Below The Surface

The Pumpkinseed Sunfish Dance Again- Clearing the Dance Floor

2012-05-22T16:27:00.000-04:00

Once again our sunfishes are beginning their annual spring ritual in our 3rd floor Upper River tank. It started today with two male pumpkinseed sunfish establishing their nesting territories, keeping other fish away and sweeping the gravel bottom of their nests:

This happens each year. To find out why check out this post from last year, or better yet come visit and see it for yourself!

OUR BODY: Questions, Curiosity and Controversy

2012-05-03T14:02:00.001-04:00

The day finally arrived! Saturday, April 14 the doors to ECHO opened to welcome our guests to the world class exhibit, OUR BODY: The Universe Within. Hard to believe, but the idea to host this exhibit began in 2008 when we embarked upon an expansion of ECHO that was completed this year. The expansion provided us the opportunity to present a larger, more involved and extensive exhibit that had exceptional education value.

Notes from ECHO guests

Reaction from visitors has been amazing. The thoughts from guests collected and shared on Post-it® notes each day have filled us with inspiration and joy, tears and laughter. Many emotions, many deep and heartfelt, many full of thanks, and many questions as well.

We’ve received phone calls and emails from folks too. Some curious, some worried, some wondering why an Aquarium and Science Center would host an exhibit about the human body. Some confused about the up-charge on the usual ECHO admission fee, others wondering if they can visit and enjoy ECHO without accidentally “bumping into” a body from the exhibit (don’t worry, you can’t as the exhibit hall is sectioned off from the rest of ECHO).

Thoughtful questions. Relevant questions. Welcomed questions. And we are grateful for them.

Our goal is to provide a unique and powerful experience for the community so they can engage in a conversation about the wonders of the human body and how best to keep their own body healthy. We also recognize that hosting this exhibition comes with some controversy. While we can definitively answer questions about the origin of the bodies and how they are preserved, we hope the wider conversation about ethics, aesthetics, and donating your body to science prompts discussion across the region.

I thought I’d share some of the more common questions received and attempt to answer them assuming that many more people may be wondering or questioning the same thing.

Linda Bowden at the entrance to the exhibit. A rare quiet moment.

Here we go…

Where did the bodies come from? The specimens in this exhibition came from China via the Anatomical Science & Technologies Foundation (ASTF) through members of the Chinese Society for Anatomical Science. Members include accredited Chinese universities, medical schools, medical institutions, research centers and laboratories. The members share a collective goal “to promote and popularize knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the science of the human body, health care and disease prevention”, among other things.

Did the individuals consent to be in this exhibit?According to the ASTF, all donors (or their immediate family members or authorized proxy) are clearly told that the donated bodies will be used for medical research and educational purpose (including appropriate preservation and public education). In China, as in the U.S., donor wishes and family identities are kept private, and therefore we can never trace the exact journey an individual has taken to find its way into this exhibit. We feel confident, however, that the specimens in the exhibition at ECHO were acquired via lawful means and means that are in compliance with methods that are also acceptable in the U.S.


Dr. Stephen Leffler from UVM College of Medicine walks the crowd through the exhibit.

Why did you choose this exhibit over other exhibits such as Body Worlds or Bodies…the Exhibition? We felt this exhibition put forth the most scientific and anatomically based and respectful presentation of the specimens. This exhibition, in our opinion, presented an exceptional amount of science, biology and health messaging and allowed for a greater opportunity to partner with UVM College of Medicine to expand the learning/teaching potential of the exhibit. See photos from two of the OUR BODY Speaker Series events: Pipes and Tubes and In the Nick of Time where experts from UVM College of Medicine walk guests through the exhibit and speak about their area of expertise.

Dr. Elizabeth Ezerman from UVM College of Medicine talks about the central nervous system

Isn’t there controversy surrounding this exhibit and others like it? Yes there is. And we were aware of these questions and controversies which actually helped us decide on this particular exhibit over the other ones. We called previous host sites of this exhibit such as The Orlando Science Center, Detroit Science Center, Rochester Museum & Science Center, Oklahoma Science Museum, Gulf Coast Exploreum Science Center, Witte Museum, Mid America Science Museum, Whitaker Center, among others, and they, like us, felt confident in the validity and accuracy of the information provided.

Why are they specimens so thin? When the body goes through the plastination process, the liquid in the body is replaced with a polymer, or plastic. Once the liquid is removed the body is much thinner since 70+ percent of the body is liquid.

Do the specimens smell? No. There is no odor whatsoever.

Gerianne Smart, ECHO's Marketing Director, spoke about some of these issues recently on the Mark Johnson Show on WDEV Radio. To listen to the radio interview click here, you can hear her around the 2 minute mark.

Many generous people decide to donate their body or organs to science every day. This generosity has allowed medical science to advance our understanding of our “humanness” and create advances in medicine and technology that have helped millions of people to have longer, healthier lives.

The questions asked, the thoughtful emails received and phone conversations are welcomed. Each one provides a new level of understanding, another avenue of research and education and, perhaps most importantly, an opportunity for dialogue around issues of great importance.

We welcome the continued conversation around this exhibit and invite you to come and view the exhibit for yourself. It is our hope that you will obtain not only a greater understanding of your own human body, but a deeper appreciation of the importance of medical science and research in the advancement of the health of our species.

Phelan Fretz, Ph. D., Executive Director

ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center at the Leahy Center for Lake Champlain

Good Luck to Our Animal Care Graduates!

2012-05-02T13:28:00.000-04:00

A number of our dedicated volunteers in the Animal Care Department are graduating and moving on with their careers. We hope that their experiences at ECHO have helped them to achieve their future goals because they have certainly helped us maintain an outstanding animal collection and we have had a lot of fun together!

Tyson with Winston on the floor

Claire giving her first demo

Claire Trotter and Tyson-Jerome White are graduating from Champlain Valley Union High School and plan on attending college in the fall. Besides contributing many hours of labor to our core Animal Care duties, both have gone beyond the call of duty by contributing to the daily public programs that we present.

Reinhart feeds brook trout

Emma cleans baby turtles

Emma Fox and Reinhart Meisenheimer are earning Bachelors of Science in Biology degrees from Saint Michael's College. Emma will be working for the Maine Conservation Corps as an Environmental Educator at Mount Desert Island Biological Labs in Bar Harbor, Maine. Reinhart will be working as an Farmyard Educator at Shelburne Farms.

Scott returning a mudpuppy


		Alyssa feeding the American toad

The University of Vermont provides a seemingly never-ending source of motivated students who study Animal Science, Biology, and Natural Resources. We tip our hats to Monica Beers, Boyd Carnal, Annabelle Bower, Alyssa Kircher, and Scott Carson who will all be receiving their degrees from UVM in several weeks. Monica has been a long-time volunteer in both our Animal Care and Education departments and working next door in the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Lab; she is true representative of the Leahy Center's many facets. She will be continue with us this summer and also manage a lab at UVM. Boyd will be moving south to pursue a graduate degree in Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University. Annabelle hopes to return to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Atlantic salmon hatchery in her home state of New Hampshire, where she has worked summers during college. Alyssa plans to return to her home state of Colorado and continue to work in the field of wildlife biology. In addition to helping us, she and has been working with Keeping Track as a wildlife biologist. Scott hopes to stay in Vermont and will be continuing on with ECHO this summer as an Animal Care volunteer and as an Educator with our overnight education program.

Boyd returns the softshell turtle

While its always hard to see our volunteers move on, we wish them luck with all their future plans!

An Idea Blooms into a New Demo

2012-04-29T16:27:00.000-04:00

One of the many perks of my job is getting to be an expert. Whether its training a new team of Animal Care volunteers or speaking to a crowd gathered for one of our Demos each day, I get to share what I know to people who are generally very interested in the natural world. More often than not, these experiences

Claire Trotter presenting

lead to many ideas, including prospects for bringing new information to our guests. An exchange of ideas between myself and Claire Trotter, a seasoned Animal Care volunteer, culminated into an exciting new demo which she brought to ECHO for the first time this afternoon.

What looks like Claire sharing some recent mug shots is actually part of a new demo we call "Our Animals' Bodies: Male or Female?" In it we talk about some of physical characteristics of some of ECHO's animal ambassadors that can be used to tell the sex of an animal. Although the question of whether a particular animal is a boy or girl comes up all the time, its not always an easy one to answer. Claire did research to find some of the most consistent and striking examples of sexual dimorphism (difference in appearance between guys and gals) that can be used any time of year, not just during breeding season. The results are interesting and easy to practice while looking at our animals, but can be a bit of a dry topic. So why not consider what it might look like if these same characteristics showed up on us?

You may just be surprised at the results!

Brian and his "keel"

The carapace of a male map turtle has a ridged called a keel

Its no surprise that Claire did an awesome job developing and presenting this new demo. What continues to strike me is how fun it can be help others create demos and watch them be the expert.

ECHO E-Team at the Intervale

2012-04-26T17:08:00.000-04:00

What's a great way to spend an E-Team (Environmental Team) meeting on a perfect spring day? Go on a field trip to the Intervale Conservation Nursery! Julia VanderWoude (ECHO's Education Intern from UVM), reflects on her time leading members of ECHO’s teen leadership and environmental science program at the Intervale where they got a taste of a different aspect of environmental stewardship in Burlington.

By Julia VanderWoude

Even though all of our E-Teamers are from the Burlington area, only about half the group had been to the Intervale before last week to volunteer or explore. We received a quick tour of the property from Seth Gillim, the Intervale’s Assistant Manager, and got a chance to talk to him about the impacts of last spring’s flooding on the Winooski River and the Intervale’s farms, as well as the history of the area and some of the riparian species we were seeing. The E-Teamers had some great questions for him and were especially interested in the fact that the Intervale did much of their harvesting via canoe last year.

After the tour, the E-Teamers jumped right into the service task that had been given to them. They spent some time picking up branches in the recently tilled rows being prepped for tree seedling planting. A few E-Teamers also helped lay drip lines down the rows of new seedlings. Some of the E-Teamers commented that it was a chance to see the “manual labor” side of environmental stewardship, something that they don’t get a lot of while interacting with visitors inside ECHO. I enjoyed getting to have fun conversations with E-Teamers while we worked and enjoyed the spectacular blue skies.

To round out the field trip, we took a walk through the Intervale’s greenhouse, which gave the E-Team a chance to see the seedlings that would eventually be going into the ground in the field on which they had just worked. E-Teamers thoroughly enjoyed making that connection, and now they are looking forward to our upcoming field trips, including canoeing and sailing on Lake Champlain!
I can't wait either!

Giving Blood for Stewardship

2012-04-04T11:22:00.001-04:00

Did you know the the "O" in ECHO stands for opportunity for stewardship? That is, looking for ways to act to help sustain our natural ecosystems? Whenever possible, I communicate to our guests what effects we humans have on the natural world around us, and suggest ways to look for opportunities to change our behavior. Sometimes opportunities to help a rare species may come from unexpected places and might require navigating uncomfortable challenges. Our Animal Care Department recent tackled a new challenge that just might help an endangered species that are a cornerstone of our popular Lake Tank exhibit.

Lake sturgeon are listed as as either threatened or endangered by 19 of the 20 states within its original range in the United States. This means that all of the populations of this large bottom-feeding fish are at risk of disappearing from the waters which they inhabit, including Lake Champlain. To be a threatened or endangered species means that the numbers of reproductively mature individuals in a population are low enough that stresses like habitat changes, a disease outbreak, the arrival of an invasive species, bouts of unfavorable weather, or increased levels of pollution can eliminate a population from an area over time. Often, more than one of these stresses act on a population at the same time. For the lake sturgeon, the use of our Basin's rivers to generate power- saw and grist mills in the past, hydroelectric nowadays- have disconnected these large fish from their riverine breeding habitat. The few fish that can still find silt-free gravel beds in which to spawn may produce fewer offspring due to the stresses like elevated pollutants have on their reproductive system.

We were recently contacted by Dr. Louis DiVincenti, a veterinarian for the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York to see if we might help with a study of lake sturgeon restoration in that he has been involved in for a number of years. Dr. DiVincenti's part of the study is to measure the levels of contaminants present in sturgeon that have been re-introduced to the Genesee River. To put the data from these wild fish into perspective, he asked if we (along with other aquariums) could provide blood samples from the captive lake sturgeon. Because our participation would mean performing some invasive procedures on our most charismatic animals, we decided with caution whether we would participate in the study. Is it worth taking blood from our healthy animals to help their wild cousins?

We decided that yes, we would participate with an appropriate level of caution. We'd carefully capture one sturgeon, coax it into a floating tub, put it under anesthesia, draw the necessary blood for the study, and recover the fish before quietly releasing back to the tank. If things didn't go smoothly, we'd reconsider putting our animal ambassadors at risk for the greater good.

After receiving our supplies and reviewing the protocols for taking the blood samples, we began our work:

A team of three people would work to capture the fish- two using nets to guide the fish into a plastic cattle trough held vertically by the third.

Once the fish was captured and contained inside the now floating cattle trough, we allowed it to acclimate to its short-term housing, then dissolved a carefully measured amount of fish anesthetic into the water. At this point, we must track time to prevent an overdose. The longer a fish is in the anesthetic bath, the larger dose it receives. The art and science to this is choosing a dosage that allow us adequate time to perform our procedure without the chance of accidental overdose. Lower amounts of anesthetic allow more time, but take more time to take effect. Since each fish responds differently to this, a lot of careful guesswork, observation, and patience pays off.

Then we wait until the fish become unresponsive to being manipulated, a sign that the anesthesia is working and we can perform the blood draw without injuring our friend. If we act too early, the fish could move and cause the needle to go into unwanted tissues (or us!). We measured the fish's length and girth during this time.

Once the fish is fully "under," we prepared to insert a needle through the muscles between anal pore and anal fin by locating an area of soft tissue between two of the bony scutes on the underside of the fish. As the needle passes into the muscle tissue, a vacuum tube is engaged to draw blood into it when the needle finds the vein. In this case we are seeking a vein that runs along the bottom of the fish's spine. The needle is pressed downward until it meets the spine, and then very slowly reversed until a "flash" of blood enters the vacuum tube from the vein. The trick is to move slowly enough to find the vein, see the flash, and then hold the needle in place to collect the samples needed for the project.

Once the samples were collected, they were processed and shipped overnight to the lab for analysis. The needle was removed from the fish and the process to recover the fish from anesthesia begins.

By carefully using these methods, we successfully collected samples from all three lake sturgeon that the study required.

Capitalizing on this particular stewardship opportunity was a collaborative effort. In addition to our dedicated animal care staff and volunteers, our friends Dr. J. Ellen Marsden and Susan Fuller at the the Rubenstein Ecosystem Science Laboratory provided equipment without which we could have completed this project. Thank you to everyone involved!

Get Closer to the Lake Campaign Celebrated

2012-03-29T08:47:00.006-04:00

Saturday evening the 24th of March proved a bit blustery and chilly outside, but inside the crowd warmed up to delicious hors d’oeuvres, good company, and a monumental chocolate fountain. 150 donors and supporters joined Senator and Mrs. Leahy to dedicate the Revision Lakeside Pavilion, Dealer.com Terrace, and the Omni Room. The highly anticipated expansion lived up to everyone’s expectations with music, multi-media slide shows, an impactful short film, and stunning views of the Adirondacks over the steel-grey, crashing waves of a stormy Lake Champlain.

Heartfelt remarks honored the vision of George Little, the philanthropy of Louis McClure, and the leadership of Senator Patrick Leahy. ECHO’s outgoing board member and Burlington’s incoming mayor, Miro Weinberger spoke to his role as co-chair of the campaign and his vision for a vital waterfront and strong partnership between ECHO and the city. ECHO’s closest friends gained insight into the vision that created ECHO and the love that Senator Leahy has for this lake and this institution. Lois McClure rounded out the remarks with a heartfelt account of her and her late husband’s passion for Lake Champlain and why ECHO is a vital institution for all residents and visitors to the Lake Champlain basin.

Now that the campaign has reached its $4.1 million goal, and the Revision Lakeside Pavilion and Dealer.com Terrace are a reality, ECHO looks ahead to developing programs, experiences, and resources that touch and impact our entire community. Next year we celebrate our 10th anniversary. Ten years of educating and delighting friends and neighbors with the Ecology, Culture, History, and Opportunity that our unique place in the world offers.

All it takes is one drop to change our world, to make a difference, to create a ripple that moves and rolls and merges with other ripples a perpetual motion of change and evolution. One building on the other, one dependent upon the other. All starting with one drop… to change an action, change direction, change a mind.

Pirates Take Over ECHO Summer Camps

2012-03-20T13:46:00.002-04:00

We usually associate piracy with the high seas, oceans like the Atlantic and Pacific. However, this week, I learned that Lake Champlain has its own history of men in leather boots and pantaloons carrying illegal goods across its waters.

Picture by Benjamin Cole in the second edition
of Charles Johnson's General Historie;
Available through the Library of Congress

While building a geocaching activity (a recreational activity that involves using GPS devices to find hidden stashes) for our new Overnights and Summer Science Camps, I wondered if I could add an air of excitement by integrating a pirate theme. Following this whim, I approached Emily at the Lake Champlain Basin Program's (LCBP) Resource Room (located only a short jaunt across ECHO's top floor) with the question, "Is there any history of piracy on Lake Champlain?"

With the help of Jim & Cynthia from LCBP and Richard from the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum, this is what we learned: During the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France, in an attempt to prevent America citizens and goods from being seized by British and French forces, President Jefferson enacted a ban on foreign trade. Vermont, because of its shared border with Canada, was heavily reliant on foreign trade and risked economic devastation due to this ban. Vermont's local governments and newspapers were outspoken in their outrage. However, the ban stood, and as a consequence, several Vermont merchants chose to defy the ban and began smuggling their goods into Canada.

Many smugglers chose to move their products (mostly potash, butter, cheese, leather, and meats) via ship across Lake Champlain. It was easier to move large amounts of cargo via ship and easier to evade the authorities. There are even documented cases of more imaginative merchants hiring boats to act as pirate ships. These faux pirate ships would pretend to steal the merchant's goods, sell them in Canada, and then return the profits to the supposed victim. So there were pirates on Lake Champlain but not true pirates.

In one famous clash between smugglers and custom officials, called the Black Snake Affair, custom officials aboard the oar boat Fly intercepted a smuggling vessel called the Black Snake. Two government officers were killed during the skirmish and the Black Snake crew captured and imprisoned. Four members of the Snake's crew were convicted and one sentenced to death. A reported 10,000 people gathered in Burlington to watch the condemned man hang.

Cynthia emailed me this incredible song that recounts the story of the Black Snake Affair (http://freedomandunity.org/new_frontier/black_snake.html). I can't wait to sing it at camp this summer while jigging in my new pantaloons!

To find out more about this year's summer camps, visit www.echovermont.org/camps
To find out more about overnights at ECHO, visit www.echovermont.org/overnights

Winter Fun at ECHO

2012-03-01T16:31:00.021-05:00

A few weeks ago, while crossing the parking lot to get into ECHO, it felt a lot like spring. Instead of cold winds whipping across the lake and snow crunching under my feet I trudged through muddy puddles with my parka, mostly unzipped. To be frank, there hasn't been quite as much frosty weather or powdery snow as I had hoped there would be for my first winter in Vermont.

But not to worry! This week I've found my winter inside ECHO Lake Aquarium, instead of outside on the mountainsides. Children and adults are getting into the winter spirit, cutting out intricately designed paper snowflakes and piling them up as high as a moose on the windows in the Adirondack Alcove, overlooking Lake Champlain. I have especially loved the "zooflakes" which use animal shapes as the basic shape for a snowflake. Guests are also sharing their favorite snow stories. It's great to hear about peoples' first memories of snow or their favorite experience of rocketing down a mountain with friends. I've also heard dozens of stories about snow, winter, sledding and skiing and some of these are up on the wall for everyone to enjoy.

And then there are daily snowball fights. That's right! Every day we gather together to fling cotton balls at each other, pretending that those fluffy white puffs are the real thing. Even though they don't freeze our hands some participants refuse to take their gloves off. The excitement is increased because we use catapults to fling the snowballs across the room. Just today I was blasted from all sides by giggling, enthusiastic, young, snowball-flingers eager to continue their epic cross-classroom battle until I told them it was time to clean up.

One of these days it really will be Spring (or Mud-Season as I've been told), but until then the snow will be flying in ECHO. Come join us through Tuesday, March 6th for our daily snow (cotton) ball fights. And for now, at least, I remain content that my first winter in Vermont provided more snow inside, than out.

Supporting Lake Champlain Though Volunteering and Adventure

2012-02-16T10:11:00.025-05:00

I love sailing on Lake Champlain. Like many folks who love Lake Champlain, I grew up playing on the water, whether fishing in a small motor boat or sailing a Sunfish with my dad. Now I spend more of my time racing larger boats like the J-27 (photo left). So, when the opportunity came up to volunteer to help raise money for the stewardship of Lake Champlain and do so while sailing, I jumped at it and haven't looked back since.

I've been volunteering for the Regatta for Lake Champlain (R4LC) since 2006 but the non-profit organization was established in 2004 to promote the health, well being, and sustainability of Lake Champlain. The R4LC raises money though the efforts of many sailors, volunteers, and lake loving corporate sponsors and individual donors through a family-friendly sailing race every July and by hosting a world-renown sailing related guest speaker in the winter. The money raised by these two events is given to non-profit organizations such as ECHO to support their mission driven Lake Champlain stewardship efforts. ECHO has been a beneficiary since 2004 and with the latest, much appreciated gift of $3,000, ECHO was able to use the money to help give discount admission to guests in need.

Come join the fun of supporting Lake Champlain and ECHO. On Thursday, March 15th the R4LC will present Brad Van Liew for the 2012 Spring Ice Breaker fund raiser event. For folks who don't know Brad, he won the prestigious 2010-11 Velux 5 Oceans solo around the world race and is the only American to do so. Thorough his AV presentation, Brad talks of grueling solos races that push physical and mental endurance to the limits, and describes what it takes to be the best. Talk about an adventure! I can't wait.
Brad Van Liew Ice Breaker details:
Where: Main Street Landing Film House, 60 Lake Street, Burlington
When: Doors open at 6PM for light food and cash bar. Show starts at 7PM.
Tickets: $20, purchase on-line at: regattaforlakechamplain.org

Photo top left:J-27, Lift Ticket sails back to Mallets Bay after the 2009 R4LC, (C) Julie Silverman/ECHO
Photo lower center: Brad Van Liew sailing his Open 60, Le Pingoui

ECHO Goes to the Camp Fair

2012-02-15T11:13:00.000-05:00

I attended Kids VT's annual camp fair at the Hilton last weekend and had a great time talking to families about ECHO's new summer camps. Across the board, families were really excited that ECHO is hosting day camps this summer and expressed how much they love ECHO. A few parents shared that they had purposefully sought out our table after seeing us on the list of camp fair attendees. I stayed engaged the entire time chatting with kids and parents. I also learned that next year I should bring more registrations forms, because I ran out an hour into the event!

In addition to our snazzy new camp brochures, I brought some hands-on items for kids to explore, including moose antlers, a snake skin, a turtle shell, and an owl pellet. Guiding kids as they interacted with these objects reminded me how much I love science education. Kids' imaginations were particularly sparked by the spine on the underside of the turtle's shell. I would have them feel their own spines with one hand while stroking the turtle shell's with the other. There is this amazing smile that children develop when they make a truly exciting connection that I wish I could share via photograph. It is one of the most heart-warming experiences as an educator.

Champ's mini-me blow-up doll.

Mid-day, Champ stopped by my table wearing his full Lake Monster's uniform. He spent some time inspecting his mini-me, a Champ blow-up doll that I had brought, and then nodded his approval. Perusing our 2012 camp offerings, he seemed particularly interested in our "Aquatic Discovery Camp" (running 8/6 - 8/10). It could be that Champ is into robotics and wants to take part in building an underwater R.O.V. (remotely operated vehicle) with the rest of the campers. However, I suspect he views the camp's scheduled outing on the UVM Melosira Research Vessel as a chance for a free lunch! Either way, I believe Champ is well beyond the camp's 4th - 5th grade age range.

In addition to "Aquatic Discovery Camp," we have five other unique camps this year that I presented that the camp fair. I am particularly excited about the "Explore the Shore Camp" for children entering 6th - 8th grade. We have some really amazing citizen science field projects set-up, and I met a lot of really bright middel school students at the fair, who I hope enroll. I even sent one precocious rising 6th grader home with my dissected owl pellet at the end of the day.

To find out more about this year's camps, visit www.echovermont.org/camps.

Are there fish in your beer?

2012-01-18T17:00:00.004-05:00

As a craft beer lover and avid home brewer I was thrilled when Linda Bowden, ECHO's Life-Long Learning coordinator, announced that she was planning the beer-themed event called "FeBREWary: The Science of Beer." As an aquatic biologist, I'm always seeking ways to link our local aquatic fauna to things that people really identify with and care about... like beer!

As it turns out, there is a quite a long history of using fish parts to clarify beer and other fermented beverages. Many fish would sink without some extra buoyancy provided by a structure called an air bladder. An air bladder is essentially a bag made of collagen into which fish can add or remove gas as they move up or down in depth. This allows fish to maintain neutral buoyancy- not sinking or floating, but hovering in one place. As with many anatomical features, air bladders can provide additional functions beyond buoyancy control.

For example, drum use the air bladder to produce and amplify a thumping sound (like a bass drum) during spawning season. Other fish, like long-nose gar and bowfin, can thrive in warmer waters that have low amounts of dissolved oxygen by gulping air and passing oxygen from surface air into their blood stream via their air bladders.

The air bladder is an essential structure for many fish, but it's the collagen from which it's made that matters to beer lovers. Consumers of the vast majority of beer styles look for clarity in the glass along with satisfying flavor. Most modern breweries use some form of clarification to achieve the bright clear appearance that consumers expect. Among several options for achieving clarity is isinglass, which is made from- you guessed it- fish air bladders. By extracting and processing fish air bladders, the collagen building blocks are dissolved into an acidic solution to make isinglass. When the isinglass is added to beer, millions of tiny charged collagen particles bind to oppositely charged particles of suspended yeast cells and other dissolved by-products of fermentation (hop oils, protein, etc.) that can make beer cloudy. Once added, the binding action of isinglass forms larger, more dense particles that sink to the bottom of the container and the beer "drops clear." In as little as two days, a batch of beer will go from hazy (photo on left) to clear (photo on right) and be ready to carbonate and drink.

How the use of fish parts in the brewing process got started is not well known. One of the most likely scenarios that I've come across is one in which ancient people used air bladders to carry liquids, including beer. Acidic beverages, like beer and wine, likely dissolved some collagen and created favorable conditions for clarification to occur. Perhaps some ancient ale drinker set down his or her bladder of beer for a day or two, only to discover a clearer drink later on.

Want to find out more about intersection of science and the enjoyment of good beer? Join us at ECHO on the evening of February 9th. Prost!

Construction Update: AV & Insulation - That's a Wrap!

2012-01-13T13:42:00.008-05:00

It may be getting colder outside, but ECHO's been heating up the Lakeside Pavilion construction scene with hardhat tours, new floors, eco-insulation, and the electrical installation for our new audiovisual (AV) system that resembles a concert hall pipe organ more than electrical conduit.

Coming soon, the new hi-tech interactive AV system in the Lakeside Pavilion will have one large screen flanked by two monitors on each side. ECHO staff is busy developing new touch-screen demonstrations that integrate technology such as a projection microscope to take a closer at snake skin and audience participation bird song games. And thanks to an National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, this fall ECHO will be adding 3D capability to explore our watershed in ways that have never been done before!

ECHO is also reaching new eco-friendly heights with the Lakeside Pavilion striving for LEED Platinum certification - the highest level achievable for a green building. Investing in high efficiency insulation is one of the most effective strategies for an earth-friendly building project that also saves money from the start. One of the insulation products that ECHO is using is "Supergreen" spray urethane foam. This spray foam does not affect the ozone layer, has a great insulation value (R-Value) per inch, creates a tight building envelope, and is very versatile - you can fill in all sort of nooks and crannies in walls, ceilings, basements, and roofs in commercial and residential buildings.

ECHO was the first LEED certified building in the State of Vermont, and though we are proud of this distinction, we continue to look for ways to make improvements as we grow and expand. And along the way, if we can share a thing or two about greener choices that can be made in construction, all the better.

Photos top: JAM construction team installing beam under AV conduit, (C) Julie Silverman
Photo lower left and right: Supergreen spray insulation in the ceiling and walls, (C) Julie Silverman

Snake Charmer

2012-01-04T16:25:00.000-05:00

During holiday breaks, myself and my coworkers in the Animal Care Department experience a very real reminder of just how much of our workload in covered by our volunteers. Many of them take holiday breaks from school and leave us for a few weeks, and we scramble to keep our animal collection healthy and happy. By the numbers, our volunteers contribute 70% of the total hours worked in Animal Care. This year, I got some extra help with one part of my job right as volunteer numbers were starting to dwindle.

Near the end of December one of my dedicated volunteers, Tyson White, took a bold step and did one of the two public demonstrations that our department gives each day.

Tyson, a senior at Champlain Valley Union High School, chose to work for us as part of Grad Challenge, a public service learning requirement at his school. In addition to learning all the in's and out's of our Sunday afternoon Animal Care duties, Tyson developed a bond with Winston, the Eastern ratsnake that lives in our Animal Care room. He first learned how to comfortably handle the snake and watched my version of "Meet the black ratsnake" demo. For his presentation, Tyson added some information about breeding time for the snakes and brought this information to a small crowd gathered to meet Winston. He did a great job, speaking comfortably with a four and a half foot snake in his hands. I enjoyed myself as Tyson's supervisor, mentor, and audience member.

Next week, ECHO celebrates our volunteers who keep us running. Stop by and help us thank them for all they do!

Seasons of Change

2011-12-28T10:56:00.004-05:00

Believer, skeptic or bystander, few would deny that "climate change" is a hot topic. From extreme weather patterns to the recent flooding of Lake Champlain the effects of global warming and climate change in general is hard to ignore. On January 21, ECHO will explore the impacts of climate change with the opening of the new exhibit Seasons of Change.

Members of ECHO will enjoy exclusive benefits including early admission and continental breakfast between 9 and 10 a.m., 20% off shop sales throughout the day, and the ability to bring guests (equal to your current membership) free-of-charge to enjoy all that ECHO has to offer. Throughout the day educators will encourage visitors to get wild about weather through demonstrations and hands-on encounters such as: The incredible journey of a raindrop, learn how to build your own weather station, discover why we have seasons, and observe a cloud formation right at ECHO! At 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., special guest Amy Seidl, UVM Professor and author of Finding Higher Ground and Early Spring, will present a program entitled When Lilacs Bloom. We've all noticed the weather changing - from earlier springs to record-setting storms - but how are these changes affecting the landscape around us? Dr. Seidl will help us see how flowering lilacs, migratory songbirds, autumn colors, and other seasonal events are signals from a warming world.

If you aren’t currently a member, join ECHO today to take advantage of this very special program. As an added bonus, if you join before January 31st, ECHO will match your gift by giving an equal membership to a low-income neighbor through our You Give, We Give program.

That's Brilliant! ECHO After Dark

2011-12-20T16:47:00.010-05:00

You would have thought with an event showcasing inventions as we did on December 8 with That's Brilliant! at ECHO, you'd see nothing but white shirts with pen protectors and glasses. Instead we had floors full of animated people who looked like you and I who were actively engaged in conversation with our guests by demonstrating or letting you try really cool inventions that could be used to help ski or sled down the mountain, assist children with disabilities play video games, or create a new way to hang earrings. Our surveys showed that our guests were overwhelmingly pleased with this latest ECHO After Dark event where we showcased some of the many Vermont inventions that people have dreamed up. Folks didn’t want to stop chatting with the inventors! The theme tied in well with the end of the year where many people are either interested in what has happened in the inventions world over the past year or they were in the mood for shopping for unique gifts from brilliant inventors. Over 160 people enjoying Vermont cheeses and crackers, drinking beer or wine or crossing their fingers hoping to win raffle prizes from many of the inventors.

Vermonters as inventors is nothing new. For instance, did you know that the first American Patent was filed by a Vermonter? In July 31, 1790 Samuel Hopkins of Pittsford was issued a patent for an improvement “in the making of Pot ash and Pearl ash by a new Apparatus and Process.” The patent was signed by President George Washington, Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. For our educational piece we listed ten of the top Vermont inventions (like this one) and asked folks to list, in graffiti-style with chalk, which invention they could not live without. Answers ranged from their computer to electricity, providing an interesting participatory project.

If you are interested in the tabling inventors and their email addresses, here they are. Scroll to the bottom of the page for information about two of our next ECHO After Dark events.

InventVermont: A non-profit organization with the mission to promote innovation, invention and creativity through educational programs and by providing a mechanism for sharing information among its members and associates.

Vermont Manufacturing Extension Center: A non-profit organization match making inventors with manufacturers, with a proven system that increases innovation speed 6X and decreases innovation risk 30 - 80%.

Hampton Direct: A consumer products company with a proven track record of getting your idea to market and launching the industry's most successful "As Seen On TV" products.

Vermont FabLab: The UVM FabLab facility brings together high-power computer aided design (CAD) tools and the means (hands-on access) by which to realize physical implementations.

Microprocessor Designs, Inc: A design and development company that has provided the hardware, firmware and software for a wide variety of clients and innovative projects such as the Segway Human Transporter, the iWalk BiOM Prosthetic Foot, and a prosthetic finger tip sensor node for DARPA.

I-Mark Tools: You don’t have to be an engineer to be an inventor, come see Kathy Dever’s innovative and patented self-marking tape measure, “Simply measure, push and mark”.

Make it Science: An "electrifying" experience with musical and acoustic science teaching aides, a must see for educators looking for ways to teach difficult science concepts through hands-on activities.

Geometric Bike: Would you like to run 30 MPH with no impact? If so, check out Steve Norman’s geometric bike. It’s so smooth; it’s like a StairMaster that goes…

QuantaSpec, LLC: Light detection of explosives, biological substances, and developing infrared spectroscopy as a new method for medical diagnosis of infections and breast cancer.

Starr Surf Skis: Just as Burton brought surfing to the mountains, fellow Vermonter Jason Starr has brought skiing to the surf. The new skis that are allowing skiers to take their skills to the ocean. It’s not just water skiing, it’s steep water skiing!

Creative Microsystems: From plasma-sphere light sculptures to lab-on-a-chip and other micro-scale inventions, come see some of the innovative solutions Bill Parker and his team have developed for the aerospace, telecommunications, biotechnology, and the medical device industries.

Alpine Wings: Detachable parafoil used in place of ski poles to reduce the weight on the legs, assist with steering or braking, improve stability, and generally adding to the fun and merriment of traveling down a mountain.

Hammerhead Sleds: Take the sport of sledding from the backyard to the biggest hills with patented steering systems, front polycarbonate and rear HDPE skis, state-of-the art materials, and precision engineering.

Safety Caps, Inc: The world’s only oversized, ventilated electrical outlet safety plug designed to eliminate suffocation while providing superior electrical shock protection and reducing drafts in your home.

Geometoy, Inc: Geometric toys including Reptangles. Reptangles are turtles that can snap together in a wide variety of geometric transformations -- flips, turns, slides, and more.

Lynx Fasteners: Silent thin-film fasteners with over six times the strength of Velcro® and 1/3 the thickness, water-proof zippers and other thin and silent clothing fasteners.

MicroStrain, Inc: SensorCloud™ manages big data from the internet of things - global networks of smart sensors embedded in machines, structures, and our environment.

Bronchobat: A breath controlled video game to help kids with cystic fibrosis stick to their treatment regimen and improve their breathing performance through challenging and entertaining exercise.

Diva Dangler: Just in time for holiday shopping, come check out the Diva Dangler, an amazing earring organizer perfect for all who have a tangled mess in their jewelry box.

For photos from THAT'S BRILLIANT! please go to our facebook album. I'd love to hear your thoughts about our ECHO After Dark events. Please share your comments with me below or email me directly.

Upcoming ECHO After Dark programs:

Thursday, January 12, 2012, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Café Scientifique: Topic 23: The Next Frontier: Higher Education in Space!
Join us in conversation with Carl Brandon, Professor, Science and Aeronautical Engineering Technology, Vermont Technical College. With a grant from the Vermont Space Grant Consortium, a part of the NASA Space Grant program, a group of students from four Vermont colleges and universities, are making significant contributions to the development of the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) workforce by developing a CubeSat, a new space technology. Come to ECHO's After Dark Cafe Scientifique program to join in the dialogue about this major cooperative endeavor! Suggested donation $5. Event for 21+ with cash bar and themed drinks opens at 6.30 p.m., discussion begins at 7 p.m.; free light hors d’oeuvres sponsored by VT Sigma Xi, Scientific Research Society.

Thursday, February 9, 2012
We are now accepting reservations for our ECHO After Dark event: FeBREWary. The Science of Beer. will be two events that evening. From 6-7 p.m. for members only there is a beer and cheese pairing with 5 beers and 5 cheeses for $40 led by judicators of beer/cheese tastings. This event is limited to 26 people. Your admission to this event also gets you into the second event from 7-9 p.m. entitled FeBREWary, the Science of beer. If you wish to attend this second event only you can pay $15 for members, $20 for non-members, which includes 5 beer tastings and a signature tasting glass plus a full evening program. To make reservations, please call 1-802-864-1848 x 7. For more information please go to ECHO After Dark.

Top right photo: John Cohn, Vermont FabLab
Left photo: guest riding Segway
Bottom left photo: Tom Mezzner, WPTZ NewsChannel Five, modeling Alpine Wings by inventor Lorenzo Blum

Volunteer & Intern Appreciation Week Jan. 9 - 15

2011-12-19T11:54:00.001-05:00

As the Volunteer & Intern Coordinator at ECHO, I have the good fortune to work with some wonderful people who help us carry out our mission on a daily basis. ECHO has approximately 150 volunteers & interns who provide over 8,500 volunteer hours per year and we are all extremely proud of their efforts and humbled by their dedication and hard work.

Who are these people? They are folks just like you, local residents, retired teachers, students from local colleges and universities ~a great mix of personalities and talent.

While we diligently recognize our volunteers and interns on a regular basis with a heartfelt thanks, coffee, or goodies like food or gifts, we all know that nothing beats a party! So, twice a year we throw a big bash for our volunteers and interns to celebrate their efforts and honor their service.

This time we are doing something a bit different. Starting January 9th to January 15th 2012, ECHO will host a week-long event to celebrate our volunteers and interns. We will have signs, decorations, food and gifts to give our hardworking crew, as well as door prizes, and a midweek luncheon with ECHO staff.

We are looking forward to congratulating these individuals who give so much time, experience and energy to ECHO and we'd like to involve our visitors too! During Volunteer and Intern Appreciation Week we encourage our local visitors and members to come in and say hello and thanks to our volunteers and interns. Each day an ECHO member will help us select the volunteer or intern who will win the door prize of the day!

We look forward to seeing you during Appreciation Week (January 9-15, 2012) when we commemorate the dedicated group of volunteers and interns who are at the heart of all we do, and for whose efforts we will be forever grateful.

Do you want to become an ECHO volunteer? You are welcome to find out more through our website or contact me directly at my email address.

Photos: Top Right-Volunteers at 2010 Appreciation Night
Bottom Left-Long-time volunteer, Alida Dinklage, spends time with visitors at the Champlain Sea Tank

What is that smell?

2011-12-02T12:03:00.026-05:00

As a newcomer to ECHO I wanted to relay a recent experience I had with our traveling exhibit. My first trip into Grossology was last month, on a 'getting to know your new habitat' expedition. Although the giant burping man was the first thing to grab my attention, somewhere beyond him lay an odoriferous

wonder that was so gross I had to investigate further. I've had enough biology to recognize giant bacteria when I see it and my eye caught a few examples at a colorful station against the wall. On this table I found 4 super-sized petre dishes containing equally super-sized bacterium models. Bellow these visual wonders are corresponding 'smell stations' which contain smells that originate from bacterial creatures living all over our bodies. An adventurous person like myself just can't help sticking their nose over one of these stations and taking a deep whiff. Pee-ewe! What could have made that smell? Through some exploration at this station I learned that what I had just smelled was created by a bacterium called Brevibacterium epidermidis, which apparently lives on ourfeet. I have to admit that although I'm familiar with my own smelly feet after a long hike I haven't ever experienced the magnified version of this. It was unforgettable and as odd as it may sound, something I recommend as a new and unique experience.

Certainly I'm not the only adventurous visitor to science centers out there. If you count yourself or your children among those who wonder "What does that smell like" or "What makes us burp" I strongly encourage you to come down to ECHO for your own adventure through Grossology. If you come to ECHO on Saturday, December 10th we have some special programming about the Reality of Cooties, which, as a younger brother, I have always wondered about. As a former EMT in Brooklyn, NY I'm also psyched to explore the FACT Ambulance that day. And, if you're interested in boosting your health through the cold and flu season VNA is offering flu shots from 11am - 1pm for only $30.

You only have a few weeks left - Grossology leaves on Jan 8th. But don't worry, ECHO is open through the holiday season (except Dec 24th and 25th). Our next exhibit, Seasons of Change, opens on Jan 21st. As a recent transplant to New England I’m looking forward to learning about how the changing climate might affect the ecosystems and culture here around the lake.

New "Encounters" Down the Road for Tracy

2011-11-29T13:53:00.014-05:00

Since 2007 ECHO has been investing in our local elementary schools to ensure that teachers and students will find relevance in their science curriculum by experiencing science through the lens of the Lake Champlain Basin. ECHO’s Inquiry Science in the Schools program, has built strong collaborations with Saint Michael’s College, Champlain College and UVM’s Education Departments allowing over sixty pre-service teachers an opportunity to test their wings teaching science inquiry lessons in real elementary classrooms.Nearly seventy teachers from around Vermont have taken part in the ECHO Science Professional Development Workshop Series where content immersion in everything from Geology to Reproduction has been made available to teachers – all modeled through inquiry process skills.In the last two years, under a federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), ECHO has gone deeper still with exceptional results. I am very proud of this project and all it has accomplished.

The ISS project has fulfilled its intention of elevating the relevance of science. Sadly, the IMLS grant funding ends this December, 2011 and the ISS project will conclude as well. The legacy of the project includes lasting science content – lesson plans, science equipment, refined teaching methods – transferable to all visiting school field trips down the road. Saint Michael’s College now requires a science practicum of all pre-service teachers modeled after the ISS program. UVM and Champlain College are both working to engage community partners in more established service-learning science experiences. In Burlington, Milton and Winooski School Districts, strong relationships have been established between ECHO and the Curriculum Coordinators as they work to embed science learning into the demands of math and literacy. Teachers have told me countless times that they feel more comfortable teaching science and using ECHO as a respected science resource. But it is the elementary students who have benefited most. Many of them, who in some cases are now in fifth grade and have been coming to ECHO since Kindergarten, have clear ownership to ECHO – they know ECHO as an exciting destination, they know its mission, and they have an emerging science identity because of their experiences.

Now that the grant is concluding, it is with sadness, too, that I announce my departure from ECHO. As education priorities shift, I find myself desiring to go deeper with science education through my connections to the schools, pre-service teacher training, service-learning and teacher professional development. I will start this mission as a new adjunct faculty at Champlain College teaching a science methods course in January. Beyond this, I hope to stay engaged with the local school districts as the Vermont Common Core State Standards emerge. ECHO’s Education Team will remain in great hands with Molly Loomis, Director of Education, at the helm. Molly has been a wonderful support to ISS and fully understands the value of maintaining our now established relationships.

As I depart, I wish to acknowledge the years of support provided by Judy Allard, retired Burlington High School Biology teacher who has given hundreds of hours of volunteer time to ECHO to make ISS a reality. Judy, I will miss our kitchen science experiments, lesson plan debates, wacky ideas for how to capture student interest in science (the cow, the timeliness, the stream table we built in the garage…) and the countless hours spent purchasing, sorting, organizing and maintaining all that science equipment! Judy, you are a master teacher and someone with whom I have been privileged to share this journey. And of course, I also owe great debt to Elizabeth Nuckols, ECHO’s Education Specialist who has continually added her creativity, energy, humor and vast science expertise to ISS. You will continue to carry the torch as ECHO moves forward supporting schools and all the dedicated teachers who want to make science come alive. Thank you for your honesty, steady nature, and willingness to pick up where I leave off. ECHO is lucky to have you.

Should anyone wish to contact me beyond December 16th, I can be reached at tracytruzansky@gmail.com. Thanks to all the staff, interns and volunteers for making this chapter in my book so worthwhile.
Best of luck to all of you!

Top photo: Tracy Truzansky in canoe
Second photo: The final pre-service teachers of ISS, all from Saint Michael's College
Third photo: Tracy on a teaching field trip, presenting geology to 5th graders at Edmunds Elementary School here in Burlington. Courtesy Donna Iverson.
Fourth photo: April, one of ECHO's hugest supporters and one of Tracy's daughters.

Take Your Child's Class to Work ~ at ECHO!

2011-11-29T12:49:00.006-05:00

It was a great idea. The fourth and fifth grade teachers at the Ferrisburgh Central School were all for it and the students were psyched. What was it? A road trip/class trip to ECHO!

And the exhibit du jour? GROSSOLOGY: The (Impolite) Science of the Human Body. A totally hilarious way to look at all the things our body does to keep us healthy. A home run for any kid...and, truth be told, for most adults.

Sure, some parents just take their own kids to work but most don't work at ECHO. When you work at ECHO, which I am privileged to do, you bring your kid's entire class to work!

And they had a great time. Here is a photo album of their day at ECHO.

But this was more than just a day away from the usual school day. This was work! In advance of the visit, the kids were provided with a multi-paged questionnaire by their science teacher, Ms. Elson. On it were things to discover and learn from the exhibit. This was mandatory class work and despite the seemingly silliness of the exhibit, there was some real important facts presented. And, believe it or not, the kids took this task very seriously, but with plenty of giggling and chatter involved. A lively group.

And that is what this exhibit does. It create conversation, involves the visitor in real learning and enterains all at the same time.

Like I said, a home run.

And getting to see my daughter and her school mates have a great time while learning, was like winning the world series. Oh, and the extra special hug I got from my daughter when I came home in the evening was pretty special too.

GROSSOLOGY will be at ECHO through the holidays with the last day being January 8th. I encourage all of you to come on down with your family and "enjoy the learning". Maybe you'll get some extra hugs too.

Happy Holidays!

Top photo: Ferrisburgh Central School student fills out their "homework" during her visit to ECHO
Bottom photo: ECHO's Director of Marketing and Communication, Gerianne Smart and her daughter Grace during her schools class trip to ECHO.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T14:50:00.006-04:00

Have you seen this scary Halloween face at ECHO? Where? Is it the face of the scariest fish, or our creepiest snake, or something more ghoulish?

It may not be what you may think...

Take another look:
It's a set of markings on the plastron (lower shell) of our baby spiney softshell turtles! Today's holiday must have been on the mind of Nikko, my Animal Care volunteer, who pointed out the faces looking at us this Sunday morning as he cleaned their holding tank.

Time to Go Against the Flow?

2011-10-23T10:25:00.020-04:00

Recently, economic woes around much of the world have blossomed into the Occupy Wall Street movement, making the evening news each night. People are taking actions, challenging others to join them and go against of flow of life as usual. At ECHO, one of our Atlantic Salmon is doing its own version of getting attention. Has economic unrest trickled down to our unpaid animal ambassadors?

One of our Atlantic salmon looks like it's doing a headstand while its tank-mates are swimming along in the usual way. What is going on & why?

As I had written in a previous post, animals will do seemingly odd things in captivity, and it is often helpful to be aware of the environmental cues available to the animal where it lives. Although no one can truly know what is going through an animal's mind at any given time, we can tap into our knowledge of the biology and ecology of an animal to develop a hypothesis (educated guess) about what is going on.

I know from both the video and seeing these animals live that the salmon doing the headstand is the largest salmon in the tank. I also have observed that there is a steady current that flows from the bottom to the top of the tank; this is where he or she does its thing. Look closely at the algae growing on the log:

I've never seen our friend exhibit this behavior in other parts of the tank where there is no current. Does this behavior make any sense in the context of what wild fish do?

The life of an Atlantic salmon in the wild starts in spring when a fertilized egg hatches from a nest created in autumn by an adult female in a gravel bed in a fast-flowing part of a river. After hatching it spends time in the safety of the gravel bed, living off of a yolk sac attached to its belly. Once this energy supply is gone, it moves up into the water column and spend 2-3 years as a river dweller, eating aquatic insects. By its third birthday, the young salmon move downstream into the ocean or large lake and switch their diet to small fish. As it grows and reaches maturity, the salmon will make spawning runs, traveling up the river of its birth in late October or November. Unlike the salmon species of the Pacific Northwest which die after spawning just once, Atlantic salmon spawn multiple times throughout their adult life, so long as they have the energy to do it.

What strikes me most about the Atlantic salmon's life-cycle is the undercurrent (pun intended) of flowing water throughout. They are powerful swimmers that seek the current of flowing rivers when their body size, energy reserves, and environmental cues indicate that all systems are go for spawning. At ECHO, the temperature cues for our fish do not exist; the Atlantic salmon and lake trout tank is a fairly constant 55 to 59° F. The length of the day from our lighting is constant for these fish as well. So, the environmental cues that they might use to know that it is autumn are absent. However the flow of water in our tank from bottom to top is there and our fish are well fed. These conditions may have allowed our largest Atlantic salmon to become reproductively mature and the flow may be the only available cue to which she can respond. She swims vertically on a quest for spawning grounds. That is my hypothesis. Over time, more observations may change my mind and the hypothesis might change. If my hypothesis is correct, I will expect to see more of our fish exhibit this behavior as they get larger.

Want to see wild Atlantic salmon from Lake Champlain? As I write this, our local population of land-locked Atlantic salmon are making their way up rivers for spawning. If you visit the salmon lift (run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife), you may have a chance to see these creatures during their spawning run. The lift is located above Salmon Hole on the Winooski River, beside the Burlington-Winooski bridge. You can also watch a story about this from WPTZ's Conservation Correspondent, and ECHO's Conservation Education Specialist, Bridget Butler by clicking here.

Food Less Traveled 2, Fabulous Foodie Event

2011-10-17T16:44:00.010-04:00

Most of us don't think about where our food comes as we're taking a nice bite into it... but that is changing and local restaurants, and the food producers they partner with, are making that change happen.

Last Thursday, October 13, 2011, eight Burlington area restaurants created delicious food using locally sourced food ingredients provided by over 35 Vermont food producers. The restaurants were vying for the title of Grand Food Miles Champion and/or any one of three other titles which included: Lowest Food Miles, People's Choice, and Judges’ Choice. More than 180 guests enjoyed servings from each restaurant and helped to decide the People's Choice award. They also tasted four varieties of wine from Boyden Valley Winery. (Photo: Skinny Pancake steak & potatoes.)

What is a food mile? A food mile is a phrase to describe the distance a food travels to get to one’s plate. No ingredients in our competition traveled more than 60 miles to the kitchen!

Awards winners:

Lowest Food Miles: In third place, with 9.7 miles was Skinny Pancake. In second place with 6.52 miles was Sugarsnap. First place went to Barkeaters with 6.45 miles – Creating a delicious dish using local ingredients that traveled the least distance. Their dish was Bloomin’ Beet and Carrot Latkes with Apple Relish. The food producers included Bloomfield Farm, Charlotte; Nitty Gritty Grains, Charlotte; Philo Farm, Charlotte and Shelburne Orchards, Shelburne.

People’s Choice: In second place there was a tie between Leunigs Bistro and Sweetwaters. In first place was American Flatbread – Creating a delicious dish deemed the best overall by ECHO guests. Their dish was Cider Braised Lamb with Butternut Squash Puree and Spiced Apple Chutney. The food producers included Shelburne farms, Shelburne; Shelburne Orchard, Shelburne, Stony Loam Farm, Charlotte. (Photo: American Flatbread with line of hungry folk.)

Judges’ Choice: Third place was August First, second place was Sugarsnap and the winner was Skinny Pancake – Creating a delicious dish deemed the best overall by the celebrity judges. Their dish was Steak and Potatoes. The food producers included Arethusa Farm, Burlington Intervale; Charlotte Berry Farm, Charlotte, Jericho Settlers’ Farm, Jericho; Personal Garden, Burlington.

The Judges’ Choice was determined by the votes of four celebrity judges: Alice Leavitt, food writer, Seven Days newspaper; Sally Pollack, Burlington Free Press Food writer; Sarah Langan, core faculty member, New England Culinary Institute; and Cheryl Herrick, food blogger from crankycakes.com.

Grand Food Miles Champion: Sugarsnap – Creating the best overall dish with the least food miles, determined by a combination of overall points in the three categories. Their dish was Roasted Garlic Soup with Cheddar Tuile. The food producers included Bread and Butter Farm, S. Burlington; City Chicks, Burlington Interval; Full Moon Farms, Hinesburg; Samara farm, Burlington Intervale, Shelburne farms, Shelburne; Sugarsnap Farm, Burlington Intervale; Windstone Farm, Williston.

The other restaurants involved were: August First, Farmhouse Tap & Grill, Leunig’s Bistro and Sweetwaters.

When asked about the quality of the food prepared by area chefs, food judge Cheryl Herrick commented, “The variety of what was prepared was amazing and the level of excellence was motivational.” Another food judge, Alice Levitt was pleasantly surprised by some of the ingredients used stating “I saw chefs using products that I didn’t even know we had in Vermont. And the use of the common Sumac to create a caramel in a dessert was amazing.” (Photo: Winning Chefs from Sugarsnap, American Flatbread, Skinny Pancake.)

“We couldn’t be happier with the turnout and the quality of offerings at this year’s event”, said Molly Loomis, ECHO’s Director of Education. “This event created the opportunity to learn, build relationships and show creativity with fresh Vermont food ingredients. All of our ECHO After Dark programming (second Thursday of each month) is geared toward our 21+ audience with one foot anchored in learning and the other in fun!”

Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Volunteer Experience I'll Never Forget

2011-09-22T13:01:00.013-04:00

Memorable, hi-energy, fun, supportive and completely exhausting are just a couple of thoughts the ECHO and Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) volunteer team shared at the end of a very long night of selling t-shirts and hoodies for the Phish Benefit Vermont Flood Recovery Concert. Jimmy and Brent were our Phish "Merch World" gurus that trained and organized our team of six (photo left): (left to right) Colleen Hickey, LCBP; Laura Hollowell, LCBP; Julie Silveman (Volunteer Team Organizer), ECHO; Emily Bird, LCBP; Elizabeth Nuckols, ECHO and Stephen Perkins, ECHO. ECHO and the LCBP were thrilled to be able to help The Waterwheel Foundation with this event since they do so much to support environmental causes all around the country and here at home, in the Lake Champlain Basin.

At 5:30PM on September 14, 2011 the doors opened to the The Champlain Valley Exposition for Phish fans to find their spot for the momentous event and buy Phish limited edition Flood Recovery posters, t-shirts and hoodies. And buy they did! As Steve (photo right) said, "I've been to concerts similar to this in the past and was blown-away by the constant crush of people at the retail booth." It was obvious by their enthusiasm, fans were so happy to have Phish back home and they were psyched to be able to contribute to such an important cause. Our merry band of t-shirt slingers were all thanked countless times by concert-goers for volunteering and helping out. Even the few disappointed late comers that went away without their first choice t-shirt design were happy just to participate and take home a piece of the vibe.

According to the Burlington Free Press the benefit concert raised more than $1.2 million for Vermont flood recovery, that's $200,000 more than the band was hoping to raise. It feels great to volunteer and contribute to the effort. Our little band of "Merch" volunteers and staff raised about $80,000 for our Vermont neighbors. In between the selling frenzies, we were able to grab a couple of minutes of the show--which was fantastic and felt surprisingly intimate for a 12,000 person audience. It must have been all of the good karma.

It has been a really tough year for so many Vermonters affected by the record setting spring and August floods. Who knew we would break high-water records for so many Vermont rivers and Lake Champlain? We could not have predicted the one-two punch of natural disasters that slammed Vermont this year. What is predictable, and what we've always known in our heart-of-hearts, is that Vermonters always pitch in and help others in need. Never a doubt.
All for One and One for All!

For more photos visit ECHO's Facebook album.

Photos by: (c) Julie Silverman/ECHO

Goodnight Irene ... When Will We See the Likes of You Again?

2011-09-13T12:39:00.002-04:00

Hurricane Irene had tremendous effects throughout our region, especially in areas South of the Basin. Lives were lost, property destroyed, bridges and roads removed outright. Irene was a natural event that we will not forget. But when might we see the likes of her again?

Whether the flooding caused by Irene is a 100-year or 500-year flood will not be determined for some time, and the determination may vary from one river system to another. Labeling floods by return period, that is, saying that a flood is a 50- or 100-year flood is done by hydrologists. If Irene produced a 100-year flood event in the Winooski River, then we can be assured that we're done with floods that big for 100 years, right? Not quite. This is where scientific language doesn't do us any favors, especially when it gets used without explanation.

The beginning of this podcast has a good explanation that helps clarify things a bit:
USGS Multimedia Gallery: Two 500-Year Floods Within 15 Years?

To quote Bob Holmes, United State Geological Survey's Flood Coordinator, "Essentially, a 500 year flood is just that quantity of water that has the 1 in 500 chance in happening in any one year. Another way to say it would be, there's a .2% chance of a flood of this magnitude occurring in any one year."

So it's not likely that we'll see large floods next year, but it is possible. The process of assigning flood return intervals uses historical data from stream gauges that measure how much water is flowing, or discharge, at any given time. Hydrologists use the data from the largest discharges recorded over time to generate the probabilities of similar large discharges happening in the future. But probabilities, or odds, are tricky things. Just because the odds may tell us that something is unlikely to happen doesn't mean it will not.

As for flood events, probabilities are determined directly from past history and assume that the conditions that influence river discharge are not changing. This is rarely the case, and thus hydrologists update their predictions with new data from time to time. What conditions affect events? In short, anything that affects how much precipitation falls on the land that drains into waterways and/or affects the rate at which water moves from the land into streams and rivers. Under current climate change predictions, the northeast will experience more extreme weather events (more water in the form of snow and rain) in the future. Our Basin, and most watersheds world-wide are experiencing increasing development of land for human needs which in-turn means higher rates of run-off from roads, parking lots, buildings, and agricultural fields. Our steep mountainous landscape and its underlying geology also affect the rate at which water moves. Given these patterns, we can expect that what we now consider to be a 100-year flood event will become more common and the future's 100-year flood event will be larger.

How we deal with the influences of our own activities on the damage caused by floods largely depends upon how communities manage their landscapes. On a town level, adopting planning and zoning regulations that incorporate these concepts (in the form of FEMA flood maps) to limit development in low lying areas can be successful. In urban areas, support of stormwater management regulations can offer a one-two punch, reducing the rate at which water runs off of impervious surfaces and reducing the pollution into our waterways from the chemicals that might wash off those surfaces. Like any natural disaster, it takes time to recover from the tremendous loses. Part of the recovery is looking for opportunities to change how we use and manage the landscape, and implementing changes before the next extreme weather event comes along.

Photo credit: Vehicle chaos, Hancock, VT by Lars Gange & Mansfield Heliflight

For more info, check out:
Vermont Dept. of Environmental Conservation's River Management Program
New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation Floodplain Management