Sustainable Systems at USEE

USEE is hosting a Community Discussion Course on Sustainable Systems at Work. We had our first meeting last week, and some great discussion ensued.

Here are some interesting thoughts and ideas that came from the meeting:

• Get everyone on-board. If you are working toward sustainability in your workplace, it is important that everyone be on the same page. Purchasers, accountants, CEOs, facility managers, and sustainability coordinators alike.

• Use the magic words. Know your audience, and know how to gear your message to them. Maybe they won't respond to end-of-the-world rhetoric, but will respond to energy savings=money savings.
• Write it down. If you don't have hard plans for change, change probably won't happen.
• If the people lead, the leaders will follow.
• If we do not change our direction, we are likely to end up where we are headed.
• If we demand change, change will happen.

To learn more about the Community Discussion courses, check us out at www.usee.org.

Whale Lice and Genetics

This is my last semester as a student at the University of Utah, and it just so happens that I am finally taking my two introductory courses in Environmental Studies. One of them is Biology 1210.

The first day of class, a few weeks ago, we started off talking about whale lice. Just as there are lice specifically adapted to live on our heads, there are lice adapted to live all over whales. Specifically, we talked about right whales, and a study done at the University of Utah a few years back. My professor explained that the scientists were trying to figure out if the right whales ever circumnavigated the globe, and wanted to examine the DNA of northern and southern hemisphere right whales to make this determination. Apparently, it is difficult to collect DNA from whales without making some people unhappy, so the scientists came up with an inventive solution: lice.

Different types of whale lice live on different areas of the whales. Some are transferred to the baby whales as they nurse from their mothers, which leads to a face-full of lice in adulthood.
(Image via)

Whale lice are much bigger than human lice, just as whales are bigger than humans.
(Image via)

If lice from right whales in the northern hemisphere are genetically related to lice found on right whales in the southern hemisphere, those whales must have been in contact at some point since lice are transferred by contact and cannot survive without a host right whale. Plus, it is much easier to scrape off a few whale lice than a DNA sample from a right whale.

An article from nationalgeographic.com explains more about the research and results.

From the Mailbox: Higher Ed for Nonprofits and Events at ONC!

Occasionally some interesting things pop up in the USEE mailbox. Here are two of them that you might find interesting.

Do you know about the Nonprofit Academy for Excellence? This is a program through the University of Utah that offers classes specifically for those working in the nonprofit realm. Here's what the website says:

The Nonprofit Academy for Excellence at the University of Utah inspires excellence in nonprofit management and governance. This unique certificate-based program, customized for managers, staff, and trustees of Utah's nonprofit community, promotes enhanced organizational capacity and effectiveness to professionals seeking training and development in nonprofit management. In addition to high-quality, affordable courses, the Academy offers a meeting place for nonprofit professionals to share ideas and strategies and build relationships that last beyond the classroom.

In the brochure we received, it says there are certificates offered in the following six areas:

1. Fund Development
2. Leadership and Management
3. Financial Management
4. Social Media
5. Human Resources
6. Self-Directed

How cools is that? The application deadline for the program is January 21, and there are scholarships available. To apply, just visit the program website, nonprofitacademy.utah.edu.

The next item from the mailbox is a flier from Ogden Nature Center. Just because it is winter doesn't mean hibernation for Environmental Education!

The Ogden Nature Center has loads of programs going though the winter, like Scout Saturdays, Wild Wednesdays, Preschool Discovery Days, Community Programs like a Snowshoe and Sledding Party, Kundalini Yoga, a romantic date night "Nature is for Lovers," and the Great Backyard Bird Count.

Check out ogdennaturecenter.org for more details!

Join the Team!

Did you know that USEE is looking for two new interns to start in January?

Potential Projects may include, but are not limited to:

• Environmental Justice Project

• Environmental Literacy Plan

• Indoor Air Quality Curriculum

• Networking and Membership

• Outreach and Communication

• Other projects that the intern discovers and proposes

Responsibilities:

• A minimum of 3 hours/week in office are required, otherwise negotiable work schedule

• Regular attendance and preparation for weekly staff meetings to give and receive updates on projects

• Coordination of communication about projects with USEE’s director and board and staff

Benefits and opportunities for growth:

• Collaborative work environment with a flexible work schedule

• Opportunity for you to share hard science and environmental studies information with the public

• Opportunities to be creative, to develop your own projects and be “the expert”

• Hands-on professional experience working with a reputable nonprofit in SLC

• Hands-on experience using written and oral communication skills

• Increased knowledge of the nonprofit and environmental education scene in Utah

• Lots of potential projects that are excellent resume builders

• Discounts on USEE programs and events

• Lots of great contacts that you will make while you network with and get your name out to a variety of local organizations with foci that include environmental education

Applicants must be proficient with Microsoft Office, be careful and competent writers, and comfortable working with the public.

To apply, please send a resume and cover letter explaining your interests and background to Marta Nielsen at marta@usee.orgThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by Friday, December 10, 2010.

From USEE's Facebook

A few weeks ago, one of our dear Facebook fans shared the link to a website for the film "A Simple Question." Here's how the website describes the film:.

“A Simple Question: the Story of STRAW” is an inspiring 35 minute film that tells the story of the Bay Institute’s STRAW Project (Students and Teachers Restoring a Watershed).

In 1992, Laurette Rogers’ 4th grade class asked her what they could do to save endangered species? It was a simple question that would change their lives. Partnering with ranchers, scientists, government agencies, and schools, this remarkable project has led to the restoration of 20 miles of habitat for the endangered California freshwater shrimp. In the process it galvanized community and prompted significant educational innovations by connecting classrooms with nature. The STRAW program serves as testimony to the importance of empowering children, which in turn transforms us all.

Take a few minutes to watch the 2 minute trailer below for an inspiring sneak-peek at the film!

A Simple Question Trailer from Trent Boeschen on Vimeo.

Find something interesting you want to share? Post it on our Facebook page, and who knows? It just might make it onto the Green Fork Utah Blog!

Members in the news: Salt Lake City's Rowland Hall goes green

USEE member Rowland Hall was featured in the Deseret News last week for their outstanding efforts in sustainability. The article highlights that Rowland Hall is the first private school in Utah to install solar panels. The 48 panels will serve as an educational tool for teachers and students at the school.

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Click here for the full article and more pictures.

Download National Geographic for free!

Did you know you can download the April issue of National Geographic for free? This single topic issue, "Water: Our Thirsty Planet," highlights the challenges facing this critical resource. By downloading the free copy here, you can see all the content in the print version, plus additional photo galleries, rollover graphics, animated features, and other online benefits.

Fresh water is a critical resource to our planet. We encourage everyone to take the opportunity to download and read this issue, and become better informed about the water challenges we face as a planet today.

Frog or Toad?

(Photo credit here.)

This can be a confusing distinction.

When it comes to taxonomy, frogs and toads are of the same order (Anura) but different families. True toads are of the family Bufonidae, while frogs belong to the family Ranidae. Some frogs have "toad" in their common name because they may bear some resemblance to a toad, but there are some distinct physical differences between the two.

Frogs live in wet environments, around water. Because of this, they have smooth, wet (or slimy) skin, and large web-footed back legs for jumping and swimming.

(Pictured: Relict Leopard Frog, via CNAH.)

Toads, on the other hand, live on dry land, so they have dry skin that is rough and "warty." Toads also have stubby back legs more suited for walking.

(Pictured: Great Plains Toad, via CNAH.)

Frogs have teeth, and toads do not. Frogs lay their eggs in clusters in the water, while toads lay eggs in long chains on plants that grow in the water. Some frogs have poison glands, but all toads have poison glands.

The Center for North American Herpitology has recently made available a checklist of all amphibians, reptiles, and turtles in Utah, found here. This checklist contains taxonomic information, photographs, and common names for all of these animals. The checklist will also help to standardize the common names of these animals, to avoid confusion and maintain consistency as taxonomic information changes.

Where does your food come from?

Sadly, some would answer this question by spouting off the names of the various grocery stores they support. Many people do not know (and some do not want to know) the source of their food or how it was grown, processed, and packaged.

(Photo Credit: http://www.foodincmovie.com/about-the-film.php)

There is, however, a global movement to debunk this misconception that food comes from the store, and educate consumers about the food that they eat. There are books about this, like "The Omnivore's Dilemma," television shows like "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution," and documentaries, like "FOOD, INC." which was not only nominated for an Academy Award, but recently featured on Oprah with author Michael Pollan.

Tomorrow the Salt Lake Main Library will be showing "FOOD, Inc." at 2:00 pm, and USEE will be there before and after the show with information and sign-ups for some of our food-related programs and events.

This upcoming growing season, we will be starting a few community discussions around one of the Northwest Earth Institute's discussion courses titled "Menu for the Future." This discussion course explores "food systems and their impacts on culture, society and ecological systems" and considers our role in "creating or supporting sustainable food systems."

We also will be having a Green Bag food series. This series will start with a panel discussion on April 13th, featuring local farmers from Morgan Valley Lamb, Bell Organics, Canyon Meadows Ranch, and Heritage Family Farm. (Location to be announced.)

Welcom New USEE Intern

Marta is our newest USEE intern who will be working with us for Spring Semester. She is from the University of Utah and is rock star! She has jumped into this internship with both feet and is doing a phenomenal job getting to know our programs and adding some great insights into the projects she is working on. We are very happy to have her. Welcome Marta!

My name is Marta Nielsen. I am a junior at the University of Utah, studying both Environmental Studies and Urban Planning. I moved to Salt Lake City with my family when I was only five, and have had sagebrush in blood ever since. In my spare time you might find me hiking in Millcreek Canyon, knitting a hat, cooking (read: eating) something delicious, with my nose buried in a good book, or perusing a local thrift store. I also enjoy traveling, and after seeing and falling in love with Germany last October, I am now trying to find a way to go back to Europe. I am very excited to be working with USEE. I love their mission of teaching people how to think, not what to think. I feel that when people are given the skills to think critically, and accurate information, they generally make the right decisions. This is why education, and especially environmental education is so vital, and why USEE is fulfilling such an important role in our state. This is what gets me excited to be working for USEE!