BioDiversity Research Institute

Adirondack Center For Loon Conservation

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Information about adirondack Park

New York State's six-million acre Adirondack Park is a globally recognized United Nations Biosphere Reserve. A mosaic of public and private lands and waterways, itis one of the largest relatively intact forested landscapes in the northeastern United States. With hundreds and hundreds of developed and undeveloped lakes and ponds, the Park provides a wide variety of breeding sites for Common Loons, which are found throughout the Adirondacks during the summer months.

OVERVIEW

BioDiversity Research Institute’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation is dedicated to improving the overall health of the environment, particularly the protection of air and water quality, through collaborative research and education efforts focusing on the natural history of the Common Loon (Gavia immer) and conservation issues affecting loon populations and their aquatic habitats.

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation evolved from a contaminant research project conducted by the Northeast Loon Study Workgroup throughout North America. In New York, blood and feather samples were collected from loons in the Adirondack Park during a three-year period from 1998-2000. In 2001, BRI partnered with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, and the Audubon Society of New York State, Inc. to initiate the former Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program to further expand upon this work. In 2007, the Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program was integrated into the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program, and was then known as WCS’ Adirondack Loon Conservation Program. In 2009, the administration of the Loon Program changed to BioDiversity Research Institute, to better coordinate with BRI’s International Center for Loon Conservation and regional loon-mercury research in the Northeast. With this change, the name was also changed to reflect BRI’s new role, and the increased coordination with the International Center for Loon Conservation.

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation conducts research to determine the status and trends in the Adirondack breeding loon population, the impact of mercury contamination on this population’s reproductive success, and to identify the migratory patterns and wintering areas of Adirondack loons. This work is coordinated with similar research throughout northeastern North America to determine the effect of mercury contamination on the breeding loon population throughout the region.

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation also seeks to minimize anthropogenic impacts on loon populations and other wildlife through a variety of public education projects, including presentations, newsletters, innovative student curricula, a website – www.briloon.org/science-and-conservation/centers/adirondackloons.php, and a lead sinker exchange project. Adirondack Park residents and visitors are encouraged to learn firsthand about conservation of loons and their environment through participation in the Loon Program’s research and monitoring projects.

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation merges the worlds of field research, public participation, outreach, and education. The results of our research efforts are used by wildlife managers and other decision-makers, as well as the public, to ensure that Common Loons remain an integral and vital part of New York’s wildlife heritage, and that their haunting calls continue to echo across Adirondack lakes for generations to come.

BioDiversity Research Insitute is most grateful to its former collaborators for their support of the our loon research and conservation efforts in the Adirondacks, including:

The Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program, www.wcs.org/adirondacks

The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks - The W!ld Center, www.wildcenter.org

NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation, www.dec.ny.gov

Audubon Society of New York State, www.auduboninternational.org/programs/asny

LOON EDUCATION

ATTENTION STUDENTS AND TEACHERS! 
Discover More About Loon Migration and Environmental Conservation!

Science on the Fly! is for YOU!

Science on the Fly! is an exciting curriculum designed for middle and high school students who want to discover more about loons, the ecological impact of airborne pollutants, scientific research, and environmental conservation. Science on the Fly! includes two interactive modules for exploration:

• Loon Migration – Linking People and the Environment
• The Ecological Impacts of Pollution – Conservation Through the Lives of Adirondack Loons

Scientific inquiry learned through the Loon Migration unit of Science on the Fly! promotes student centered, open-ended explorations into the dynamics of freshwater aquatic environments. This unit expands upon BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation’s Loon Scientists Program, in which students learn about loon natural history and conservation concerns affecting wildlife populations and habitats.  The Ecological Impacts of Pollution unit of Science on the Fly! provides high school students with inspiring experiential learning opportunities in the field of conservation through designing and conducting an environmental service learning project in their local communities.

Students participating in Science on the Fly! explore the fascinating worlds of science and environmental conservation by following the loon migration and mercury contamination research conducted by BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation and its collaborators. Through these investigations, students also gain a better understanding of the links between people, the environment, and its wild inhabitants, such as the common loon. Science on the Fly! enablesstudents and teachers around the world to engage in the fascinating fields of scientific discovery and conservation led by the common loonsof the Adirondack Park, a six million acre mosaic of public and private lands in upstate New York.

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation invites all who are interested in learning about loons, aquatic ecosystems, or the steps involved in conducting scientific research and environmental conservation to explore www.scienceonthefly.org. Visitors to the Loon Migration unit of the Science on the Fly! website advance through the steps of the scientific process, discovering intriguing facts about loon natural history and aquatic habitats as they develop and test hypotheses that guide them to conclusions resulting from their research. Through exploring The Ecological Impacts of Pollution section of the website one can find out about the causes and environmental impacts of mercury pollution and acid deposition, two critical ecological contaminants; efforts to control these pollutants; and what can be done in one’s own homes or communities to better protect the environment and wildlife.

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ATTENTION STUDENTS!

Ask your Teachers to Bring Science on the Fly!
to Your Classroom!

• Interested in loons or environmental conservation? 
• Ever wonder where loons go when they migrate?
• Want to learn more about the research conducted by loon scientists in the Adirondack Park?

Science on the Fly! is for YOU!

Through the Loon Migration unit of Science on the Fly!, your class can do a variety of fun activities to learn about loons and aquatic habitats, and watch an entertaining video to find out how scientists in New York’s Adirondack Park use the scientific process to study the migration of common loons.

You can become a virtual scientist by logging onto the Loon Migration unit of the Science on the Fly! website, www.scienceonthefly.org, to explore the steps of the scientific process. Examine video clips, literature, and other loon and wildlife-related resources to learn why loons migrate and discover unique facts about the life cycle of common loons. Logging on to the Mercury and Acid Rain unit of the website will enable you to explore the sources of these airborne pollutants and their impacts to people, wildlife, and the environment. Find out what is being done to regulate these contaminants in the U.S. and throughout the world, and what YOU can do in your homes and communities to help protect the environment and its inhabitants!

Record the information you learn and the observations you make in your field notebook, which you can access from any computer. As you proceed through the website and improve your knowledge of common loons and the environment, you will also learn how to develop a hypothesis, design, perform, and interpret the results of a scientific experiment or conduct environmental service project, thus contributing directly to your local community and conservation!

Enter www.scienceonthefly.org and

Explore the World of Loon Migration, Scientific Research, and Environmental Conservation!

HAVE FUN!

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ATTENTION TEACHERS!
Bring Science on the Fly! to YOUR Class Today!

Scientific inquiry begins with a true interest in how or why something works, which is often generated from the student’s own experiences. The topic should be meaningful to the student. It starts with a question, and leads to an investigation of possible answers to that question. Scientific inquiry also provides a solid foundation for experiential learning that actively engages students in environmental community service as part of their academic curriculum.

The design of the study or environmental service learning project develops critical thinking skills and may result in a “trial and error” approach that needs time to be tried and tested. Imagination should be encouraged to enable students to build on their background knowledge by exploring different resources and making connections to their previous understanding. The ability of the student to communicate the results of the inquiry or service project, and to construct meaning from the analysis of the results is just as important as the data that is collected. Presenting data in imaginative and fun ways will also develop multiple other intelligence skills.

As a teacher, you are essential to successful science inquiry in the classroom and environmental service student projects in your community. By providing your students with the ability to control their explorations, you serve as the mentor or facilitator to the active investigation and conservation efforts. The rewards can be immeasurable – the empowerment of the students, and, in return, the true development of student scientists and conservationists.

The Science on the Fly! curriculum is a free teacher’s resource that includes two modules:

Unit #1: “Loon Migration: Linking People and the Environment”: This unit of Science on the Fly! enables middle-school students to explore the scientific process and the fascinating world of aquatic ecosystems. The charismatic common loon is used as an educational tool to lead students through the steps involved in conducting research and interpreting the results of the data collected. Scientific inquiry learned through the Loon Migration module of "Science on the Fly!" promotes student centered, open-ended explorations into the dynamics of freshwater aquatic environments.

Unit #2: “The Ecological Impacts of Pollution - Conservation Through the Lives of Adirondack Loons”: This interactive unit of Science on the Fly! is designed for high-school students, the “next generation” responsible for caring for our environment. It builds on the scientific inquiry skills and knowledge that students learned in the “Loon Migration” unit to provide them with a comprehensive overview of the environmental impacts of two airborne pollutants: mercury and acid deposition. This unit uses our Adirondack loon mercury research to guide participants through an improved understanding of these significant conservation concerns, including:

• The chemistry of airborne contaminants, and the interactions of the resulting chemicals in soils and aquatic habitats;
• The impact of environmental pollution to aquatic ecosystems, wildlife, and humans;
• Regional, national, and global efforts to decrease airborne pollutants; and
• Conservation efforts people can do in their own houses and communities.

The Mercury and Acid Rain unit provides a variety of resources for participants to design and implement an Environmental Service Learning Project in the area where they live, thus inspiring students to become actively involved in conservation in their own communities.

Science on the Fly! Teacher’s Manual and Training Workshops:
The Science on the Fly! Teacher’s Manual provides teachers with an overview of the full Science on the Fly! curriculum. Information about reference materials, learning standards, and additional resources are also included in the manual.

Download the Science on the Fly! Teacher's Manual

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation also offers training workshops to teachers in New York’s Adirondack Park who would like to bring Science on the Fly! to their classrooms. Through the one-day workshop, teachers learn about the design of the curriculum, how to incorporate science inquiry methods, participate in a variety of activities to use for their classes, and obtain ideas and resources for mentoring their students in an environmental service learning project.

To schedule a teacher training workshop in your area of the Adirondack Park, contact:

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation
P.O. Box 195, Ray Brook, NY 12977
888-749-5666x145, adkloon@briloon.org

Website, www.scienceonthefly.org:

For the Loon Migration unit, the Science on the Fly! website supplements and reinforces the information presented through the use of the Science on the Fly! video and classroom activities. The educational objective of this unit of the website is to allow middle-school students to engage in an activity that integrates the use of the scientific process while improving their awareness of wildlife natural history and environmental conservation. The teacher can utilize the website to emphasize the role that scientific methods and procedures have in relation to the loon migration research conducted on the Adirondack loon population. Participating students record information about each step of the process (e.g.: observations, results, or conclusions) in a notebook available to them on any computer.

The objectives of the Mercury and Acid Rain unit of the Science on the Fly! website are to:

• Increase student understanding of the critical ecological concern of airborne pollutants, and

• Inspire students to actively participate in environmental conservation in their home and in their local communities through an Environmental Service Learning Project.

Through the Mercury and Acid Rain unit of the website, students review the chemistry of mercury and acidic pollutants, and learn how scientists in the Adirondack Park study the impact of mercury pollution on breeding loons. Students are provided with resources and links to further investigate these issues, and to learn about state, regional, national, and global efforts to reduce pollution. Students record their answers to questions about the topics and their ideas in their Science on the Fly! notebook, enabling educators to evaluate their new knowledge, and review their ideas individually or in class discussions. The website also provides a variety of resources for students to learn about conducting conservation in their own homes and communities. Students are encouraged to directly participate in conservation through designing and implementing an Environmental Service Learning Project.

Teachers! This unique website enables educators to access the Science on the Fly! website separately from the students. Teachers can create classes and add new student users to a class. The teacher can then monitor each student as he or she advances through the application, makes notebook entries, and chooses answers to the hypotheses (Loon Migration unit) or questions (Mercury and Acid Rain Unit). Thus, the website provides teachers with a means for reviewing and evaluating each student’s progress and new understanding of the scientific process or the environmental impacts of pollution.

Science on the Fly! Meets Educational Standards:

Both units of Science on the Fly! meet New York State and National Science Learning Standards in many subjects, including: science; mathematics; analysis, inquiry, and design; and information systems. The Science on the Fly! Teacher’s Manual provides an overview of some of the standards that the curriculum addresses.

UNIT #1: LOON MIGRATION: LINKING PEOPLE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

The Loon Migration unit of the Science on the Fly! curriculum consists of three separate components, including a unique training video, classroom activities, and this interactive website, www.ScienceontheFly.org.  The different elements can be utilized individually or integrated with one another as a full curriculum to teach students about scientific inquiry. The curriculum can be taught in sequence or integrated into existing scientific process modules.

The Loon Migration unit enables students to increase their understanding of the scientific process, including how to design and conduct their own studies, using the loon migration research of the former Adirondack Cooperative Loon Program as an example. By relating classroom activities and investigations to this cutting-edge research, students gain an understanding of the connections between people, the environment, and its wild inhabitants.All components, including the Teacher’s Manual, Science on the Fly! video, and website, are available for the classroom teacher to utilize in whatever fashion you feel is most appropriate to the needs of your students and the scientific objectives you are looking to fulfill. 

a) Science on the Fly! DVD:

The Science on the Fly! video, hosted by middle school students and the “IICI Scientist,” was created to familiarize and expose students to each step of the scientific process. The video can be viewed in its entirety, or stopped after a given step for discussion and to conduct one of the classroom activities or proceed through a portion on the Science on the Fly! website. For example, the “Ice Balloon” activity can be completed after viewing the video section on asking questions (the first step in the scientific process).

The Science on the Fly! video enables students to see wildlife biologists in action, discussing and conducting research on loon migration. Students learn how real scientists go through the scientific process to discover little known facts about loon natural history and the year-round habitat use by Adirondack loons. Students also gain an understanding of how the results of scientific research are important to the conservation of wildlife and the environment. The Adirondack loon migration research is used as an example to teach students about the scientific process, including:

• Conducting initial observations and identifying questions to answer through their research
• Performing background research (e.g.: literature review) to learn the current status of knowledge on a subject
• Developing a hypothesis
• Designing a testing procedure
• Conducting the test (experiment)
• Organizing and analyzing the data
• Forming conclusions from the study

TEACHERS! To order a Science on the Fly! DVD, contact:

BRI’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation

P.O. Box 195, Ray Brook, NY 12977
888-749-5666x145, adkloon@briloon.org

b) Students Explore Aquatic Environments Through Classroom Activities:

Engaging classroom activities inspire students to explore the natural world around them. The suggested classroom activities in the Loon Migration unit of the Science on the Fly! Teacher’s Manual can be done to parallel and reinforce information that the students are learning in the Science on the Fly! video and website by directly involving students in each step of the scientific process.

The Science on the Fly! activities teach students about biodiversity, particularly in aquatic habitats. Students have the opportunity to further explore environmental concerns affecting wildlife and their habitats. Classes investigate positive actions they can implement to conserve and protect our wildlife and natural ecosystems. For example, students learn to conduct observations and annotate field notes by studying models or photographs of loons, design and test questions through exploring “ice balloons,” or conduct an experiment of their own design while studying the aquatic environment in a pond aquarium.

c)       The interactive Loon Migration Unit of the Science on the Fly! website, www.scienceonthefly.org, which provides students with an introduction to:

• The scientific process
• Common loon natural history
• Loon migration

UNIT #2 THE ECOLOGICAL IMPACTS OF POLLUTION: CONSERVATION THROUGH THE LIVES OF ADIRONDACK LOONS

The Mercury and Acid Rain unit of the Science on the Fly! curriculum consists of three separate elements, which can be utilized individually or as a full curriculum for high-school students to educate and involve them in environmental conservation. The components include:

The interactive Mercury and Acid Rain Unit of the Science on the Fly! website provides students with a broad overview of:

• The sources of the airborne pollutants, mercury and acid deposition,
• The chemistry of mercury and acidic pollutants in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems,
• The impact of these environmental contaminants to terrestrial and aquatic habitats, wildlife, and humans,
• How scientists in New York’s Adirondack Park research the impact of mercury pollution on common loons,
• State, regional, national, and global efforts to reduce mercury and acidic pollution,
• Energy conservation ideas for their own homes and in their local communities, and
• Developing and implementing Environmental Service Learning Projects.

Resources for classroom activities to actively engage students in learning about:

• Mercury pollution and its ecological impacts
• Acid deposition and its environmental and biological effects
• Energy conservation
• Conducting an Environmental Service Learning Project.

Students, under the guidance of their teachers or other mentors, design and implement their own Environmental Service Learning Project (ESLP). Service learning is a type of experiential learning that actively engages students in community service as part of their academic curriculum. In environmental service learning, participants conduct community service that will protect, maintain, or enhance the environment.  

Through this independent project, participants will gain valuable experience in planning and conducting a study or task; connect and apply their academic skills to real-life situations; develop a range of stewardship and community skills; and contribute to their communities and to environmental conservation by addressing an environmental concern that affects their local area. Teachers will evaluate the students’ progress of their ESLP through periodic reports, presentations to the class, or the actual results of the project (e.g.: working with local policy-makers to expand the recycling system in their school or town, identifying the sources of local pollutants and working with the polluters to decrease the cause). At the end of the school year, students could conduct a ESLP “recital” for the school, parents, and their classmates, in which they present (via posters, slide shows, field trips, etc) a summary of their ESLP and its results.

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Loons and People: Guidelines for “Nesting” Together on Adirondack Lakes

The publication, Loons and People: Guidelines for “Nesting” Together on Adirondack Lakes, is a valuable educational and management resource to help protect Common Loons and enhance their breeding habitat in Northern New York and throughout their summer range.

Lakeshore development and boating recreational activities have increased substantially on lakes in the Northeast and in New York’s Adirondack Park over recent decades, leading to a higher frequency of disturbance of breeding loons by humans. These guidelines provide an informed basis for sustainable development and human stewardship of lakeshores, while strengthening the coalition of individuals and organizations dedicated to the conservation of this iconic species. The publication also enhances understanding of the nesting habitat requirements and territorial breeding behavior of Common Loons, to aid people in minimizing disturbance of these unique birds.

Loons and People: Guidelines for “Nesting” Together on Adirondack Lakes was developed by Amanda Marino, an intern with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Adirondack Program in partnership with Biodiversity Research Institute’s Adirondack Center for Loon Conservation. Ms. Marino, a graduate of Virginia Tech, collaborated with many partners on this project, including the Adirondack Park Agency. Ms. Marino’s work was supported through a grant from Wild Gift, whose mission is to provide exceptional leaders a compelling experience in deep wilderness, and the support to launch a self-designed project that promotes the stewardship of wild nature and development of sustainable communities.

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Loons and People: Guidelines for “Nesting” Together on Adirondack Lakes

Full guideline publication

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