Applicants invited to TC for Invasive Species Field Course

TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Educators and environmental professionals are invited to apply for the sixth annual Invasive Species Field Course to be held June 25-27 in Traverse City along and on Grand Traverse Bay.

Sponsored by Northwestern Michigan College's Great Lakes Water Studies Institute and the Inland Seas Education Association, the field course has been developed to teach educators and environmental professionals about invasive species in the Great Lakes region, and to prepare them to effectively teach their students, colleagues and volunteers about invasive species. Emphasis will be on aquatic invasive species and the concept of "prevention through education."

The three-day Invasive Species Field Course will provide a unique combination of professional seminars at Northwestern Michigan College's Great Lakes Campus and hands-on field sampling aboard the 77-foot schooner Inland Seas. On shore, participants will learn about current research related to aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes, initiatives to help reduce the introduction and spread of new invasives, and ways to incorporate invasive species concepts into classroom teaching. Aboard Inland Seas in Grand Traverse Bay, participants will learn and practice sampling techniques, methods for analyzing environmental samples and experimental design for invasive species research projects.

Course participants will interact with a guest faculty of scientists, regulators, mariners and educators with a common interest in this critical issue.

Selected participants for the Invasive Species Field Course will participate free of charge, and receive complimentary meals and lodging in the Grand Traverse Bay area. One graduate credit is available from Central Michigan University for this program at an additional cost.

Applications are available online at www.nmc.edu/glwsi and due May 1, 2007. For more information on becoming a participant or faculty member of the Sixth Annual Invasive Species Field Course, please contact Colleen Masterson at the Water Studies Institute, (231) 995-1722 or e-mail cmasterson@nmc.edu