Journalists Dig into Ecology at the Harvard Forest

As part of a hands-on course in global change research, six science journalists from the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) Logan Science Journalism Program spent 3 days at the Harvard Forest in May, working alongside scientists to count Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, measure tree seedlings in herbivore exclosures, quantify carbon dioxide fluxes from a soil warming experiment, and core down to ice-aged sediments in the Black Gum Swamp.

Christopher Neill of MBL's Ecosystems Center has designed the course to highlight LTER global change research and give journalists a hands-on window into the scientific process. This year, MBL scientist Jerry Melillo; Harvard Forest scientists David Foster and David Orwig, and Highstead scientist Ed Faison were mentors for the visit. 

The journalists collected field data, analyzed the information, then distilled that work into short presentations. 2012 participants were Madeleine Amberger from Austrian Broadcasting, Karin Klein from the Los Angeles Times, Maggie Koerth-Baker from BoingBoing.net, Eric Niiler from Discovery News, and freelance writers Kathiann Kowalski and Virginia Carmichael.

Follow Maggie Koerth-Baker's blog of her Harvard Forest experience.