating enough copies of Citizen Scientists and Tracking Trash that each student went home with a copy of their very own.

Do you know how cool that was? It was very cool. I thought so, and so did the students.

Sometimes in the rush to write and edit and perfect and promote and meet deadlines, I lose sight of what I am really trying to do with my work: share stories and ideas that thrill me with people who will be equally thrilled. I’d like to thank each and every student I met at CCPCS last month for reminding me of that. Happy exploring to all of you!

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Citizen Science in Central Mass

I’m participating in some pretty cool MassAudubon citizen science events in the coming months and hope you’ll consider joining me:

Citizen Science Sampler
Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary
414 Massasoit Road, Worcester, MA
508-753-6087
Saturday, May 19, 1-3pm

In this free event, participants will learn about four important citizen science projects ongoing at Broad Meadow Brook (Monarch Larval Monitoring Project, Oriole Project, and Lost Ladybug Project and a Red-backed Salamander study). After a brief introduction to each, we’ll head out into the field to try our hand at the various projects. I’ll be on hand to talk about Lost Ladybug Project (see below) and to talk about my new book, Citizen Scientists: Be a Part of Scientific Discovery from Your Own Backyard.

Hunting for Lost Ladybugs
Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary
113 Goodnow Road, Princeton, MA
978-464-2712
Saturday, May 26, 1-3pm
Friday, June 22, 10am-12noon
Saturday, July 28, 10am-12noon
Saturday, August 25, 10am-12noon

Scientists at The Lost Ladybug Project are searching for rare native ladybug species, and you can help find them. Spend the morning with my daughter and I brushing up on ladybug biology, learning to identify common and rare species, and documenting ladybugs here at Wachusett Meadow … then go home and survey the ladybugs living in your backyard. Bring sharp eyes and a digital camera, if you have one. Please dress for meadow hiking, and remember that it’s tick season!

Please note: Registration is required for this event, and fees apply. See this link for details.

Edited on to add: The June ladybugging date has changed from Saturday, June 23 to Friday, June22. I’ve inserted the change above. Hope to see you there!

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A Quiet Wednesday

© Loree Griffin Burns

This is my first spring living in a house that has stood for 205 springs. And while the majority of the days I have lived here so far have been spent rushing from one settling-in activity to another, today I’m working quietly in my office, breaking every now and then to wonder about the people who may have worked quietly in this space before me. Did they love rainy days, squirreled up here above the yard, working in the warm glow of a lamp? Did they gaze out over the back yard and dream of summer vegetables? Spy on a robin’s nest tucked under that perfect old front eave?

I wonder how many baby robins have hatched outside this old window …

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USA Science & Engineering Festival

Later this month, science fans from around the country will descend on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC, for a celebration of all things science. The second USA Science & Engineering Festival is a free two-day event boasting thousands of hands-on activities, exhibits, and presentations. I’ll be speaking on the Family stage Saturday, April 28 at 4:25pm, and signing books at the Signing Stage at 5:30pm on the same day. (Woot! Woot!) Come on by and say hello!

Find details about the festival, featured activities, the book fair, and all the featured authors on the official festival website.

SCIENCE ROCKS!

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My New Vinyl

That right there is a 33 ½ rpm vinyl phonograph record called Sound of Insects. It includes tracks like “Viceroy Butterfly Walking” and “Mud-dauber Wasp in Flight.” It is by far the most incredibly perfect gift I have ever received.

I got it from the Tech Old Timers, a group of retired former students, faculty, and staff at my almer mater, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). The Old Timers gather once a month on campus to socialize and explore new ideas through invited speakers. Yesterday, their new idea was citizen science, and their invited speaker was me.

I can’t even tell you how wonderful the morning was. It included conversations with old friends (Dean Trask! Professor Bleumel!), the making of new ones, the sharing of passions, and a reminder of just how long and deep and interesting and interested my WPI family is. At the end of the morning, the Old Timers gave me this album, and I am still—a day later—stunned at its aptness. I have no doubt that once I find a record player, the sounds captured in the album’s grooves will bring me joy; I’m a true insect geek. But it will also remind me, each and every time I play it, of the way learning transcends discipline and gender and time and age.

In fact, I can’t quite shake the feeling that I’ll be bringing this record back to WPI one day. Perhaps when I’m an Old Timer myself. I’ll drag along whatever beaten up old record player I eventually find, and I will tell my new Old Timer buddies about the day, back in the spring of 2012, when I hung out with the old Old Timers. I’ll recall the connections, share again the same funny stories I heard yesterday. Maybe I’ll know a little something more about beetles by then, and I’ll tell what I know. Eventually I’ll drop a needle onto Sounds of Insects and play a few tracks. “Japanese Beetle on a Ruse,” or maybe “Cicada Warmup and Flight.”

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My NSTA 2012 Deets

This week I’m putting the finishing touches on a presentation for the National Science Teachers Association annual conference, and preparing for a panel presentation too. If you’re planning to join the festivities in Indianapolis, I’d love to see you at one or both events. Here are the details:

How Can I Help? Empowering Students with Citizen Science
Thursday, March 29, 2012
3:30-4:30pm
Westin Indianapolis, Capitol II

As a scientist, a writer, and a mother, Dr. Loree Griffin Burns is committed to providing children with accurate, age-appropriate information about real world events. Drawing on her experiences researching and writing about environmental issues from ocean pollution to the collapse of honey bee populations, Burns proposes a formula for sharing these stories without scaring students: give them something meaningful they can do to help. From tallying beach debris (International Coastal Cleanup) and monitoring native bee populations (Great Sunflower Project) to tagging monarch butterflies (Monarch Watch) and hunting ladybugs (Lost Ladybug Project), Burns has practiced citizen science in her own backyard, coordinated events in her community, introduced projects into schools, and observed events from Central Park to central Mexico. In this workshop, she’ll recommend a variety of nationally organized and freely available citizen science projects, pairing them with trade books to help teachers promote both inquiry and literacy in their science classrooms.

Integrating Science and Literacy: A Journey, Not a Destination
Friday, March 30, 2012
8:00-11:00am
JW Marriott Indianapolis, White River Ballroom D

This session offers teachers and administrators an opportunity to learn from authors how to integrate their award-winning trade books into science instruction. Participants can get up close and personal with these acclaimed authors:

Loree Griffin Burns
April Pulley Sayre
Peggy Thomas
Pamela S. Turner
Sallie Wolf
Wendy Saul

Other presenters are educators who have served or chaired the NSTA/CBC Outstanding Trade Book Committee. Opportunities will be available to work in small groups with the authors and vetted activities will be shared.

Edited to Add:
In addition to the two presentations described above, I’ll be signing copies of Tracking Trash and The Hive Detectives at the NSTA conference in Indianapolis next week. Here are the details:

Friday, March 30
1-2pm
Indiana Convention Center
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Booth #1467

And get this: the fine folks at HMH are giving the books away, while supplies last. Come on over and get one; I’ll be happy to sign it for you!