When the North Carolina Department of Transportation began widening U.S. Highway 64 through eastern North Carolina a decade ago, they asked the University of Tennessee to study how the new road would impact wildlife.

Today, the completed four-lane highway shaves off an hour’s drive between Raleigh and the Outer Banks. It also cuts through some of the richest wildlife habitat in the South – thousands of acres of uninhabited swamps, pine plantations and agricultural fields with black bear densities as high as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

UT’s goal was to determine the effectiveness of underpasses in reducing wildlife-vehicle collisions, and also to assess the short-term impacts of the road construction on nearby black bears.

Frank van Manen, adjunct professor in UT’s department of forestry, wildlife and fisheries, said the U.S. Highway 64 study was unique in that the research team was able to collect data before and after the highway was built. Data collection occurred during the 2000-2001 preconstruction phase and in 2006-2007 after the road was finished.

The rest of the article can be found on the Knoxville News Sentinel Co website, here.

During the 2009 Leonid meteor shower, you may see anywhere from 30 to 300 shooting stars an hour, depending on whether you’re in the right place to see the showy peak on November 17, experts predict.

With the highest number of meteors streaking across the skies around 4:45 p.m. ET, the Leonids peak will be effectively invisible for viewers in North America and Europe.

In those regions, sky-watchers are advised to venture out away from bright city lights between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. on the 17th, when they should see 30 to 50 meteors an hour.

A Time for Science will not be hosting any events directly related to the meteor shower but would like to encourage everyone to get out and view the show in your own backyard.  The full article from the above post can be found on the National Geographic News website here.

Secrets the moon has been holding, for perhaps billions of years, are now being revealed to the delight of scientists and space enthusiasts alike.

NASA today opened a new chapter in our understanding of the moon. Preliminary data from the Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, indicates that the mission successfully uncovered water during the Oct. 9, 2009 impacts into the permanently shadowed region of Cabeus cater near the moon’s south pole.

The impact created by the LCROSS Centaur upper stage rocket created a two-part plume of material from the bottom of the crater. The first part was a high angle plume of vapor and fine dust and the second a lower angle ejecta curtain of heavier material. This material has not seen sunlight in billions of years.

For the entire article, see the NASA website here.

Williamston, NC — The Town of Williamston, North Carolina, has earned the Audubon Sustainable Community Certification from Audubon International, a non-profit environmental organization. Members of Audubon International’s Sustainable Communities Program are eligible for the designation, which recognizes dedication to the process of becoming a sustainable community by completing a Vision 2020 plan. The plan covers 15 focus areas and members, like Williamston, must choose timelines and measurable goals. Once progress is documented, members can earn certification.  As Mayor Tommy Roberson states, “Audubon International and the Sustainable Communities Program has provided invaluable guidance, a useful framework for action, measurable goals, and third-party verification of our efforts to truly embrace sustainability as a core principle for our policies, plans, and practices.”

The entire article can be viewed on the Environmental News Network website, here.  Congrats Williamston, NC!!

Sponsored by A Time for Science (Nature and Science Learning Center) and in conjunction with millions of people around the world participating in the Cornerstone project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009 (IYA2009), Galilean Nights, over 100 folks came out to the Bray Hollow Nature Conservancy on Thursday October, 22, 2009 to enjoy gazing at the celestial sights that Galileo introduced the world to 400 years ago.

As sunset approached a partial cloud cover of high cirrus and some puffy cumulus threatened to rule out any chance of star gazing.  However, by the time the sun set completely the clouds had dissipated and a beautiful sky presented itself.  Ten telescopes were made available by members of the Carolina Skies Astronomy Club and other members and friends of the ATFS organization.  Everyone who attended had a chance to see first hand the craters on the Moon, the planet Jupiter and its Galilean moons, and a number of other objects including the Andromeda Galaxy and the Ring Nebula.  And a guided tour of the night sky featuring several of the more prominent constellations as well as the stories and legends accompanying them was presented by the Director of Education for ATFS. Our stalwart registration crew was assisted by student volunteers from D.H. Conley High School who also provided assistance in the parking of cars and the direction of participants to the event site.

This event also qualified as a TACO event (Take a Child Outside) which is a nation-wide program started in response to the publication of Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.  TACO events are designed to help break down obstacles that keep children from discovering the natural world.  By arming parents, teachers and other caregivers with resources on outdoor activities, the goal of organizations associated with TACO is to help children across the country develop a better understanding and appreciation of the environment in which they live, and a burgeoning enthusiasm for its exploration.

See the original event post here.

Photo Album

On Friday, October 16, 2009, fourteen Home-Schoolers and seven adults found a little time for science and joined us at the Center to enjoy the “adventures of a dichotomous key.”

Given a pile of leafy tree branches the participants were challenged to divide their pile in two, based on leaf size, then further divide each pile on the basis of some other leaf appearance.  And so forth.

This hands-on activity introduced them to the “either – or” choices of the traditional dichotomous keys used by naturalists and biologists.

With keys in hand the group hitched a “hay ride” to the forested section of the Bray Hollow Nature Conservancy and the Pitt County Environmental Education Center where they identified a number of trees.

On return to the Center’s “laboratory” (a.k.a. “The Rec. Room”) participants then “immortalized their favorite leaves in paint and cotton/polyester, making leaf prints on their selected tee shirts.  All had fun and left with a self-made memento of their experience.

Photo Album