Videos and Livestreams - Lunchtime Lecture Series The Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs hosts a guest lecture series called the Lunchtime Discovery Series. Professionals from a wide range of environmental backgrounds come and give presentations about their work and offer an opportunity for attendees to learn about a variety of subjects during the lunch hour. Topics range from spider diversity in North Carolina to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to how to incorporate music in environmental education programming. The are several taped presentations on a wide variety of environmental topics that can be used in the classroom to supplement existing lessons on ecosystems, natural resources, and North Carolina history. You can sign up for weekly email notifications about upcoming lectures! Contact an office staff member if you have trouble subscribing. Updates from Spiral Graph, the Astronomy Citizen Science project with a Twist Dr. Patrick Treuthardt, Assistant Head, Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Live Virtual Presentation hosted by N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Daily Planet Curator, Chris Smith, and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs staff Wednesday, August 12 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. EDT WATCH LIVE:https://youtu.be/SD9jNcN5-cc Spiral Graph is an online citizen science project dedicated to determining the winding of spiral arms in galaxies. The degree of arm winding has been linked to other parameters that are more time consuming and difficult to measure, such as the mass of the black hole found in a galaxy's nucleus. It is currently not clear how a galaxy's central black hole can grow to be millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun. The results of Spiral Graph may shed some light on this along with other aspects of galaxy evolution. Data collection on the first sample of 6222 galaxies was completed in July, 2020. The second phase of data collection is now underway on 14027 separate galaxies with the help of over 2700 registered volunteers. You can post questions in the livestream comments and you can also tweet questions to #LunchTimeDiscovery and mention @NorthCarolinaEE The Other Side of Environmental Injustice: Parks and Greenspace Inequity in Marginalized Communities Tatiana Height, Doctoral Candidate in Agricultural and Extension Education at North Carolina State University Watch this Talk https://youtu.be/hnqh_2R8eX4 Live Virtual Presentation hosted by N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Daily Planet Curator, Chris Smith, and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs staff Wednesday, August 5 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. EDT You can post questions in the livestream comments and you can also tweet questions to #LunchTimeDiscovery and mention @NorthCarolinaEE Traditionally, environmental injustice has been thought of as pollution and inequitable distribution of environmental burdens in marginalized communities. However, in recent years, the environmental justice movement has incorporated a number of "spin-offs" related to land use and environment in marginalized communities. This session will describe the presenter's research and experience related to one of those spin-offs; namely, parks and greenspace inequity. Oh, For the Love of Leeches! Bronwyn Williams, Research Curator, Non-Molluscan Invertebrates, NC Museum of Natural Sciences SECU Daily Planet Theater, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, March 11 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. What is your knee-jerk reaction to the mention of leeches? Yes, we thought so, but urge you to give it a second thought. Join Bronwyn Williams, Research Curator of Non-molluscan Invertebrates at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, to learn about these much maligned, yet fascinating and important organisms from a social and scientific perspective. Be prepared to dance…the leech dance! Watch the Livestream Part 1 and Part 2 Transplanting Traditions – Connecting Cultures through Farming and Food Transplanting Traditions – Connecting Cultures through Farming and Food Kelly Owensby, Founder and Executive Director, Transplanting Traditions SECU Daily Planet Theater, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, March 4 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Kelly Owensby, founder and executive director of Transplanting Traditions will discuss how a non-profit teaching farm in the heart of Chapel Hill is supporting women farmers and small farm owners from Burma. Learn how this model creates community, income and preserves culture through the lens of farming and food. Watch the Livestream Masters of Our Own Destiny - North Carolina African American Farmers Melody Hunter-Pillion, Ph.D. Student, Public History, Department of History, NC State University SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 26 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Melody Hunter-Pillion uses the oral histories of North Carolina’s African American farmers and fisherman to tell the story of how these families have shaped North Carolina and how they are dealing with heritage depletion, land loss and climate change. Watch the Livestream Warren County North Carolina – Birth of the Environmental Justice Movement Bill Kearney and Wayne Moseley SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 19 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Dollie Burwell, Bill Kearney and Wayne Moseley discuss their role as community members in the Warren County PCB Landfill protests which are recognized as the beginning of the Environmental Justice Movement in the United States. Watch the Livestream A Tale of Two Ships – One Ship with Two Identities – Queen Anne’s Revenge and La Concorde Angela Thorpe, Director, North Carolina African American Heritage Commission SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 12 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Angela Thorpe, director of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission discusses Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, and its earlier life as the slave ship La Concorde. Watch the Livestream The Story of Sankofa Farms Lunchtime Discovery Series: The Story of Sankofa Farms Kamal Bell, Owner, Sankofa Farms SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 5 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Kamal Bell, owner of Sankofa farms, tells us how he turned 12 acres of land in Cedar Grove, North Carolina into a place where teens can learn to grow their own food while developing important life skills. The talk will focus on the importance of learning from our past and rich history to help solve our problems of today, and how our youth represent the change that our community needs. Watch the Livestream Wild Ideas for Williamson Preserve – 406 Acres of Forests, Trails and Farms for You! Wild Ideas for Williamson Preserve – 406 Acres of Forests, Trails and Farms for You! Sandy Sweitzer, Executive Director and Deja Smith, Community Engagement Associate, Triangle Land Conservancy SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, January 29 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Triangle Land Conservancy’s Bailey and Sarah Williamson Preserve is a 405-acre mosaic of fields and forests just fifteen minutes from downtown Raleigh that will open to the public on April 25th. The property will host working farmland to support our local food scene, several unique ecosystems, and hiking and mountain biking trails that will connect to the Neuse River Greenway Trail, East Coast Greenway, and Mountains to Sea Trail. Come see how TLC and our partners are working to make the Triangle a more vibrant place to live, work, play, and eat! Watch the Livestream Searching for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Spiral Galaxies with the Help of Citizen Scientists Searching for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Spiral Galaxies with the Help of Citizen Scientists Dr. Patrick Treuthardt, Assistant Head, Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Today @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. How can you help solve the mystery behind the origins of supermassive black holes? Join us Wednesday, January 22 as North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences astrophysicist Patrick Treuthardt explains how citizens are helping with his latest research project to find black holes by identifying spiral galaxies. Watch the Livestream Fort Bragg - Longleaf Pines and the Saint Francis' Satyr Fort Bragg - Longleaf Pines and the Saint Francis' Satyr Brian Ball, Wildlife Biologist, Endangered Species Branch, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Bragg SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, January 15 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Watch the Livestream Fort Bragg is one of our nation’s largest and most important military installations. In addition to the thousands of troops stationed there, Fort Bragg is home to over 1,500 species of plants and animals. Over 70 species of rare plants and animals can be found on the installation. Perhaps the most unique and one of the rarest species is the Saint Francis' Satyr, a federally endangered butterfly found on Fort Bragg and nowhere else in the world. Barred, Barn, Great Horned and Screech (and sometimes Snowy) – Owls of North Carolina Colleen Bockhahn, Assistant Park Manager, Lake Crabtree County Park SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, January 8, 2020 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Owls are known as symbols of wisdom and magic. Gain some wisdom about our local owl species, and discover the magic behind their unique adaptations and natural histories. Did you know that great-horned owls prey on other owls? Which North Carolina owl species is declining in northern states? Get the answers to these questions and many more! Watch the Livestream
Videos and Livestreams - Lunchtime Lecture Series The Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs hosts a guest lecture series called the Lunchtime Discovery Series. Professionals from a wide range of environmental backgrounds come and give presentations about their work and offer an opportunity for attendees to learn about a variety of subjects during the lunch hour. Topics range from spider diversity in North Carolina to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), to how to incorporate music in environmental education programming. The are several taped presentations on a wide variety of environmental topics that can be used in the classroom to supplement existing lessons on ecosystems, natural resources, and North Carolina history. You can sign up for weekly email notifications about upcoming lectures! Contact an office staff member if you have trouble subscribing. Updates from Spiral Graph, the Astronomy Citizen Science project with a Twist Dr. Patrick Treuthardt, Assistant Head, Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab, North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Live Virtual Presentation hosted by N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Daily Planet Curator, Chris Smith, and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs staff Wednesday, August 12 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. EDT WATCH LIVE:https://youtu.be/SD9jNcN5-cc Spiral Graph is an online citizen science project dedicated to determining the winding of spiral arms in galaxies. The degree of arm winding has been linked to other parameters that are more time consuming and difficult to measure, such as the mass of the black hole found in a galaxy's nucleus. It is currently not clear how a galaxy's central black hole can grow to be millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun. The results of Spiral Graph may shed some light on this along with other aspects of galaxy evolution. Data collection on the first sample of 6222 galaxies was completed in July, 2020. The second phase of data collection is now underway on 14027 separate galaxies with the help of over 2700 registered volunteers. You can post questions in the livestream comments and you can also tweet questions to #LunchTimeDiscovery and mention @NorthCarolinaEE The Other Side of Environmental Injustice: Parks and Greenspace Inequity in Marginalized Communities Tatiana Height, Doctoral Candidate in Agricultural and Extension Education at North Carolina State University Watch this Talk https://youtu.be/hnqh_2R8eX4 Live Virtual Presentation hosted by N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences Daily Planet Curator, Chris Smith, and the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs staff Wednesday, August 5 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. EDT You can post questions in the livestream comments and you can also tweet questions to #LunchTimeDiscovery and mention @NorthCarolinaEE Traditionally, environmental injustice has been thought of as pollution and inequitable distribution of environmental burdens in marginalized communities. However, in recent years, the environmental justice movement has incorporated a number of "spin-offs" related to land use and environment in marginalized communities. This session will describe the presenter's research and experience related to one of those spin-offs; namely, parks and greenspace inequity. Oh, For the Love of Leeches! Bronwyn Williams, Research Curator, Non-Molluscan Invertebrates, NC Museum of Natural Sciences SECU Daily Planet Theater, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, March 11 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. What is your knee-jerk reaction to the mention of leeches? Yes, we thought so, but urge you to give it a second thought. Join Bronwyn Williams, Research Curator of Non-molluscan Invertebrates at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, to learn about these much maligned, yet fascinating and important organisms from a social and scientific perspective. Be prepared to dance…the leech dance! Watch the Livestream Part 1 and Part 2 Transplanting Traditions – Connecting Cultures through Farming and Food Transplanting Traditions – Connecting Cultures through Farming and Food Kelly Owensby, Founder and Executive Director, Transplanting Traditions SECU Daily Planet Theater, NC Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, March 4 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Kelly Owensby, founder and executive director of Transplanting Traditions will discuss how a non-profit teaching farm in the heart of Chapel Hill is supporting women farmers and small farm owners from Burma. Learn how this model creates community, income and preserves culture through the lens of farming and food. Watch the Livestream Masters of Our Own Destiny - North Carolina African American Farmers Melody Hunter-Pillion, Ph.D. Student, Public History, Department of History, NC State University SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 26 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Melody Hunter-Pillion uses the oral histories of North Carolina’s African American farmers and fisherman to tell the story of how these families have shaped North Carolina and how they are dealing with heritage depletion, land loss and climate change. Watch the Livestream Warren County North Carolina – Birth of the Environmental Justice Movement Bill Kearney and Wayne Moseley SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 19 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Dollie Burwell, Bill Kearney and Wayne Moseley discuss their role as community members in the Warren County PCB Landfill protests which are recognized as the beginning of the Environmental Justice Movement in the United States. Watch the Livestream A Tale of Two Ships – One Ship with Two Identities – Queen Anne’s Revenge and La Concorde Angela Thorpe, Director, North Carolina African American Heritage Commission SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 12 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Angela Thorpe, director of the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission discusses Blackbeard’s flagship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, and its earlier life as the slave ship La Concorde. Watch the Livestream The Story of Sankofa Farms Lunchtime Discovery Series: The Story of Sankofa Farms Kamal Bell, Owner, Sankofa Farms SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, February 5 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Kamal Bell, owner of Sankofa farms, tells us how he turned 12 acres of land in Cedar Grove, North Carolina into a place where teens can learn to grow their own food while developing important life skills. The talk will focus on the importance of learning from our past and rich history to help solve our problems of today, and how our youth represent the change that our community needs. Watch the Livestream Wild Ideas for Williamson Preserve – 406 Acres of Forests, Trails and Farms for You! Wild Ideas for Williamson Preserve – 406 Acres of Forests, Trails and Farms for You! Sandy Sweitzer, Executive Director and Deja Smith, Community Engagement Associate, Triangle Land Conservancy SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, January 29 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Triangle Land Conservancy’s Bailey and Sarah Williamson Preserve is a 405-acre mosaic of fields and forests just fifteen minutes from downtown Raleigh that will open to the public on April 25th. The property will host working farmland to support our local food scene, several unique ecosystems, and hiking and mountain biking trails that will connect to the Neuse River Greenway Trail, East Coast Greenway, and Mountains to Sea Trail. Come see how TLC and our partners are working to make the Triangle a more vibrant place to live, work, play, and eat! Watch the Livestream Searching for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Spiral Galaxies with the Help of Citizen Scientists Searching for Intermediate Mass Black Holes in Spiral Galaxies with the Help of Citizen Scientists Dr. Patrick Treuthardt, Assistant Head, Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Today @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. How can you help solve the mystery behind the origins of supermassive black holes? Join us Wednesday, January 22 as North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences astrophysicist Patrick Treuthardt explains how citizens are helping with his latest research project to find black holes by identifying spiral galaxies. Watch the Livestream Fort Bragg - Longleaf Pines and the Saint Francis' Satyr Fort Bragg - Longleaf Pines and the Saint Francis' Satyr Brian Ball, Wildlife Biologist, Endangered Species Branch, Directorate of Public Works, Fort Bragg SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, January 15 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Watch the Livestream Fort Bragg is one of our nation’s largest and most important military installations. In addition to the thousands of troops stationed there, Fort Bragg is home to over 1,500 species of plants and animals. Over 70 species of rare plants and animals can be found on the installation. Perhaps the most unique and one of the rarest species is the Saint Francis' Satyr, a federally endangered butterfly found on Fort Bragg and nowhere else in the world. Barred, Barn, Great Horned and Screech (and sometimes Snowy) – Owls of North Carolina Colleen Bockhahn, Assistant Park Manager, Lake Crabtree County Park SECU Daily Planet Theater, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences, Nature Research Center, 1st Floor Wednesday, January 8, 2020 @ Noon – 1:00 p.m. Owls are known as symbols of wisdom and magic. Gain some wisdom about our local owl species, and discover the magic behind their unique adaptations and natural histories. Did you know that great-horned owls prey on other owls? Which North Carolina owl species is declining in northern states? Get the answers to these questions and many more! Watch the Livestream
