2010 Summer Science Enrichment Camp addresses Environmental Issues – Invasive Species

2010 Summer Science Enrichment Camp for students at Southeastern Community College in Whiteville, North Carolina.

In 2009, Southeastern Community College was awarded a $109,000 grant from the Burroughs-Wellcome Foundation to fund a series of Summer Science Enrichment Camps for area high school students in the North Carolina Lower Coastal Plain. The primary topic for the week long camps, which will run from 2009-2011, will be Invasive Species, which is an important emerging environmental issue. During these hands-on, field-oriented sessions, camp participants will interact directly with prominent scientists and educators who are involved with invasive species management issues across the U.S. and Canada.

Here is an abbreviated agenda for the 2010 Camp:

Monday, July 26, 2010
8:30-8:45 Introductions and Camp Overview - Rebecca Westbrooks, Camp Director
8:45-9:30 Lecture - Dr. Randy Westbrooks - Introduction to Invasive Species
9:30-10:15 Lab Exercise – Randy Westbrooks - New Students:Weed Risk Assessment – Beach Vitex Lab Exercise – Randy Westbrooks -Advanced Students: Separating Weed Seeds from Soil
10:30-11:30 Lab Exercise – Randy Westbrooks - New Students: Extraction and Preservation of Live Cactus Moth Larvae (Cactoblastis cactorum) from Prickly Pear Cactus Cladodes (Pads) Internet Research – Randy Westbrooks – Advanced Students:Internet Research - Collect Information to Develop a Fact Sheet on Sawtooth Oak
11:30-12:00 Lecture - Teresa Lengner –New Students: Introduction to GPS and Orienteering Technical Writing Exercise – Randy Westbrooks – Advanced Students:Develop a Fact Sheet on Sawtooth Oak
1:00-2:00 Outdoor Lab Exercise – Teresa Lengner – All Students: Treasure Hunt: Orienteering and Geo-caching on the SCC Campus
2:00-3:00 Outdoor Lab Exercise – Randy Westbrooks and Jonathan Short – All Students: Plant ID and Collection; GPS Survey of Invasive Plants on the SCC Campus and Nature Trail
3:15-4:30 Lab Exercise – Teresa Lengner – All Students: GIS Mapping of Invasive Plants on the SCC Campus


Tuesday, July 27, 2010
8:45-9:30 Lecture: Karan Rawlins, U-GA - Introduction to U-GA EDDMapS
9:30-10:15 Lab Exercise/Internet Research – Karan Rawlins – All Students: Enter Field Data from Monday Lab Exercises into EDDMapS
10:30-12:00 Field Trip – Randy Westbrooks and Jonathan Short – All Students: GPS Surveys - Japanese Knotweed in Columbus County
1:00-2:30 Field Trip – Steve Hoyle, Randy Westbrooks, and Jonathan Short – All Students: Alligatorweed Control at Lake Waccamaw State Park – Chemical Control; Discussion of Biological Control Methods - Lake Waccamaw State Park Boat Ramp
3:00-4:30 Lab Exercise/Internet Research – Karan Rawlins – All Students: Enter 2009 Wild Taro and 2010 Japanese Knotweed Field Data into EDDMapS
7:00 – 8:30 Camp Keynote Address: John Peter Thompson* – Invasive Plants and the Plant Nursery Industry.
*Invasive Species Consultant, Upper Marlboro, Maryland
Guest Appearance by Australia’s ‘Woody Weed’
Invited Vendor Displays:
- Southeast Coastal Chapter of the North Carolina Native Plant Society
- SunGlo Hobbyist Greenhouses

Wednesday, July 28, 2010
8:45-9:30 Lecture: Steve Hoyle, NCSU – All Students: Introduction to Aquatic Weed Control Methods.
9:30-10:15 Internet Research – Steve Hoyle – All Students: Control Methods for Watershield (Brasenia shreberi) and Crested Floating Heart (Nymphoides cristata)
10:30-12:00 Outdoor Lab Exercise – Steve Hoyle – All Students: Control of Watershield in the SCC Pond
12:00-1:00 Luncheon Seminar – Ray Mize, SCC – All Students: Last Child in the Woods.
1:00-1:45 Lecture – Randy Westbrooks and Janine Lloyd – All Students: Non-Chemical Methods for Control of Kudzu.
2:00-4:30 Outdoor Lab Exercise – Randy Westbrooks, Janine Lloyd, and Steve Hoyle – All Students: Kudzu Control Demonstration Project

Thursday, July 29, 2010
8:30-8:45 Morning Briefing - Rebecca Westbrooks, Camp Director
8:45-9:30 Lecture – Don Hopkins - New Students: Introduction to Honey Bee Pathogens. Field Trip – Steve Hoyle, Randy Westbrooks, and Jonathan Short - Advanced Students: Wild Taro Appraisal Survey and Retreatment at Lake Waccamaw
9:30-10:15 Internet Research – Don Hopkins - New Students: Colony Collapse Disorder and Nosema ceranae
10:30-12:00 Lab Exercise – Don Hopkins - New Students: Methods for Detection of Nosema ceranae
1:00-2:30 Careers in ENV Science and IVS Mgt.– New Students: Janine Lloyd – 1999 Graduate of the SCC ENV Program Environmental Scientist - Geo-Marine, Inc., Jacksonville, N.C.; Bo Benton - 2008 Graduate of the SCC ENV Program, Wildlife Specialist - USDA APHIS Wildlife Services, Whiteville, N.C.
Wild Taro Brochure Distribution at Public Locations in the Town of Lake Waccamaw – Jonathan Short and Randy Westbrooks – Advanced Students: (Dale’s Seafood at Lake Waccamaw, Lake Waccamaw State Park, Lake Waccamaw Depot Museum, Lake Waccamaw Town Hall, Lake Waccamaw Library, Southeastern Community College, etc.)
2:45-4:30 Outdoor Lab Exercise – Steve Hoyle - New Students: Control of Mimosa on the SCC Campus

Friday, July 30, 2010
8:45-9:30 Lecture – Dan Ryan, TNC – All Students: Plant Conservation, Invasive Species and the Nature Conservancy
9:30-10:15 Lecture – Chris Helms (Superintendent, Lake Waccamaw State Park) and Jean Lynch (Coastal Region Biologist, N.C. State Parks) – All Students: Plant Conservation, Invasive Species, and North Carolina State Parks
10:30-11:00 SCC Environmental Program, Careers – Rebecca Westbrooks and Teresa Lengner – All Students: Environmental Science Technology, Agricultural Biotechnology, Invasive Species Management
11:00-12:00 Internet Research – Rebecca Westbrooks – All Students: Careers in Environmental Science - Preparation for Student Afternoon Presentations
12:00-1:00 Luncheon Seminar - Christine Ellis, Waccamaw River Keeper – All Students and Parents: The Waccamaw River - Ipnvasive Species and Water Quality Monitoring
1:00-1:30 Internet Research – Rebecca Westbrooks – All Students: Careers in Environmental Science - Preparation for Student Afternoon Presentations
1:30-2:30 Student Presentations – Careers in Environmental Science
2:30-3:00 Closing Remarks – Rebecca Westbrooks – Camp Director
- Discussion of Fall Seminars and Events
- Student Participation in the SCC Student Weed Stopper Program
- Presentation of Camp Certificates
- Closing Evaluations - Students, Camp Instructors, Camp Assistants