The Otter's Tale Newsletter

The following articles are selections from our quarterly newsletter: "The Otter's Tale". The entire newsletter is available at the Estuary Center or you can download it here.

Celebrate Two Decades of Fun with our 20 for 20 Drive in 2017!

Twenty years ago, a unique partnership between federal, state and county resources came together to create one of Harford County’s hidden gems. The Anita C. Leight Estuary Center at Otter Point Creek is one of the few remaining large freshwater tidal marshes in the upper Chesapeake Bay accessible to th e public. To celebrate our anniversary, we invite you to be part of our 20 for 20 Drive.

From January through December 2017, we are offering a very special opportunity to everyone who renews or joins as a member at the $20 rate or above. With your membership, you will receive $20 in Bay Bucks, valid toward the programs or gift shop items of your choice.

After you join, you will receive your Bay Bucks in the mail. Simply bring the coupon in to the Center to redeem it for the programs or items of your choice. And for readers of our newsletter, we’re starting our offer a bit sooner – you can take advantage of this opportunity as soon as you receive your newsletter.

Since your membership is virtually free with your Bay Bucks coupon, why not make this the year that you make a gift to the Center, too? Our 20th Anniversary is the ideal time to make a donation of $20 or more, and you’ll know that you’re helping to preserve and promote our critical education and outreach efforts if you do.

To join or donate, stop in the Center or visit online at www.OtterPointCreek.org.

The Anita C. Leight Estuary Center offers everything from sunset canoe trips to family-friendly science and nature programs, summer camps, weekend activities, exhibits on the Chesapeake Bay, a Discovery Room with a 300-gallon freshwater turtle pond and other critters and more. Citizen scientists regularly assist with research and monitoring efforts like fish seining, plankton monitoring and plant life cycle research. Your gift and membership will help us keep this programming available and affordable for everyone.

Education Profile: High School Students Investigate How Land Use is Connected to Plankton at Reserve Sites

by Amy Henry, MD DNR

“What IS that???” Broadneck High School AP biology student exclaims, squinting

into the microscope eyepiece. “Ooooh…..” squeals another. “Check out this thing!

It looks like a segmented hair, but it’s totally moving on its own!” It’s plankton

identification lab time at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary as part of the Plankton Land

Use and Nutrient Studies (PLANS II) field trip for Broadneck students. PLANS II,

offered to high school students in Anne Arundel, Prince Georges and Harford

Counties at CBNERR component sites, provides a student-driven, investigative

meaningful watershed educational experience based on real life environmental

issues. Students who participate learn first hand the issues associated with

sediment and nutrient runoff and the consequent eutrophication of our waterways.

Their experience begins in the classroom. Teachers work with Reserve educators

from Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, Patuxent River Park, or Anita C. Leight Estuary

Center to prepare students for their field work. At school, students explore nutrient

enrichment, culturing algae with varying amounts of liquid fertilizer. Next, the

students participate in a day long field trip at a Reserve site; learning to identify

plankton and participating in a nutrient limitation experiment and collecting water

quality data aboard a pontoon boat. The students test for water clarity,

temperature, nitrogen, phosphorous and pH. They also conduct a bioassay to

explore the grazing capacity of oysters to demonstrate the important role that filter

feeders play in helping to clean the Bay.

Through experiential learning, students have shown improvements in attitude and

knowledge toward the health of the Chesapeake Bay. PLANS II provides a model

for teacher training, a curriculum and Meaningful Watershed Educational

Experiences (MWEE) to help students increase their understanding of their role in

the eutrophication of Chesapeake Bay and their role as stewards in helping to

restore the health of this iconic estuary.

PLANS II is a partnership between

CBNERR, the Department of Natural

Resources, and The Society for Ocean

Sciences and Morgan State University’s

Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic

Research Laboratory, funded through a BWet

grant from NOAA. Currently in the

third year of offering this high quality,

rigorous environmental education/science

field trip to high school students, the sites

are looking to expand to other interested

high schools. If you would like to learn more about the project or have your students

participate, please contact Lauren Greoski, Park Naturalist, at 410-612-1688 or

lmgreoski@harfordcountymd.gov.

“What IS that???” Broadneck High School AP biology student exclaims, squinting into the microscope eyepiece. “Ooooh…..” squeals another. “Check out this thing! It looks like a segmented hair, but it’s totally moving on its own!” It’s plankton identification lab time at Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary as part of the Plankton Land Use and Nutrient Studies (PLANS II) field trip for Broadneck students. PLANS II, offered to high school students in Anne Arundel, Prince Georges and Harford Counties at CBNERR component sites, provides a student-driven, investigative meaningful watershed educational experience based on real life environmental issues. Students who participate learn first hand the issues associated with sediment and nutrient runoff and the consequent eutrophication of our waterways.

Their experience begins in the classroom. Teachers work with Reserve educators from Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary, Patuxent River Park, or Anita C. Leight Estuary Center to prepare students for their field work. At school, students explore nutrient enrichment, culturing algae with varying amounts of liquid fertilizer. Next, the students participate in a day long field trip at a Reserve site; learning to identify plankton and participating in a nutrient limitation experiment and collecting water quality data aboard a pontoon boat. The students test for water clarity, temperature, nitrogen, phosphorous and pH. They also conduct a bioassay to explore the grazing capacity of oysters to demonstrate the important role that filter feeders play in helping to clean the Bay.

Through experiential learning, students have shown improvements in attitude and knowledge toward the health of the Chesapeake Bay. PLANS II provides a model for teacher training, a curriculum and Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEE) to help students increase their understanding of their role in the eutrophication of Chesapeake Bay and their role as stewards in helping to restore the health of this iconic estuary.

PLANS II is a partnership between CBNERR, the Department of Natural Resources, and The Society for Ocean Sciences and Morgan State University’s Patuxent Environmental & Aquatic Research Laboratory, funded through a BWet grant from NOAA. Currently in the third year of offering this high quality, rigorous environmental education/science field trip to high school students, the sites are looking to expand to other interested high schools. If you would like to learn more about the project or have your students participate, please contact Lauren Greoski, Park Naturalist, at 410-612-1688 or lmgreoski@harfordcountymd.gov.

More Information

Calendar of EventsView all

In, On, and Through the Water Summer Camp06/27/2017 @ 9:00 am-4:00 pmExplore the watery world of Leight Park and beyond. Dare to adventure by canoeing, kayaking, snorkeling, paddleboarding and tubing off-site. Delve into the depths of Leight Park with fishing, stream-walking, hiking, and seining.
In, On, and Through the Water Summer Camp06/28/2017 @ 9:00 am-4:00 pmExplore the watery world of Leight Park and beyond. Dare to adventure by canoeing, kayaking, snorkeling, paddleboarding and tubing off-site. Delve into the depths of Leight Park with fishing, stream-walking, hiking, and seining.
Plankton Monitoring Studies06/28/2017 @ 10:00 am-12:00 pmOur plankton citizen science project is a great opportunity for science-minded individuals to contribute to monitoring and research at the Center. Help is needed with collection, identification, and analysis of plankton samples. Interested individuals should contact the Center for introductory training.
Juvenile Fish Survey06/28/2017 @ 6:00 pm-8:00 pmBe part of a Bush River monitoring effort. Join CBNERR, DNR and OPCA to collect fish population data that will be used to help determine the status of tidal freshwater fish in our area. No experience is required. All training and equipment will be provided. Sampling dates are July 7 & 22, August 5 & 25, and September 8 & 23.
In, On, and Through the Water Summer Camp06/29/2017 @ 9:00 am-4:00 pmExplore the watery world of Leight Park and beyond. Dare to adventure by canoeing, kayaking, snorkeling, paddleboarding and tubing off-site. Delve into the depths of Leight Park with fishing, stream-walking, hiking, and seining.