Join HAWK the first Tuesday of each month, September through May, at the Matthews Community Center at 7PM. Unless otherwise noted, the meetings take place in the Community Room (see map bottom of page) and are free and open to everyone.
Tuesday, February 6, 2018, 7PM
A LITTLE HAIR OF THE.......SKUNK?
Snares and the elusive Eastern spotted skunks
100 McDowell Street, Matthews
Matthews Community Center
The eastern spotted skunk is rare in North Carolina and is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. Very little is known about the populations of eastern spotted skunks in North Carolina, so snare collections add greater detail to supplement any camera footage or sightings. Throughout its range, it is still not really known if the species is actually in danger of extinction, or if it is just really hard to find. If it is in danger, what limits its numbers and how can it improve its status. In the Eastern U.S. in particular, is the skunk harmed by habitat alteration and associated depredation by owls? Or is it foxes? Or coyotes? Might there be a disease at play?
Brian Wuertz collaborated with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in developing a hair snare method for studying eastern spotted skunks. The device snares the hair from eastern spotted skunks to allow collection of genetic material without having to trap the elusive skunks and handle them.
Join us as Brian shares his insights and stories of his adventures acquiring hair samples from an animal you want to keep at a distance!
Brian is a senior Biology and Biochemistry double major at Warren Wilson College, also working as a Bonner Leader in the Center for Community Engagement coordinating the environmental education program, EcoTeam.
This meeting is free and open to everyone. For more information,704-236-0929 or HAWKncwf@gmail.com
A LITTLE HAIR OF THE.......SKUNK?
Snares and the elusive Eastern spotted skunks
100 McDowell Street, Matthews
Matthews Community Center
The eastern spotted skunk is rare in North Carolina and is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. Very little is known about the populations of eastern spotted skunks in North Carolina, so snare collections add greater detail to supplement any camera footage or sightings. Throughout its range, it is still not really known if the species is actually in danger of extinction, or if it is just really hard to find. If it is in danger, what limits its numbers and how can it improve its status. In the Eastern U.S. in particular, is the skunk harmed by habitat alteration and associated depredation by owls? Or is it foxes? Or coyotes? Might there be a disease at play?
Brian Wuertz collaborated with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission in developing a hair snare method for studying eastern spotted skunks. The device snares the hair from eastern spotted skunks to allow collection of genetic material without having to trap the elusive skunks and handle them.
Join us as Brian shares his insights and stories of his adventures acquiring hair samples from an animal you want to keep at a distance!
Brian is a senior Biology and Biochemistry double major at Warren Wilson College, also working as a Bonner Leader in the Center for Community Engagement coordinating the environmental education program, EcoTeam.
This meeting is free and open to everyone. For more information,704-236-0929 or HAWKncwf@gmail.com
Tuesday, November 7, 7PM
Matthews Community Center
Upstairs in the Theater
100 McDowell Street, Matthews
More than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year.
A Plastic Ocean documents the newest science, proving how plastics, once they enter the oceans, break up into small particulates that enter the food chain where they attract toxins like a magnet. These toxins are stored in seafood’s fatty tissues, and are eventually consumed by us. What can we do right now to start a wave of change? Click here to watch the trailer
Bonnie Monteleone is the Director of Science, Research and Academic Partnerships as well as the Executive Director for Plastic Ocean Project, Inc (501c3) organizing outreach and citizen science projects involving plastic marine debris. Monteleone also works in the Chemistry Department at UNC Wilmington on research projects varying from fieldwork collecting open-ocean and beach samples to lab analysis looking at plastic leachates, persistent organic pollutants sorption, and plastic ingestion by marine organisms. Monteleone is a Co-Principal Investigator on a NOAA Marine Debris Research Grant – Microplastic ingestion by the black sea bass, Centropristis striata: An assessment of potential impacts on health of an Atlantic commercial fish species. On the solution side of this issue, she is working with a US company that is turning plastics into fuel conducting an independent study with UNCW Chemistry Dept. to determine if it is a viable and safe solution to plastic pollution.
Matthews Community Center
Upstairs in the Theater
100 McDowell Street, Matthews
More than 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in our oceans every year.
A Plastic Ocean documents the newest science, proving how plastics, once they enter the oceans, break up into small particulates that enter the food chain where they attract toxins like a magnet. These toxins are stored in seafood’s fatty tissues, and are eventually consumed by us. What can we do right now to start a wave of change? Click here to watch the trailer
Bonnie Monteleone is the Director of Science, Research and Academic Partnerships as well as the Executive Director for Plastic Ocean Project, Inc (501c3) organizing outreach and citizen science projects involving plastic marine debris. Monteleone also works in the Chemistry Department at UNC Wilmington on research projects varying from fieldwork collecting open-ocean and beach samples to lab analysis looking at plastic leachates, persistent organic pollutants sorption, and plastic ingestion by marine organisms. Monteleone is a Co-Principal Investigator on a NOAA Marine Debris Research Grant – Microplastic ingestion by the black sea bass, Centropristis striata: An assessment of potential impacts on health of an Atlantic commercial fish species. On the solution side of this issue, she is working with a US company that is turning plastics into fuel conducting an independent study with UNCW Chemistry Dept. to determine if it is a viable and safe solution to plastic pollution.
Past Meetings:
Tuesday
September 5, 2017
7:00pm
Create a Pollinator Paradise!
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos gave an overview of regional pollinators with an emphasis on bees. We learned about the principles of designing and planting a pollinator garden and how to select trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, herbs, and vines to attract a diversity of pollinators.
We also enjoyed a virtual tour of Debbie’s popular demonstration pollinator garden in Pittsboro, NC that features over 200 unique species, 85% of them native to North Carolina. She shared resources developed for farmers and gardeners interested in enhancing pollinator habitat that can be found on her website at www.carolinapollinatorgarden.org.
September 5, 2017
7:00pm
Create a Pollinator Paradise!
North Carolina Cooperative Extension Agriculture Agent Debbie Roos gave an overview of regional pollinators with an emphasis on bees. We learned about the principles of designing and planting a pollinator garden and how to select trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, herbs, and vines to attract a diversity of pollinators.
We also enjoyed a virtual tour of Debbie’s popular demonstration pollinator garden in Pittsboro, NC that features over 200 unique species, 85% of them native to North Carolina. She shared resources developed for farmers and gardeners interested in enhancing pollinator habitat that can be found on her website at www.carolinapollinatorgarden.org.
Matthews Community Center, 100 McDowell St, Matthews, North Carolina 28105
Contact information: HAWKNCWF@gmail.com or call 704-236-0929
Habitat and Wildlife Keepers, P. O. Box 1201, Matthews, NC 28106
Habitat and Wildlife Keepers, P. O. Box 1201, Matthews, NC 28106
