Sims, David

English

UNH Scholars' Repository

University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices6-28-2007Bit By The Science Bug In The Great DismalSwampDavid SimsInstitute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and SpaceFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationSims, David, "Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp" (2007). UNH Today. 782.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/782Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamphttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.html[5/1/2017 3:35:47 PM] Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal SwampContact:  David Sims 603-862-5369Science WriterInstitute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and SpaceJune 28, 2007DURHAM, N.H. -- Throughout high school, University of New Hampshire sophomore AllieCollopy suffered through her required science courses and planned to do pretty much thesame during her college career.“I’ve never had a real aptitude for science,” the UNH Spanish and linguistics major fromDurham says matter-of-factly.But much to her surprise, after recently spending two weeks tromping through the GreatDismal Swamp and environs in North Carolina as part of UNH’s Watershed Watch program,Collopy now plans to challenge herself with some rigorous science by minoring in an area ofenvironmental conservation.Collopy, whose Watershed Watch project dealt with the effects of urbanization on waterquality within the Pasquotank River watershed (which has its headwaters in the Great DismalSwamp), hopes to gain some skills with her newfound aptitude for environmental science andeventually help people in third-world countries as a member of the Peace Corps.“I always planned to go into the Peace Corps just to teach English, but I feel I have moreoptions now,” says Collopy who wants to launch a life for herself in South America where, sheimagines, she might be able to help people grapple with water-related problems.Collopy’s Watershed Watch experience is emblematic of the program created specifically toincrease both the recruitment and retention of students into science, technology, engineering,and mathematics.Now in its second year, the National Science Foundation-funded Watershed Watch program isrun out of the UNH Joan and James Leitzel Center and is a collaborative effort with ElizabethCity State University (ECSU) – a historically black university in North Carolina. Alsoparticipating are two-year colleges – the New Hampshire Community Technical College andNorth Carolina’s College of the Albemarle.Students participating in Watershed Watch focus their studies in alternating years on theMerrimack River in New Hampshire and the Pasquotank River in North Carolina, studyingterrestrial and aquatic aspects of the two watersheds. The interdisciplinary approach helpsstudents understand what a watershed is and how it functions, why it’s important and whatthe benefits of it are to the land and its people, and how various types of pollution impact thewatershed.The program relies heavily on a variety of scientific methods and technologies. Students usestandard equipment and protocols for measuring the forest’s characteristics and age, and howBit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamphttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.html[5/1/2017 3:35:47 PM]these values influence the observed measurements of water quality in the river that receivesthe precipitation runoff from the land. “Remotely sensed” satellite imagery, global positioningsystem (GIS), and computer mapping systems are also used to get a bird’s-eye-view of thelandscape, including the placement of agricultural and developed human impacted areas.UNH has a strong graduate-level remote sensing-GIS research program while Elizabeth Cityhas a focused undergraduate curriculum in the same area. One goal of Watershed Watch is tocreate a “pipeline” of minority students from ECSU coming to UNH as graduate students.“UNH and ECSU have been developing a partnership over the last several years and havesubmitted a number of collaborative proposals to a variety of federal agencies,” saysprofessor Karen Graham, director of the Leitzel Center and co-principle investigator on theproject. Graham adds, “Watershed Watch is one of our first success stories and in many wayssymbolizes the UNH-ECSU partnership model since it builds on the research and educationalstrengths of both institutions.”Professor Barry Rock, the principle investigator for the NSF Watershed Watch grant, is one ofsix faculty and staff members who worked with students during two intense weeks of study inthe Great Dismal Swamp. Rock, of the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, andSpace and the Department of Natural Resources, notes that Watershed Watch seeks to enticestudents, many of whom have yet to declare a major, into the “STEM disciplines” – science,technology, engineering, and mathematics – by means of “hands-on, inquiry-based” studiestailored to individual student’s interest.Indeed, notes Collopy, after being schooled in the basic science they would need for theiraquatic and terrestrial research at Great Dismal Swamp, she and others were set loose tocome up with their own research questions and pursue their own particular passions withinthe broad context of the program.“They did a really good job giving us the basic tools so we could direct ourselves,” Collopysays.Providing students with the fundamental research tools and then letting them generate theirown scientific questions is a recipe for success, asserts Stephen Hale of the UNH LeitzelCenter and one of the six faculty and staff on the recent excursion.“I am continually amazed at how students, when put in charge of their own learning, rally tothe task. Many students were putting in 10- to 14-hour days collecting and analyzing data,”says Hale. All that effort culminated in a scientific poster explaining their project, which, Halenotes, “accounts for a great deal of their learning as they organize their thoughts and findingsinto a relatable story that ultimately produces an answer to their question.”Another dimension complementing the program’s student-centric approach is that, by design,cultural history of the region is blended with the science of the landscape, including, in thiscase, discussion on the Great Dismal Swamp being a noted stopping point for slaves seekingfreedom by means of the Underground Railroad.One New Hampshire Technical Community College student took this blending of science andculture to interesting creative heights for his research project by using remote sensing toolsand data to investigate the local Native American legend of a “healing pond” somewhere inthe Great Dismal Swamp. According to the legend, which the student uncovered during thetwo-week project, the healing pond was a place where animals, wounded by hunters orinjured in some way, would bathe and be healed.Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamphttp://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.html[5/1/2017 3:35:47 PM]Says Rock, “The student, Richard Harris, used Landsat data to analyze the landscape. Hebrought in his interests in literature and linguistics but used the technology and science andsome knowledge of topography and tree types to come up with a possible location for thehealing pond.”While the students themselves could be clever and self-motivated in their research, Collopystresses that a key to student success was the enthusiasm of the faculty.“Throughout high school, I’d never get excited about science, but just the passion theWatershed Watch faculty and staff showed for the subjects, the way they presented things,really changed my perspective,” she says. Likewise, several of the students who trompedthrough the Great Dismal Swamp were similarly bit by the science bug and will now continuealong that path in their educational careers.A photograph is available to download here:http://www.unh.edu/news/img/swamp0607.jpgCaption: UNH student Allie Collopy (center) works on water samples withUNH professor Jeff Schloss.Photo courtesy of Jeff Schloss.

Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp

University of New Hampshire

University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository
Media Relations Administrative Offices
6-28-2007
Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal
Swamp
David Sims
UNH Media Relations
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/news
This News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has
been accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more
information, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.
Recommended Citation
Sims, David, "Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp" (2007). UNH Today. 813.
https://scholars.unh.edu/news/813
9/11/17, 11'30 AMBit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp
Page 1 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.html
 
Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp
Contact:  David Sims 
603-862-5369
Science Writer
Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space
June 28, 2007
DURHAM, N.H. -- Throughout high school, University of New Hampshire sophomore Allie
Collopy suffered through her required science courses and planned to do pretty much the
same during her college career.
“I’ve never had a real aptitude for science,” the UNH Spanish and linguistics major from
Durham says matter-of-factly.
But much to her surprise, after recently spending two weeks tromping through the Great
Dismal Swamp and environs in North Carolina as part of UNH’s Watershed Watch program,
Collopy now plans to challenge herself with some rigorous science by minoring in an area of
environmental conservation.
Collopy, whose Watershed Watch project dealt with the effects of urbanization on water
quality within the Pasquotank River watershed (which has its headwaters in the Great Dismal
Swamp), hopes to gain some skills with her newfound aptitude for environmental science and
eventually help people in third-world countries as a member of the Peace Corps.
“I always planned to go into the Peace Corps just to teach English, but I feel I have more
options now,” says Collopy who wants to launch a life for herself in South America where, she
imagines, she might be able to help people grapple with water-related problems.
Collopy’s Watershed Watch experience is emblematic of the program created specifically to
increase both the recruitment and retention of students into science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics.
Now in its second year, the National Science Foundation-funded Watershed Watch program is
run out of the UNH Joan and James Leitzel Center and is a collaborative effort with Elizabeth
City State University (ECSU) – a historically black university in North Carolina. Also
participating are two-year colleges – the New Hampshire Community Technical College and
North Carolina’s College of the Albemarle.
Students participating in Watershed Watch focus their studies in alternating years on the
Merrimack River in New Hampshire and the Pasquotank River in North Carolina, studying
terrestrial and aquatic aspects of the two watersheds. The interdisciplinary approach helps
students understand what a watershed is and how it functions, why it’s important and what
the benefits of it are to the land and its people, and how various types of pollution impact the
watershed.
9/11/17, 11'30 AMBit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp
Page 2 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.html
The program relies heavily on a variety of scientific methods and technologies. Students use
standard equipment and protocols for measuring the forest’s characteristics and age, and how
these values influence the observed measurements of water quality in the river that receives
the precipitation runoff from the land. “Remotely sensed” satellite imagery, global positioning
system (GIS), and computer mapping systems are also used to get a bird’s-eye-view of the
landscape, including the placement of agricultural and developed human impacted areas.
UNH has a strong graduate-level remote sensing-GIS research program while Elizabeth City
has a focused undergraduate curriculum in the same area. One goal of Watershed Watch is to
create a “pipeline” of minority students from ECSU coming to UNH as graduate students.
“UNH and ECSU have been developing a partnership over the last several years and have
submitted a number of collaborative proposals to a variety of federal agencies,” says professor
Karen Graham, director of the Leitzel Center and co-principle investigator on the project.
Graham adds, “Watershed Watch is one of our first success stories and in many ways
symbolizes the UNH-ECSU partnership model since it builds on the research and educational
strengths of both institutions.”
Professor Barry Rock, the principle investigator for the NSF Watershed Watch grant, is one of
six faculty and staff members who worked with students during two intense weeks of study in
the Great Dismal Swamp. Rock, of the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and
Space and the Department of Natural Resources, notes that Watershed Watch seeks to entice
students, many of whom have yet to declare a major, into the “STEM disciplines” – science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics – by means of “hands-on, inquiry-based” studies
tailored to individual student’s interest.
Indeed, notes Collopy, after being schooled in the basic science they would need for their
aquatic and terrestrial research at Great Dismal Swamp, she and others were set loose to
come up with their own research questions and pursue their own particular passions within
the broad context of the program.
“They did a really good job giving us the basic tools so we could direct ourselves,” Collopy
says.
Providing students with the fundamental research tools and then letting them generate their
own scientific questions is a recipe for success, asserts Stephen Hale of the UNH Leitzel
Center and one of the six faculty and staff on the recent excursion.
“I am continually amazed at how students, when put in charge of their own learning, rally to
the task. Many students were putting in 10- to 14-hour days collecting and analyzing data,”
says Hale. All that effort culminated in a scientific poster explaining their project, which, Hale
notes, “accounts for a great deal of their learning as they organize their thoughts and findings
into a relatable story that ultimately produces an answer to their question.”
Another dimension complementing the program’s student-centric approach is that, by design,
cultural history of the region is blended with the science of the landscape, including, in this
case, discussion on the Great Dismal Swamp being a noted stopping point for slaves seeking
freedom by means of the Underground Railroad.
One New Hampshire Technical Community College student took this blending of science and
culture to interesting creative heights for his research project by using remote sensing tools
9/11/17, 11'30 AMBit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp
Page 3 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.html
and data to investigate the local Native American legend of a “healing pond” somewhere in
the Great Dismal Swamp. According to the legend, which the student uncovered during the
two-week project, the healing pond was a place where animals, wounded by hunters or
injured in some way, would bathe and be healed.
Says Rock, “The student, Richard Harris, used Landsat data to analyze the landscape. He
brought in his interests in literature and linguistics but used the technology and science and
some knowledge of topography and tree types to come up with a possible location for the
healing pond.”
While the students themselves could be clever and self-motivated in their research, Collopy
stresses that a key to student success was the enthusiasm of the faculty.
“Throughout high school, I’d never get excited about science, but just the passion the
Watershed Watch faculty and staff showed for the subjects, the way they presented things,
really changed my perspective,” she says. Likewise, several of the students who tromped
through the Great Dismal Swamp were similarly bit by the science bug and will now continue
along that path in their educational careers.
A photograph is available to download here:
http://www.unh.edu/news/img/swamp0607.jpg
Caption: UNH student Allie Collopy (center) works on water samples with
UNH professor Jeff Schloss.
Photo courtesy of Jeff Schloss.


University of New HampshireUniversity of New Hampshire Scholars' RepositoryMedia Relations Administrative Offices6-28-2007Bit By The Science Bug In The Great DismalSwampDavid SimsUNH Media RelationsFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/newsThis News Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Administrative Offices at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Media Relations by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For moreinformation, please contact nicole.hentz@unh.edu.Recommended CitationSims, David, "Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp" (2007). UNH Today. 813.https://scholars.unh.edu/news/8139/11/17, 11'30 AMBit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal SwampPage 1 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.html Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal SwampContact:  David Sims 603-862-5369Science WriterInstitute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and SpaceJune 28, 2007DURHAM, N.H. -- Throughout high school, University of New Hampshire sophomore AllieCollopy suffered through her required science courses and planned to do pretty much thesame during her college career.“I’ve never had a real aptitude for science,” the UNH Spanish and linguistics major fromDurham says matter-of-factly.But much to her surprise, after recently spending two weeks tromping through the GreatDismal Swamp and environs in North Carolina as part of UNH’s Watershed Watch program,Collopy now plans to challenge herself with some rigorous science by minoring in an area ofenvironmental conservation.Collopy, whose Watershed Watch project dealt with the effects of urbanization on waterquality within the Pasquotank River watershed (which has its headwaters in the Great DismalSwamp), hopes to gain some skills with her newfound aptitude for environmental science andeventually help people in third-world countries as a member of the Peace Corps.“I always planned to go into the Peace Corps just to teach English, but I feel I have moreoptions now,” says Collopy who wants to launch a life for herself in South America where, sheimagines, she might be able to help people grapple with water-related problems.Collopy’s Watershed Watch experience is emblematic of the program created specifically toincrease both the recruitment and retention of students into science, technology, engineering,and mathematics.Now in its second year, the National Science Foundation-funded Watershed Watch program isrun out of the UNH Joan and James Leitzel Center and is a collaborative effort with ElizabethCity State University (ECSU) – a historically black university in North Carolina. Alsoparticipating are two-year colleges – the New Hampshire Community Technical College andNorth Carolina’s College of the Albemarle.Students participating in Watershed Watch focus their studies in alternating years on theMerrimack River in New Hampshire and the Pasquotank River in North Carolina, studyingterrestrial and aquatic aspects of the two watersheds. The interdisciplinary approach helpsstudents understand what a watershed is and how it functions, why it’s important and whatthe benefits of it are to the land and its people, and how various types of pollution impact thewatershed.9/11/17, 11'30 AMBit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal SwampPage 2 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.htmlThe program relies heavily on a variety of scientific methods and technologies. Students usestandard equipment and protocols for measuring the forest’s characteristics and age, and howthese values influence the observed measurements of water quality in the river that receivesthe precipitation runoff from the land. “Remotely sensed” satellite imagery, global positioningsystem (GIS), and computer mapping systems are also used to get a bird’s-eye-view of thelandscape, including the placement of agricultural and developed human impacted areas.UNH has a strong graduate-level remote sensing-GIS research program while Elizabeth Cityhas a focused undergraduate curriculum in the same area. One goal of Watershed Watch is tocreate a “pipeline” of minority students from ECSU coming to UNH as graduate students.“UNH and ECSU have been developing a partnership over the last several years and havesubmitted a number of collaborative proposals to a variety of federal agencies,” says professorKaren Graham, director of the Leitzel Center and co-principle investigator on the project.Graham adds, “Watershed Watch is one of our first success stories and in many wayssymbolizes the UNH-ECSU partnership model since it builds on the research and educationalstrengths of both institutions.”Professor Barry Rock, the principle investigator for the NSF Watershed Watch grant, is one ofsix faculty and staff members who worked with students during two intense weeks of study inthe Great Dismal Swamp. Rock, of the UNH Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, andSpace and the Department of Natural Resources, notes that Watershed Watch seeks to enticestudents, many of whom have yet to declare a major, into the “STEM disciplines” – science,technology, engineering, and mathematics – by means of “hands-on, inquiry-based” studiestailored to individual student’s interest.Indeed, notes Collopy, after being schooled in the basic science they would need for theiraquatic and terrestrial research at Great Dismal Swamp, she and others were set loose tocome up with their own research questions and pursue their own particular passions withinthe broad context of the program.“They did a really good job giving us the basic tools so we could direct ourselves,” Collopysays.Providing students with the fundamental research tools and then letting them generate theirown scientific questions is a recipe for success, asserts Stephen Hale of the UNH LeitzelCenter and one of the six faculty and staff on the recent excursion.“I am continually amazed at how students, when put in charge of their own learning, rally tothe task. Many students were putting in 10- to 14-hour days collecting and analyzing data,”says Hale. All that effort culminated in a scientific poster explaining their project, which, Halenotes, “accounts for a great deal of their learning as they organize their thoughts and findingsinto a relatable story that ultimately produces an answer to their question.”Another dimension complementing the program’s student-centric approach is that, by design,cultural history of the region is blended with the science of the landscape, including, in thiscase, discussion on the Great Dismal Swamp being a noted stopping point for slaves seekingfreedom by means of the Underground Railroad.One New Hampshire Technical Community College student took this blending of science andculture to interesting creative heights for his research project by using remote sensing tools9/11/17, 11'30 AMBit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal SwampPage 3 of 3http://www.unh.edu/delete/news/cj_nr/2007/jun/ds28science.cfm.htmland data to investigate the local Native American legend of a “healing pond” somewhere inthe Great Dismal Swamp. According to the legend, which the student uncovered during thetwo-week project, the healing pond was a place where animals, wounded by hunters orinjured in some way, would bathe and be healed.Says Rock, “The student, Richard Harris, used Landsat data to analyze the landscape. Hebrought in his interests in literature and linguistics but used the technology and science andsome knowledge of topography and tree types to come up with a possible location for thehealing pond.”While the students themselves could be clever and self-motivated in their research, Collopystresses that a key to student success was the enthusiasm of the faculty.“Throughout high school, I’d never get excited about science, but just the passion theWatershed Watch faculty and staff showed for the subjects, the way they presented things,really changed my perspective,” she says. Likewise, several of the students who trompedthrough the Great Dismal Swamp were similarly bit by the science bug and will now continuealong that path in their educational careers.A photograph is available to download here:http://www.unh.edu/news/img/swamp0607.jpgCaption: UNH student Allie Collopy (center) works on water samples withUNH professor Jeff Schloss.Photo courtesy of Jeff Schloss.

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Bit By The Science Bug In The Great Dismal Swamp

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