Windham science students take backyard Vital Signs
WINDHAM
12/14/2009

By Emily Parkhurst

As part of the Gulf of Maine Research Center's new Vital Signs program, Windham Middle School science teacher Sarah Carlson's eighth grade classes searched the area behind the school for invasive species. And they found something.

''We found Japanese knotweed,'' said Carlson. ''It's all over the place.''

The students studied the biodiversity of the stream area off the school's cross country trails and then entered their data, including the infestation of Japanese knotweed, a type of non-native bamboo, into the Vital Signs online database.

''There's a ton of student data (on the web site). They could comment on other schools' data. It was a really cool thing,'' Carlson said.

Vital Signs utilizes Maine's laptop program, which provides laptop computers to Maine students, to enable students to participate in a statewide effort to find invasive species and to document the native species and habitats most vulnerable to future invasions. The Vital Signs program officially kicked off this year with the goal of involving students in important research that could aid scientists in helping curb the growth of non-native species. The Vital Signs web site plots student data onto a map, which shows invasive species infestations all over Maine.

Former Governor Angus King, who introduced the Maine Learning Technology Initiative while he was in office, spoke about the program last week at the Gulf of Maine Research Center.

''Vital Signs realizes the potential of the laptop infrastructure put into place in 2001,'' he said. ''The goal of the Maine Learning Technology Initiative has been to engage students in 21st century learning and meaningful work. Vital Signs opens up an incredible opportunity by expanding the laptop concept outside the classroom and into the larger world. We don't know the magical places this will take them.''

In Windham, this was Carlson's first time incorporating the program into her curriculum, but she's already planning a second Vital Signs field trip for the spring. This time, she's hoping to take her students further than the school's back yard. After several students mentioned experience with the invasive aquatic plant, milfoil, Carlson began thinking about the opportunities to do some important work for the Vital Signs database.

''We might try to do something more community-based,'' she said. ''We could look at Sebago Lake, Little Sebago Lake.''