Note: Today we have a great post by a guest blogger. Ellen Fordham is a Middle School Student at Quarry Lane in Dublin, CA. Ellen did a Headwaters program in October and wrote the blog post below. Check out Ellen’s research project: A Bug’s Life. Look for more posts from us and student’s about the Quarry Lane trip.
When I first arrived at Headwaters Science Institute, all the annoying insects flying around me bothered me. I wondered if it was the food I had in my bag or the colors I was wearing that attracted them. When it came time to plan a topic for my own field research, I was interested in finding out what insects are most attracted to. We had studied the meadow and the forest in our first day and a half. So my group hiked to the meadow for our bug project, since we knew that there were more insects and hornets there than in the forest. We laid out T-shirts of different colors and put sticky traps on them. We also put different foods and smells on sticky traps. On an hourly basis, we recorded the number of insects on each sticky trap. While doing this experiment, we also did some background research. I learned that insects don’t have a nose and that they rely on their olfactory sensilla to s
mell. I learned that they are mainly color blind and can only see a few colors, but they can see some colors that we can’t see, like ultra violet. I also learned that they see things in pixels. It was a great experience designing and conducting an experiment on a question I was truly interested in. Now I know that if you don’t want insects surrounding you, you shouldn’t wear bright colors, like yellow and orange, and shouldn’t pack meat as a lunch! I would love to go back to Headwaters again and do some more research. I now want to find out why there are more insects in the meadow than in the forest.
-Ellen Fordham
Bryn Anderson
Program Manager
Bryn manages school programs and summer camps for Headwaters. She recently received a Master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Her Master’s research focused on ocean acidification impacts on sea urchin larvae. Bryn grew up in the Tahoe area and is passionate about providing outdoor education to students and allowing them to take advantage of the outdoor space they have access to. In her free time, she enjoys anything outdoors, especially when she gets to spend time in the water.
Megan holds a PhD in zoology from Washington State University and is passionate about science and the environment. Her focus is on teaching more people the process of science and she hopes to bring it to as many students as possible across the US. In her free time, Meg enjoys Nordic skiing, running, and playing with her family in the Sierra.
Beth Fitzpatrick has a background in scientific research, is a Ph.D candidate in ecology, and has experience in planning and providing engaging STEM outreach programing to K-12 students. Beth oversees school programming and summer camps for Headwaters. She has experience teaching in postsecondary education, study design and execution, and grant writing.
Jennifer Cotton manages our Research Experience and Lunch with a Scientist Program. She previously worked as a secondary science content specialist and public high school science educator. She has over a decade of experience in writing standards based curriculum. She has worked with OCEARCH to create a STEM based curriculum and has represented that organization at many outreach events.
Mary Ellen holds a BA in Biology/Environmental Studies from University of California, Santa Cruz. She has worked as an environmental education guide for more than 10 years, balancing that with substitute teaching K-12 in the local school district. For fun she coaches a high school Nordic ski team and tries to get in as much play time outside, skiing, running and biking. She hopes to inspire students to be curious about natural processes in order to foster a deeper appreciation of our environment.
Daniel Dudek
Science Mentor
In the fall of 2016, Dan completed his B.S. in plant physiology at Pennsylvania State University. He is currently completing his M.S. Biology degree at Indiana University of Pennsylvania working under Dr. Josiah Townsend, researching the evolutionary relationships between the herpetofauna, mainly amphibians, of Mesoamerica and assessing levels of biodiversity in this region. Dan intends on continuing his academic interests in the future by pursing a PhD in systematics, ecology, and evolution. He is also focused on developing effective teaching methods of scientific information to all age groups.
Anne Espeset
Grants and Programs
Anne holds a Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology from the University of Nevada, Reno where she researched the impacts of human-induced changes on sexually selected signals of a butterfly. She has also been a part of several scientific outreach programs, including a community science project (Pieris Project) and the University of Nevada’s Museum of Natural History. Anne is excited to continue sharing the scientific process and research with a diversity of students through the Headwaters Science Institute!