Great Lakes Worm Watch training workshops for formal and non-formal educators are hosted periodically during the year and at different locations across the region. Check back for updates as new workshops are scheduled.
Contact our project coordinator, Ryan Hueffmeier <rhueffme@d.umn.edu>, if you would like to schedule a workshop in your area!
Typical workshops can be 3 hours to full day events and may include:
Introduction to the research, what it shows and how it led to Great Lakes Worm Watch.
Earthworm anatomy and identification of ecological groups and species.
Sample methods and strategies for designing a study of your own.
Getting into the field, hands on introduction to earthworm surveying/sampling options basic soil characteristics; describing habitat and vegetation in a site.
Learning activities you can use including instructions for conducting habitat, soil & earthworm surveys, Forest ecosystem game “Invasion of the exotic worm!” and making earthworm observatories
Volunteer Opportunities
Great Lakes Worm Watch will be providing volunteer opportunites this year for individuals and groups to get out in the field working side by side with researchers to conduct field sampling of earthworms, soils and plants. Join us for a day (or more) of earthworm sampling, learn about soil and forest ecosystems and get a first hand experience of what science is all about! Check the general schedule below for dates and locations, then if you want to get involved, contact Ryan Hueffmeier <rhueffme@d.umn.edu> or Dr. Cindy Hale <cmhale@d.umn.edu>
3rd Annual “Big Worming Week” with Great Lakes Worm Watch
September 25th- October 3rd
Join the force!
Throughout this year we will be offering a range of workshops geared towards preparing folks to participate in our "Big Worming Week". While we encourage sampling of earthworms at any time, by conducting your surveys during our "Big Worming Week", it minimized the seasonal variability of your data making it more comparable from year to year.
Various evening to full-day workshops will explore how exotic earthworms impacts forests of the Great Lakes region through a range of hands-on activities including a cool game showing how exotic earthworms affect forests and opportunties to conduct earthworm surveys. Learn about the research related to exotic earthworm invasions, how to identify earthworms using our new, fabulously illustrated book “Earthworms of the Great Lakes” and how to use earthworm observatories to create experiments, nature center displays or for science fair projects! Find out what you can do to prevent further spread of earthworms. Learn how to conduct earthworm surveys and contribute your work to this growing citizen science effort.
2010 Seminars, Workshops and Volunteer Opportunities:
June 25th – “Conservation Camp” Trails end Camp Rusk County, Bruce WI
Great Lakes Worm Watch will proudly be taking part in this camp for the second year. This camp program covers a wide variety of information on wildlife, soils, erosion, pollution, ecosystems, water quality, aquatic habitats and canoeing. The goal is to broaden the experiences of youth who may be interested in environmental careers. If you missed it this year, contact them for opportunities to participate in 2011!
July 12th-14th – “Advanced Science Inquiry Course for Past Monarchs in the Classroom & Schoolyard Ecology Graduates”
This is an exciting opportunity for educators to gain first-hand experience about our invasive earthworm citizen science program and how they can incorporate the study of invasive earthworms into their classrooms. This new course builds directly upon the content developed in Monarchs in the Classroom past courses by providing the time and support necessary for you to focus on your professional science inquiry teaching goals. If you missed it this year, contact them for opportunities to participate in 2011!
August 23rd- “Big Worming Week” Training session at the Woodland Dunes Nature Center & Preserve.
Sarah Braun, Beaver Creek Reserve's citizen science coordinator and manager of Wisconsin Nature mapping, will be partnering with Great Lakes Worm Watch and Woodland Dunes to offer a training session for people interested in participating in the Big Worming Week.We will teach you how to collect a sample using a mustard solution, how to identify the earthworms you find and how to enter your data into a statewide database. Thenm during the "Big Worming Week", spend an hour or two sampling in your backyard habitats and let us know what you find. This training session will teach you everything you need to know to participate.
For more information contact:
Kelly Eskew kellye@woodlanddunes.com
Woodland Dunes Nature Center and Preserve.
3000 Hawthorne Ave.
Two Rivers, WI 54241
Tel: (920) 793-4007
Or, see the website at: http://www.woodlanddunes.org/index.php
Sarah Braun sarah@beavercreekreserve.org
Beaver Creek Reserve
S1 County Road K
Fall Creek, WI 54742
Tel: (715) 877-2212
October 8th-10th – Michigan Alliance for Environmental & Outdoor Education – “Science & Stewardship” Conference.
Come join us for an introduction to research on invasive earthworms, learn earthworm anatomy, experience identifying earthworm species and get out into the field and learn how to set-up an earthworm survey of your own. We provide the tools and resources for citizens to actively contribute to the development of a database documenting the distribution of non-native earthworms and their impacts across the region as well as training and resources for educators to help build understanding of the methods and results of scientific research about non-native earthworms and forest ecosystem ecology. Be one of the first to submit survey data from your area and start the flow of information!
October 8th: “Worm Watch” Session 8:00 – 12:00
For more information contact:
Jaime Beranek Jaime.beranek@mi.nacdnet.net
Assistant Administrator/Native Plants Coordinator
Marquette County Conservation District
780 Commerce Drive, Suite B, Marquette, MI 49855
Tel: (906) 226-2461 ext. 129
Or see the website at, http://www.michiganenvironmentaled.org
Fall 2010/Spring 2011, Land Manager Workshops at the Cloquet Forestry Center TBA
Land Managers will receive an introduction to research on invasive earthworms, learn earthworm anatomy, experience identifying earthworm species and field training on the use of an invasive European earthworm rapid assessment tool. The assessment tool is a cost effective efficient way for land managers to survey the presence or absence of earthworms and their distribution across the landscape.
For more information contact:
Ryan Hueffmeier rhueffmeier@d.umn.edu
Great Lakes Worm Wath program coordinator
Jan. 15th-16th, 2010 - Minnesota Organic Conference & Trade Show, St. Cloud, MN
This conference offered learning and networking opportunities about organic production, bringing together farmers, researchers, educators, technical assistance providers, and business owners. Great Lakes Worm Watch had a booth and we talked with people about the effects of non-native earthworms, how vermicomposting can be a potential source of new invasive earthworms and best management practices for safe vermicomposting. If you missed us this year, look for us in 2011!
February 20th, 2010 - Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota Conference “Where will you be in 2020” St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN
This conference looked at how sustainable agriculture in Minnesota will survive over the next decade. Great Lakes Worm Watch added to this conversation the issues presented by non-native earthworms, how vermicomposting can be a potential source of new invasive earthworms and best management practices for safe vermicomposting. If you missed us this year, look for us in 2011!
Feb 23rd, 2010 “7th Annual Research Review” UMN Cloquet Forestry Center.
An opportunity to interact with researchers in area to learn about how their latest research results might be applied in future forest management. Attendees include wildlife biologists, foresters, natural resource managers and others who are involved in managing forested land. Great Lakes Worm Watch presented a draft of our new “Invasive European Earthworm Rapid Assessment Tool” for the documentation of earthworm presence and distribution across the landscape. Look for the final version to roll out in the 2011 session!
