GREENovation GMU Department of Environmental Science & Policy

Fall 2012

GREENovation

Fall 2012

GMU Department of Environmental Science and Policy

4400 University Drive, MSN 5F2

David King Hall, Room 3043

Fairfax, VA 22030-4444

(703) 993-1043

http://esp.gmu.edu/

Cover Photo:

GMU Ecology students conduct a tree study at Hemlock Overlook Regional Park in Clifton, VA

by Samantha Oester

August 2012

3

GREENovation Fall 2012 Contributors

Editorial staff

Samantha Oester : soester@gmu.edu

Dr. Chris Parsons: ecm-parsons@earthlink.net

Writers

Dr. Chris Parsons: Editorial: So You Want to be a Jedi? (Page 4)

GMU Students & Photo Page: GMU MWEE (Page 6)

Faculty:

Dr. Changwoo Ahn: Faculty Article: ESP Wetland Mesocosm Compound (Page 7)

Christine Gleason: Graduate Column: ESP Graduate Student Association (Page 8)

Richard Friesner: Mason Events: Gearing Up for WYSE 2013 (Page 9)

Dr. Kirk Smith: Alumnus Essay: A Sustainable Farm in the Making

(Page 10)

Samantha Oester: News Story: The Opportunity for Education on

Whale-Watching Tours (Page 13)

4

So You Want to be a Jedi? Tips for Environmental Researchers Wanting to Advocate for their

Findings

By Dr. Chris Parsons,

GREENovation Editor

It’s a common occurrence amongst environmental science students that after having spent years studying envi-ronmental issues and collecting data on harmful pollutants, or declining species, that they want to do something about it. They want to stop that species from going extinct, or warn the public about the survival threats they’ve identified. But too frequently, the academic community insists that we must simply publish our research and stand back.

It’s been suggested that the average readership of a zoological paper is fewer than half a dozen people (Wagner and Walker 2005). This is the average and many papers will be read by fewer people than that. The most cited paper I’ve been involved with (Sutherland et al. 2009) has an average of 22 citations a year, which apparently is 50% higher than the next most cited paper for that journal. (That, in turn, is the highest impact factor of journals for the field). So if just a cou-ple of dozen citations is considered to be high readership and high impact within the academic community, let alone the public, how is your study going to get to the ears of the people who can make a real-world difference?

Basically, you have to get out there and sell it yourself. No one else is going to. You have to advocate for your view. Certainly the dark side is advocating their interests – the logging or oil companies destroying the forests and the chemical companies leaching the toxins have lobbyists on the Hill, media consultants and PR companies employed to spread their message.

However, for many scientists, the term “advocate” conjures up images of the more extreme and sensationalist NGOs, such as PETA, Sea Shepherd or Greenpeace of the 1970s. For many scientists, advocacy is a dirty word, implying that by stepping out of the ivory tower, you are somehow lowering and sullying yourself, and no longer a “real” scientist. They feel to be involved in advocacy is somehow unethical. But I would argue that, especially if you are involved in the environmental field, to stand on the sidelines and not get involved is unethical. To quote Edmund Burke: “All that is nec-essary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”

So if you want to become more engaged in trying to get your research to the right ears, and to turn your study find-ings into real environmental action, what should you do? Here are some suggestions:

Get help There are lots of environmental NGOs out there who are involved in advocacy all the time. Make the most of

their experience about who to contact and how to contact them. They may even be interested in your work and help promote it. You need not act alone.

Learn to communicate You need to get your research to the people that count, and often this may be a busy policy maker, who has little

or no understanding of science, who has a different world view to you, and who has the attention span of a highly caffeinated monkey. You need to get your message over quickly, clearly and in a way that is interesting and significant. Scientists are often bad at this, wanting instead to discuss the detail of their hypotheses, meth-ods and results, rather than the nitty-gritty of the research’s conclusions. Few environmental programs have classes on communication techniques, although this is changing.

Don’t “cry wolf” Keep to the facts and don’t exaggerate. Nothing undermines your case more than being shown to be mistaken,

or plain wrong. Some advocates try to get attention to an issue by exaggerating the problem, perhaps to scare people into acting. But what happens when the exaggerated worst-case scenario doesn’t happen? Keep your

EDITORIAL:

5

professional integrity, even when the other side is being unethical and may be exaggerating or overblowing its case. Your opponents may bluff that thousands of jobs may be lost and the end of humanity as we know it is nigh if people listen to you. Don’t stoop to their level. Ultimately the most accurate advice will be remembered.

Be prepared to be attacked by the other side Things may get nasty. However, I often consider that the nastier the opponents are getting, the more important

and significant your message. Ad hominem attacks are the last refuge of the scoundrel. Your opponents are at-tacking the messenger because they lack a good argument against the message, and have to turn to being a school yard bully to intimidate you instead.

Be prepared to be attacked by fellow scientists Some of the nastiest attacks I’ve seen on scientists who have tried to advocate have been from their colleagues.

The scientific community often eats their own young. Stick to your guns I was recently informed at a conference that it can take on average over 15 years to go from publicizing the sci-

ence to action being taken. From my own experience, it has often taken a decade or more to go from publishing research on a problem to seeing agency action come to fruition. It may be a long, lonely road before you see any results.

Keep a cool head A logical, well informed, calm argument and defense is better than an emotional outburst. Often your opponents

will try to portray you as an emotional, environmentalist tree/dolphin/bunny hugger and a poor scientist. Prove them wrong.

Don’t let the bastards get you down You’ll likely have times when you’re depressed or despairing. Even if comments and attacks are getting personal,

don’t take things too personally. Also don’t take it home with you. Leave stresses and anxieties in the office, and take time to relax and do something distracting and enjoyable. There is no need to be a martyr to your cause. But…

Don’t do a half-hearted job Repeated attempts to galvanize support and then dropping the ball will frustrate those trying to help or support

you, or get you a bad reputation. Remember Yoda: “Do or do not; there is no try.”

Many times, my opponents argued rabidly that I was wrong, called me a poor scientist, or worse, a decade later, once further scientific studies backed up what I was originally saying as true, now act as if they agreed all the time. Many protective measures that are now commonplace and routine were once considered to be outrageous and untenable. Per-sonally, my journey from first raising scientific arguments, and starting to advocate about an issue I thought was impor-tant, to policy being enacted, was a long, frustrating, and often nasty experience. But in the end, changes were made, and ultimately the environment and threatened species got protections that weren’t there before. Despite the stress and strain, I like to think that the world is a slightly better place for my having come out of the ivory tower and taken a stance. I hope that many of you will also make the same decision and not stand idly by.

Dr. Chris Parsons is an associate professor & the undergraduate coordinator in the Department of ESP. He is the ma-rine section president & a governor of the SCB, the program co-chair for the 2011 IMCC & a national delegate to the Scientific and Conservation Committees of the IWC

References: Sutherland, W.J., Adams, W.M., Aronson, R.B., Aveling, R., Blackburn, T.M., Broad, S., Ceballos, G., Cote, I.M., Cowling, R.M., Da Fonesca, A.B, Dinerstein, E., Ferraro, P.J., Fleishman, E., Gascon, P., Hunter Jnr, M., Hutton, J., Kareiva, P., Kuria, A., MacDonald, D.W., MacKinnon, K., Madgwick, F.J., Mascia, M.B., McNeely, J., Milner-Gulland, E.J., Moon, S., Morley, C.G., Nelson, S., Osborn, D., Pai, M., Parsons, E.C.M., Peck, L., Possingham, H., Prior, S.V., Pullin, A.S., Rands, M.R.W., Ranga-nathan, J., Redford, K.H., Rodriguez, J.P., Seymour, F., Sobel, J., Sodhi, N.S., Stott, A.., Vance-Borland, K., and Watkinson, A. 2009. An assessment of the 100 ques-tions of greatest importance to the conservation of global biodiversity. Conservation Biology 23(3): 557-567.

Wagner, G.P. & Walker, J. (2005). Citation Performance Analysis for the 2002 and 2003 volumes of the Journal of Experimental Zoology Part B: Molecular and Devel-opmental Evolution. (Retrieved 26/05/2005 from http://www.wiley.com/legacy/products/subject/life/anatomy/JEZB_citation_performance.pdf).

Photo Page:

GMU MWEE: PEREC’s Meaningful Watershed Educational

Experience Program for Fairfax County Middle School Students

6

GMU under-

graduate

student Erin

Ziegler sets

up the wa-

ter quality

station at

Lake Fairfax

GMU students and faculty prepare for a MWEE at

Burke Lake in October.

Dr. Cindy Smith, PEREC Education Director, leads

the MWEE program in Fairfax County.

MWEE

site at

Accotink

Creek

7

Mesocosms have long been considered useful re-search tools for ecological studies of aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They have been used in commercial scale appli-cations, such as in wastewater treatment and in ecological engineering and ecosystem restoration. Use of mesocosms, particularly in wetland science, has been common over the last three decades in studies of the fate and effect of pollut-ants, biogeochemical cycles and the effects of nutrients on ecosystem dynamics to name a few. Mesocosms provide a means of conducting ecosystem-level experiments under replicated, controlled, and repeatable conditions. They allow replicability and repeatability of hypotheses-driven experi-ments at a much lower cost than do large, field ecosystem studies. I had an idea of building a sort of outdoor experi-mental station for my research when I started at GMU in 2003. Around 2005 I found the area that is currently where the compound is after considering several other candidate spots on the campus. The mesocosms compound is lo-cated in the west campus within the Intramural Arena, on a 100-yr floodplain, right behind the first soccer field you will see when you get in the Arena. I officially proposed the compound in 2006 and went through several meetings and presentations to recruit some help to build it. Students from my classes and my research group contributed greatly to the development of the compound along with so many volunteers and K-12 interns over the years. I ob-tained initial financial support to build the compound from Long Fence company, Provost Office, ESP, and WSSI (Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc). The compound currently has water (tap) and electricity, a tool shed, and a total of 60 wetland mesocosms, and two 500-gallon stock tanks. First, we established a set of 20 mesocosms three years ago inside the compound. Mesocosms were buried in the ground to insulate roots against freezing. Each mesocosm received 10 cm of noncal-careous river pea gravel (completely covering the drain to the standpipe) overlain by 25 - 30 cm of topsoil from the site. Wetland plants rhizomes were planted into each mesocosm. Two water tanks (500 gallon each) store either rainwater or any source of water that will be used for a scientific experiment. Another set of 40 mesocosms were established early this year and are currently being used for an externally-funded project on the effects of plant diver-sity on wetland ecosystem services. The compound is still in development to some degree. I hope to have a weather station inside the compound someday to not only assist on-going and new research projects, but create many under-graduate and K-12 science projects. Just for this summer the compound could support two K-12 projects along with a research intensive undergraduate course. There is an old stormwater outlet right next to the compound that drains an intermittent stream, seeming a tributary of a local creek. Although it is just an idea at the moment, I would like to

Faculty Article:

ESP Wetland Mesocosm Compound

By Dr. Changwoo Ahn, GMU ESP Faculty

Continued on Page 12

Dr. Changwoo Ahn with students at the wetland mesocosm on the GMU Fairfax Campus.

8

Green Happenings @ Mason

The Office of Housing and Residence Life took steps to make campus resident move-in greener for Fall 2012. The office applied green initiatives, like trash reduction and adding 3,000 recycling bins to residence halls. Stu-dents were also encouraged to make greener choices, with the help of the Office of Sustain-ability. The suggested packing list for Fall 2012 included environmentally friendly items, like green cleaning products and organic bed-ding.

The Mason Inn was named a Virginia Green hotel. Virginia Green is a program in Virginia that aims to reduce the environmental impact of the state’s tourism industry. Virginia Green partners with the Department of Environ-mental Quality, the Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association and Virginia Tourism Cor-poration.

Dr. Kim de Mutsert and Dr. Chris Jones pre-

sented a poster on the restoration of Gunston Cove at the INTECOL International Wetlands Conference in Orland, FL, in June. Dr. de Mut-sert also spoke at the Barnegat Bay Partner-ship Ecosystem Modeling Workshop in New Jersey earlier this year on using Ecopath and Ecosim for her research in Louisiana.

ESP Graduate

Student Association

By Christine Gleason, GMU Graduate Student

The Environmental Science

Department-Graduate Student

Association (GSA) continues to

advocate for student causes and

coordinate social and academic

events. This semester our

events included happy hours, a

grant writing workshop and a co

-sponsorship of the DC Marine

Celebration. The Marine Cele-

bration will be held on Novem-

ber 15th from 6-10pm at the

Science Club on DuPont Circle in

Washington, DC. Furthermore,

the GSA continues to campaign

for Graduate Teaching Assistantship (GTA) stipend increases.

We are pleased to announce stipends have been increased.

However, this October we met with President Cabrera to

help bring GMU GTA stipends to competitive levels.

In order to continue sponsoring events and to advocate

for graduate student concerns the GSA needs members!!

With around 165 environmental science and policy graduate

students, joining the GSA is an excellent way to form rela-

tionships in this large learning community. GSA offers stu-

dents an opportunity to have their voices heard, participate

in events and make positive changes to the program.

Joining is easy! Interested students need to fill out a

membership application, outside David King 3038, or can

contact Marieke Kester at mkester2@masonlive.gmu.edu.

The membership form can be submitted with $10 dollar se-

mester membership or $20 year membership dues to the

ESP GSA mailbox in the ESP office in David King! These dues

help fund activities and our graduate student travel grant.

The GSA is pleased to announce Jessica Kordell was awarded

a travel grant this fall. She used this grant to attend the Red

Around Campus: Graduate Column:

Jessica Kordell was awarded

the GSA Travel Grant this fall

to attend the Species Survival

Plan meeting for Red Pandas.

Continued on Page 12

9

High School students from across the nation will arrive at Mason in June for the 2013 Washington Youth Summit on the Environment (http://wyse.gmu.edu). The Washington Youth Summit on the Environment, which runs June 23-28, will be an action-packed week for 250 youth delegates. Many familiar Mason facilities and faculty are lined up to participate, as well as a number of high-level DC area practitioners in government, corporate, and non-profit sectors. George Mason University, along with its distin-guished partners the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian National Zoo, hosts the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment each summer. Highlights of the 2012 program included visits to the Smithsonian National Zoo, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Aquarium, US Environmental Protection Agency’s Headquarters, the National Geographic Society’s Headquarters, and meetings with congres-

sional representatives on Capitol Hill. Keynote addresses from Washington government and non-government speakers included: Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environ-mental Quality and a senior advisor to the President on environ-mental matters Miranda A.A. Ballentine, Director of Sustainability at Walmart In addition to these speakers, a number of Mason faculty, alumni, staff, and graduate students presented on their research topics or served on the faculty of the Summit.

For more information of the Washington Youth Summit on the Environment and

how you can participate in 2013, please contact Program Director Richard Friesner at rfriesne@gmu.edu or (703) 993-5417.

Mason Events:

Enthused for the Environment:

Gearing Up for WYSE 2013

By Richard Friesner, WYSE Program Director

National youth delegates on Capitol Hill at WYSE 2012

If you are interested in speaking or

presenting at WYSE 2013, please contact

the program at wyse@gmu.edu or

703.993.5010

National youth delegates visit the Smithsonian

Conservation Biology Institute at WYSE 2012

10

Ever dream of owning your own farm? Nestled in the rolling Appalachian foothills of West Virginia is a small hobby farm being transformed into a sustainable agribusiness. The concept of Five Angels Farm first came to mind after complet-ing a GMU grad course in which an environmental sustainabil-ity report was produced for a vineyard in Loudoun County, Vir-ginia. The operations manager for the vineyard appeared very disinterested in any sustainable business practice nuances, even if it meant saving money in the long run. My thinking at the time was, "It's no wonder farms continuously go out of business." So, empowered with an educated mind and my child-hood farming experiences, I decided to embark on building my own sustainable beef farm. Of course, all my friends and fam-ily thought I was a little whacky (some still do...) but I told all of

them, "Hey, I was a horse farmer back in the 1990s, and trust me, if you can raise horses you can raise anything because there's nothing more demanding than taking care of a horse." The timing for my pro-ject was perfect. I was graduating with my doctorate (EVPP, Dec. 2011), the real estate market had tanked, mortgage rates were low and I had time and a little cash to invest. I located a small farm in Hampshire County, WV, which I purchased and began my project. This beautiful tract of land was fenced and ready for live-stock, yet my wife encouraged me to build a cabin first so that friends and family would have a place to stay in comfort while visiting. I spent a year building a cabin while readying the prop-erty for beef cattle. Since I was only interested in a sustainable operation, I researched a breed of cattle that could be processed straight from the pasture. The unique looking Belted Galloway,

nicknamed "Oreo cows," was the breed of choice. Known for their natural marbling, this breed does not have to suffer the fate of being loaded into rail cars, crammed into a feces-packed, disease-riddled stockyard for two months while being pumped full of antibiotics and fed grain--all facets which are completely unsustainable. So, you say, why aren't all beef processed straight from the pasture? The reason is largely due to the taste of lean

Alumnus Essay:

A Sustainable Farm in the Making

By Dr. Albert Kirk Smith, GMU 2011 Ph.D. Graduate

Belted Galloways, a gentle and gregarious breed, free grazing on plentiful grass at Five Angels Farm.

Fall foliage borders a pasture with a small gravity fed pond on the farm.

11

beef. The "healthy" beef has a stronger, gamier taste, requir-ing a little more care and preparation in the cooking process. However, consumers are now becoming more aware and edu-cated in the health benefits of natural beef, realizing the extra care needed in preparation is well worth the effort. Natural beef has become more popular with consum-ers as recent research has shown this red meat is very low in cholesterol, has an optimum Omega 6/Omega 3 fatty acid ra-tio, and possesses the cancer-fighting, insulin-empowering, conjugated linoleic acid. These documented health benefits of natural beef are lacking in mainstream beef products, known largely for health attributes quite contrary to natural beef. Presently I am in the process of obtaining or building a biodiesel processor. The farm tractor is diesel and it is hoped 100% of the fuel for the tractor will be supplied onsite from

the processor. Although my pick-up truck is gasoline powered, it mostly remains parked after arriving at the farm, as most mechanical transportation is supplied by the tractor. The cabin is largely powered from two solar panels. The dramatic drop in electric power purchased from the utility is striking. As illustrated in the provided photo, one can clearly see a substantial reduction in electric power purchased after the grid-tied panels were installed this past spring. Two addi-tional panels will be added in the near future. While technical aspects of farming might overwhelm most, I do not allow myself to get bogged down with any one detail of the business. I've always been a "big picture" person anyway, and that's exactly the perfect mindset for farming. My favorite part of all is walking with and talking to the cattle. Belted Galloways are very gentle and quite social. They allow me to sit with them in the pasture. One of my two bulls licks me every time I visit. Although they do not appear to tolerate physical contact from humans, they will often tolerate a small pat or scratch every now and then. As you might imagine, I'm only familiar with the breeding stock and not those animals I plan on processing. The piece of mind that comes from being outdoors in nature is more valuable than any-thing. To be able to get away from the hustle of Northern Virginia, breath fresh air, drink water right out of a well and see wildlife that most suburbanites only see in books or magazines, quite honestly, is priceless. If you have any questions or might be interested in farming yourself, feel free to drop me a note at land-scapemgt@netzero.net Also, if you are interested in purchasing beef, I'm presently sold out for the season, but please do not hesitate to lock in a price for a future purchase. Your down payment will help me gauge my herd size for the coming year.

Dr. Kirk Smith is science teacher at James Madison High School in Vienna, VA, and a biology professor at North-

ern Virginia Community College. He is the natural resource advisor for the Northern Virginia Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Along with his former advisor, Dr. Dann Sklarew, he recently published a scientific journal article describing a practical brook trout stream index (Ecological Indicators, Volume 23, December 2012, Pages 242–249). They are following up with a second article, presently in review.

A small diesel tractor being converted to run entirely on recycled biodiesel.

A simple two-panel solar array supplies all the power needed by cabin use during fair-weather

months.

12

Graduate Column (continued from Page 8)

Panda Species Survival Plan meeting. Jessica was able

to present her Master’s research regarding the repro-

ductive cycles and behaviors of the red panda (Ailurus

fulgens fulgens). Congratulations Jessica!

Don’t have time to come to the GSA events? Last

summer George Mason launched a brand new website

tailored to the graduate students http://

gradlife.gmu.edu/. This is a graduate-only website full

of information to better keep the grad student in-

formed. The “Academic Calendar” and “Events Calen-

dar” lists all events that may interest grad students. If

you are a new student the “New Graduate Student”

tab takes you to an entire page of links that will help

answer questions regarding parking to where to get a

good cup of coffee. Both new and returning students

will find “George’s List” a helpful forum to buy or sell

goods and or services here on campus.

This is also a good place to advertise any needed

for help with research projects as undergraduates also

use this site. Those who are looking toward their thesis

or dissertation should check out the “Thesis/ Disserta-

tion Process” tab. If you are nearing graduation check-

out the “Plan for Graduation” tab. It takes you to links

listing steps to graduation. For more information on

graduate life including housing, parking and textbooks

please check out the Graduate Student Handbook

made specifically for ESP students. It can be found on

the ESP website (http://esp.gmu.edu/) under “Forms

and Policies”.

If you have any questions regarding the ESP gradu-

ate program or have ideas for a GSA sponsored events

please contact your local GSA board members: Chris-

tine Gleason (cgleaso2@gmu.edu), Ashley Sitar

(asitargo@masonlive.gmu.,edu), Marieke Kester

( m k e s t e r 2 @ g m u . e d u ) , A m a n d a S i l l s

(asills@masonlive.gmu.edu) and Katie Layman

(klayman2@masonlive.gmu.edu). You can also follow

us on Facebook!

Faculty Article (continued from Page 7)

see some sort of stream restoration of this channel to create a small, but visible stream-floodplain-wetland complex in the future. This will require creative initiatives, funding, and campus-wide support. The wetland mesocosms compound has been used for several courses over the years; EVPP 378/BIOL 379 (Ecological Sustainability), EVPP 355(Ecological Engineering and Ecosystem Restoration), EVPP 646/647 (Wetland Ecol-ogy and Management), and EVPP 650 (Ecosystem Modeling and Analysis). Especially, my new course EVPP 378, which was sponsored by Center for Teaching Excellence as a Stu-dent as Scholars course, utilized the compound throughout the semester of Spring 2012 and launched a research pro-ject by setting up 40 mesocosms for a new research pro-jects. The compound will continue to support and facilitate external grant-supported research projects on wetlands, as well as to promote teaching activities, outreach and campus sustainability initiatives as an important asset to the Univer-sity. The area and the facility also will gain more publicity through site tours and a regularly scheduled open com-pound to display and explain research results from the com-pound to the public. The site is also appropriate for part of the campus greening work. We would need strong adminis-trative and financial supports from the University to main-tain and continue to grow the compound and Ecological Ob-servatory area designated by ESP. You can find stories on the compound over the years as follows:

Getting down and dirty: professor builds wetland research area on campus’, August 14, 2007, Gazette, GMU (http://gazette.gmu.edu/articles/10623/).

Mesocosm Compound Provides Wetland ‘Lab’, Gazette, YouTube, Facebook links. April 23, 2010. (http://www.youtube.com/watchv=8baKnW69ybk&feature=player_embedded)

Ecological Engineer studies human-created wetlands, Ga-zette, GMU, October 10, 2011 (http://news.gmu.edu/articles/7708).

Students Develop Model Wetlands, Broadside featured news, GMU, April 23, 2012 (http://broadsideonline.com/2012/04/23/students-develop-model-wetland-4792/)

Mason Wetland Laboratory Provides Resources for Impor-tant Watershed Research. GMU homepage headliner, May-June 2012 (http://about.gmu.edu/mason-wetland-laboratory-provides-resources-for-important-watershed-research/).

Mason’s Wetland Compound video, May 2012 (http://vimeo.com/43562094)

13

Globally, whale watching generates more than $2

billion per year, according to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In 2008, more than 13 million people went on cetacean-watching tours in 119 countries, and those numbers are on the rise, the IWC reported. The in-dustry employs more than 13,000 people. Additionally, whale watching has the potential to add more than $400 million and 5,700 jobs per year, according to a 2009 study co-authored by Dr. Rashid Sumaila of the University of British Columbia. The millions of tourists watching for whales each year make for a large, potentially attentive audience. Ce-taceans, and their habitats, are subject to a number of negative impacts of human conduct. Climate change, plastic and chemical pollution, overfishing of prey organ-isms and bycatch are a few of the plights of marine mam-mals. Many of these can of these issues can be improved by educating people on the effects of certain human be-haviors on marine mammals. Education and conservation outreach on whale-watching tours, however, remains unheard of on many boats. “Some do a wonderful job, but we’re still trying to get more boats on board with educational components and advo-cating environmental practices,” said Morven Summers of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust in the U.K. Among two whale-watching tours in Scotland in 2012, neither gave conservation education. Among three whale-watching tours in Maine in 2011, only one discussed marine conservation issues. Among two tours in Victoria, Can-ada, in 2011, only one briefly discussed conservation. Some whale-watching regions have been praised for their conservation education, but several need to im-prove. Furthermore, whale-watching tourists expect an educational component, according to a 2005 study by Melissa Andersen and Marc Miller of the University of Washington, Seattle. In fact, tourists may be willing to pay more for tours that incorporate high-quality educational components. “Tour operators need to take the opportunity to educate their captive audience of whale watchers on conservation issues,” asserted Christine Gleason, a GMU graduate student studying whale-watching practices in the Dominican Republic. “They’re excited to be on the tour and could be more open to education.”

Samantha Oester is a former journalist, editor and policy analyst, now an ESP graduate student at GMU.

News Story:

The Opportunity for Conservation Education on

Whale-Watching Tours

By Samantha Oester, GREENovation Editor

A northern minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata)

sighted from a whale-watching tour originating from

Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland.

(Photo by Samantha Oester)