- The Expedition
- Meet the Team
- Resources
We will help collect caterpillars in ecosystems that were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and rear them in order to measure parasitism rates. We'll also care for colonies of caterpillars and parasitoids that Dr. Lee Dyer and his colleagues are using in climate change research.
And, we will help Dyer rebuild his collection of reared insects by restoring a greenhouse that was damaged by the hurricanes, do some simple chemical analysis, and help update the Forest Caterpillar database.
Join us on our adventure on an Earthwatch expedition, Climate Change and Caterpillars in New Orleans, from October 26 -November 5, 2008!
Meet the Teachers
Lisa Espro
Melrose Elementary in
St. Petersburg, FL
I am originally from Long Island, NY and move to St. Petersburg, Fl 2 years ago. Currently I am teaching 5th Grade Science and Math at Melrose Elementary in St. Petersburg, Fl. I have a passion for Science and I love to educate the students and expand their borders . I am looking forward to this expedition and I can't wait to share all that I learned with the students at Melrose. I am always keeping active by coaching, playing beach volleyball, going to the gym or by just taking my dog for a walk.
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/espro/
Katy Farber
Rumney School in
Middlesex, VT
Katy Farber teaches fifth and sixth grade at Rumney School in Middlesex, Vermont. She has been teaching students in various locations, from environmental education centers, kayaks and mountains, and in the classroom for the last 10 years. She is excited and honored to be an Earthwatch fellow, and to share this experience with her students. Katy enjoys hiking, running, writing and reading in her rare spare time. She has two spritied daughters, age one and three, that keep her busy when she is not teaching.
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/Farber/
Paula Feynman
Paula Feynman teaches 6th graders math and science. Her favorite lessons involve going outside and getting dirty. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, 2 daughters, 2 dogs, a gecko and a snake.
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/feynman/
Georgia Gier
Georgia Gier is a high school science teacher at the W. T. Clarke High School in the East Meadow School District on Long Island, NY specializing in Earth Science, Meteorology, and Astronomy. After receiving her Bachelors in Physiology from Gettysburg College she worked in the corporate world creating and running health promotion and health prevention programs for corporations and brokerage houses. She then went for her Masters at Long Island University in Earth Science Systems Education and took her focus of human health and applied it to the health of the Earth and now teaches her students how the interconnected nature of the world applies itself into not just their coursework, but their daily lives. She has recently completed her coursework in her doctorate program from Curtin University of Technology specializing in Science Learning Environments and is looking forward to completing her research and helping teachers create a more engaging learning environment with their students.
She was honored to be selected as one of the 1000 people invited to join The Climate Project and to be trained by Al Gore. She offers talks to community organizations and relays the point that Climate Change should not be viewed as a political issue but a moral one and shows how each person can make small changes to improve the environment without having to make drastic changes.
In her free time she loves to travel, knit, read, as well as going hiking and geocaching in local preserves. She is looking forward to participating in the Live From the Field Fellowship to work with the researchers and fellow teachers as well as having the opportunity for her students to gain a more scientific and worldly appreciation of the topics that they learn in the classroom and having the ability to see how alive and current science is to their lives.
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/gier/
Rebecca Lewis
My name is Rebecca Lewis and I teach 7th grade Life Science. I am very excited to be going on an Earthwatch expedition and I can’t wait for my students to experience “live from the field” as they go on their virtual field trip. I feel very honored to have this experience and excited for my students to see a new place and learn about science that is outside the pages of their textbook.
When I am not teaching, my hobbies are spending time with my family, going on adventures, being outside, and photography.
I look forward to study and understand the work that is being done in New Orleans with caterpillars and to see firsthand the effects of Hurricane Katrina has on wildlife. I am hoping my adventure will inspire my students to take adventures on their own and learn how important it is to understand their place in nature. Come join me!
Blog: http://www.earthwatch2.org/LFF/lewis/
Tony Novelli
Fernbrook Elementary School
Hi! My name is Tony Novelli and I am a Second Grade teacher in Fernbrook Elementary School. I have been teaching for over 8 years and love my work, but this is only my third year at Fernbrook. I have studied biology for 4 years at Rutgers University and love the outdoors. Plants and ecology are some of my areas of interest, and I share this with my family, son, and our 2 dogs, Tavo and Sasha.
While in the wetlands and forests of Louisiana, I will be assisting scientists in a research project assessing if weather patterns such as hurricanes affect the caterpillar and butterfly populations of the area. By using the scientific process, scientists can gather data and deduct if weather does affect the predators of caterpillars. This gathering of data is what I am going to be helping with. I am so eager to help with the research and get my hands dirty
I am so excited to be able to help combine some of my passions; teaching, technology, science, and nature. I cannot wait for October 26th to arrive so I can begin this exciting adventure! Please feel free to contact me before, on or after our adventure into the swampy bayous of Louisiana. I’ll see you there.
Blog: http://www.blogger.com/profile/04032613815418898628
Brenda Page
E.C. Stevens and Parker Farms Schools
Wallingford, CT
My name is Brenda Page and I am a music teacher. I completed my formal training at the Hartt School of Music in West Hartford, CT, where I earned my Bachelor of Music and Master of Music Education degrees. My teaching career has taken me to Colorado and New Hampshire, and back to Connecticut.
I currently teach instrumental music to fourth and fifth grade students at E.C. Stevens and Parker Farms Schools in Wallingford. It is here that my students begin their "instrumental careers", learning to play either the flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, French horn, trombone, baritone horn, snare and bass drums, timpani, cymbals, bells, violin, viola or cello.
Together, we form a band and an orchestra and perform for our schools and the community.
In addition to music, I have a passion for the outdoors, especially for our National Parks. My favorite destinations are Canyonlands National Park and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah, and the Grand Canyon/Havasupai Indian Reservation in Arizona. My outdoor pursuits include hiking, backpacking, camping, bicycling, swimming and snorkeling.
As I love to learn, I have also undertaken studies in art, archaeology, broadcast communications and teaching English as a second language. Thus, I look forward to continuing in the learning process as I engage in this "Live from the Field" pursuit with the scientists from Tulane University and the students of Wallingford. As a team we will participate in the co-creation of a unique educational experience, evoking our curiosities and stretching our minds toward the formulation of new insights, ideas and knowledge.
Blog: http://www.caterpillarsneworleans.blogspot.com
Meet the Scientists
Dr. Lee Dyer
Tulane University
Dr. Lee Dyer, age 37, is an ecologist who has worked with a variety of organisms in the tropics for the past 10 years and in temperate areas for the past 14 years. He received a B.S. in Biochemistry and English from the University of California at Santa Barbara. After four years of research on the effects of water diversions on the Mono Lake ecosystem, he moved to Boulder, Colorado, where he received a Ph.D. in ecology. His thesis work examined interactions between plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies and included work in Costa Rica, Colorado, and California.
Dyer was a professor for 5 years at Mesa State College in Colorado where he established the Western Colorado Center for Tropical Research and received the distinguished faculty scholar award. As of January 2001, Dyer is a faculty member in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Department at Tulane University. Dyer will be in charge of all aspects of the project, and his specialties relevant to the project are statistical modeling, community ecology, caterpillar natural history, and basic natural products chemistry.
Rebecca Hazen
Field Team Leader
Tulane University
Rebecca Hazen, 30, is a second-year graduate student studying tritrophic interactions at Tulane University. She earned a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Cortland, where she conducted research involving behavior and chemical communication in caterpillars, and hybridization in milkweeds. Since then, Rebecca has been an assistant team leader for several AmeriCorps projects, including wetland rehabilitation, prairie restoration and elementary school mentorship. She also worked for two years as a research assistant at Trinity University, studying the effects of diversity on invasive plant species. At Tulane, Rebecca enjoys educating undergraduates in general biology, ecology, conservation and evolution and has won the Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching for two consecutive years. She is currently developing a Ph.D. thesis focusing on climate variability and cascades of diversity. Rebecca has coordinated several Earthwatch teams, including the "Student Challenge Awards Program" and "Live From the Field" teams. When she's not out in the swamps collecting caterpillars, in the lab, or teaching, Rebecca enjoys live music, dancing, traveling, and adventures in cooking!
Time in |
Expedition Briefing from Earthwatch Institute
Classroom Earth Case Study “Forest Caterpillars”
Dr. Lee Dyer's Caterpillar website - caterpillars.org
Dr. Lee Dyer's homepage on the Tulane website
“Can Global Warming Cause Caterpillar Outbreaks” in National Geographic News
“Build Your Own Caterpillar” interactive simulation developed in collaboration with Scholastic Explorers
Blogs from previous teams:
Melanie Du Bose
MelanieDuBose.blogspot.com
Joseph Lomonaco
CaterpillarJoe.blogspot.com
Samra Olofson
NewOrleansLiveFromTheField.blogspot.com
Noreen Drucker
CaterpillarHunting.blogspot.com
SFarnham.blogspot.com/
2006 Team Blog
http://caterpillarteam.blogspot.com/
Map
