Smithsonian Scientist to Discuss Bird Migration

CHESTERTOWN, MD—Peter Marra, a research scientist with the Migratory Bird Center at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, will visit campus on Tuesday, November 13, to share his expertise on bird migration. His slide lecture, “Studying Birds in the Context of the Annual Cycle: Carry-over Effects and Seasonal Interactions,” will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Litrenta Lecture Hall of the John S. Toll Science Center. The event is free and open to the public and will be followed by a wine and cheese reception.  

Marra is an ornithologist who specializes in the study of urban ecology. His “Neighborhood Nestwatch” program enabled citizens of the Washington, D.C. area to become backyard biologists, collecting data on the activities of local bird populations. His research on the American redstart included the world’s longest running winter territory study. In addition to his study of urban ecology and migratory biology, Marra researches emerging infectious diseases such as West Nile Virus.

He holds a Ph.D. from Dartmouth and has published numerous articles on the behaviors and survival of migratory birds.

The lecture is sponsored by the Joseph H. McLain Program in Environmental Studies and the Center for Environment and Society. 

A Natural Builder Presents "Earth, Art, and Fire: Reviving Traditions for Post-Industrial Dilemmas"

Kiko Denzer with one of his mud ovens.

CHESTERTOWN, MD—The Center for Environment & Society (CES) at Washington College will present “Earth, Art, and Fire: Reviving Traditions for Post-Industrial Dilemmas” by Kiko Denzer at Litrenta Lecture Hall in the Toll Science Center at Washington College on Tuesday, October 30 at 7 p.m. This talk is free and open to the public.

A leading proponent of natural building, Kiko Denzer has worked with earth as a building material since 1994. His work has included low-cost, friendly structures for schools, playgrounds, gardens, and community events. The goals of his work are two-fold: “to bring the art and beauty of life and nature into spaces where we work and live, and to inspire people to create what they need with the materials they have on land.” In order to accomplish these things, Denzer begins with primary tools such as our hands and bodies.

Since 1994 Denzer has been involved in numerous projects involving mud – constructing mud ovens, stoves, fireplaces, and sculptures. His other interests include stone- and wood-carving, teaching and writing.

Based in Oregon, he self-publishes how-to books on natural building methods through his company Hand Print Press. His first book, Build your own Earth Oven, is widely regarded as the authority on the construction of traditional earth ovens. He also has written and published Dig Your Hands in the Dirt: A Manual for Making Art out of Earth, and Make a Simple Sundial.

Denzer’s talk at Washington College is sponsored by the Center for Environment and Society, the Student Environmental Alliance, the Anthropology Department, and the Anthropology Club. For more information, visit http://www.ces.washcoll.edu or call 410-810-7161.

WC’s Program in Computer Mapping Earns Prestigious Foundation Award at Conference

Students Steve McFall and Mariah Perkins join Stewart Bruce on
stage to received the award from USGIF president Keith Masback.

ORLANDO, FL—The United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation has awarded the Washington College geographic information systems (GIS) program its 2012 Academic Achievement Award. Program director Stewart Bruce and two of his GIS students, senior Mariah Perkins and freshman Steve McFall, accepted the award on stage October 10 at the annual GEOINT Symposium in Orlanda, Fla.

The award announcement summed up the Washington College GIS Program this way:

“The GIS Program at Washington College, part of the Center for Environment and Society, is exploring radical and disruptive innovations to get youth interested in and excited about the geospatial intelligence tradecraft. They have developed programs such as youth summer camps and after-school programs that are combined with undergraduate experiential learning opportunities. The GIS Program currently employs over 45 undergraduates working on a wide variety of funded GeoInt related projects. While the program is established and operated as an entrepreneurial microenterprise, their number one mission is the experiential learning opportunities for their undergraduate students and the outreach mission they have to engage K-12 youth. And all of this has one purpose: to place these youth on clear paths to become productive members of the future geospatial intelligence workforce.”

GIS program director Stewart Bruce, Assistant Director of the Center for Environment & Society, says his team is “very honored” by the award, which he views as “recognition of the dedication and hard work of our talented team of Washington College students, and the professional staff that guides their experiential learning.” He adds that GIS applications are being used increasingly throughout the liberal-arts curriculum at Washington College. “I often remind people that back in the late 1700’s when the College was founded, we taught our undergraduate students navigation, surveying, geography, ancient geography, and yes, even globemaking.  These skills were considered very important skills for the future leaders of our country then and now that the world is even a more dangerous place, these are skills that our future leaders need to master as well.”

Also honored at the symposium were George Mason University’s Center for Geospatial Intelligence, which earned the Academic Research Award, the U.S. State Department’s Humanitarian Information Unit (Government Award), U.S. Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command, (Military Award), and DigitalGlobe and the Satellite Sentinel Project (Industry Award).

To see video of the awards, go to http://geointv.com/archive/geoint-2012-usgif-awards-program-presentations/. 

Environmental Writer Tom Horton to Assess Bay's Health in Oct. 18 Talk Co-sponsored by CES

CHESTERTOWN—Tom Horton, one of the Chesapeake Bay’s foremost advocates and authorities, will present a wide-ranging talk on “lessons learned” during a special appearance in Chestertown on the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. Horton’s presentation, “40 Years of the Clean Water Act Through the Lens of the Chesapeake Bay,” will take place Thursday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m. at the Garfield Center for the Arts, 210 High Street, Chestertown.  Sponsored by the Chester River Association and the Center for Environment & Society at Washington College, the event is free and open to the public.

Horton has covered the Bay and the environment for The Baltimore Sun and other publications since 1972, the same year that the Clean Water Act was reauthorized in what he calls “a modern, post-Earth Day” way.

Among other talking points, Horton will highlight the progress that has been made with Bay restoration as well as examine some of the disappointments. He will also issue a clarion call for a broader, more ambitious agenda for environmentalism – one that includes a deep and diverse base of support.

Horton, who has written several books about the Bay, teaches at Salisbury University and writes for the Chesapeake Bay Journal.

Please call the Chester River Association at 410-810-7556 for more information.

John Beardsley of Harvard and Dumbarton Oaks to Talk about "Art in the Environment" Oct. 17

CHESTERTOWN, MD—John Beardsley, Director of Garden and Landscape Studies at Dumbarton Oaks and adjunct professor of landscape architecture at Harvard University, will speak on “Art in the Environment: Sketches from the Field,” Wednesday, October 17 at Washington College. The illustrated talk, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 5 p.m. in Decker Theater, Gibson Center for the Arts, on the College campus, 300 Washington Avenue.

Beardsley holds a PhD from the University of Virginia and has authored numerous books on contemporary art and design. Two of his most recent works on landscape art and architecture are Earthworks and Beyond: Contemporary Art in the Landscape (fourth edition, 2006) and Gardens of Revelation: Environments by Visionary Artists (1995). In addition, he edited Landscapebody dwelling: Charles Simonds at Dumbarton Oaks (2012), and the proceedings from the 2010 symposium “Designing Wildlife Habitats.”

Trained as an art historian, Beardsley has organized exhibitions for numerous museums, including the Hirshhorn and the Corcoran in Washington, D.C., and Houston’s Museum of Fine Arts. In 1997, he was curator of the visual arts project “Human Nature: Art and Landscape in Charleston and the Low Country” for the Spoleto Festival U.S.A.

Dumbarton Oaks, a historic estate house and gardens in Washington’s Georgetown neighborhood is home to Harvard’s Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. Established in 1969, the Garden and Landscape Studies program there supports advanced scholarship in garden history, landscape architecture, and the study of significant landscapes around the world.

 In his role as director, Beardsley oversees summer internships, a lecture series, a publications program, an annual symposium, and a fellowship program. He also conceives and manages a series of installations of contemporary art in the institution’s historic gardens.

His visit to Washington College is sponsored by the Department of Art and Art History and the Center for Environment & Society. For more information contact Rachel Field rfield2@washcoll.edu or 410-810-7162. Click here to read an interview with Beardsley in the Chestertown Spy.