{"id":39,"date":"2013-06-07T15:19:11","date_gmt":"2013-06-07T15:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/fisherville\/?page_id=39"},"modified":"2014-08-04T15:30:59","modified_gmt":"2014-08-04T15:30:59","slug":"updates","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.clarku.edu\/fisherville\/updates\/","title":{"rendered":"News"},"content":{"rendered":"
August 4, 2014<\/em><\/header>\n
National Park Service Project Proposal Submitted<\/strong><\/header>\n
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This past week The Fisherville Redevelopment Company teamed up with the Town of Grafton to submit a proposal to National Park Service\u2019s (NPS) Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program.\u00a0 The program seeks to help increase people\u2019s access to recreational activities, waterways and to promote conservation projects.\u00a0 Many of NPS\u2019s goals, therefore, align with projects that have previously been proposed at the Livings Systems Laboratory, Mill Villages Park, and the rest of the Fisherville Mill Site.\u00a0 The proposal that was submitted seeks the assistance of NPS in the design and construction of trails, increased river access, art exhibits and educational curriculum in the Fisherville Mill Site.\u00a0 If awarded, the NPS would send personnel to Grafton to team up with other partners to offer their expertise and coordination in the development of these projects.\u00a0 As always, community participation would be a project priority.<\/header>\n
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\u00a0To see examples of the previous RTCA projects in MA, click here<\/a>.<\/header>\n
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As for now, we\u2019ll keep our fingers crossed, and keep you posted with updates on this site!<\/header>\n
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July 18, 2014<\/em>
\nA Visit from The URI\u00a0Coastal\u00a0Institute Senior Fellows<\/strong><\/header>\n
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On Thursday, July 17th<\/sup>, about 25 researchers from the University of Rhode Island Coastal Institute Senior Fellows Program stopped by the Living System\u2019s Lab for a quick tour of ecological design in action.\"photoThe group includes leaders from NGOs, researchers and policy makers from URI and elsewhere that are committed to the sustainable use and management of coastal ecosystems.\u00a0 They came to the LSL as a part of a trip to learn about the local innovative efforts to improve the health of our natural resources.\u00a0 Gene led the tour of the canal restorers and the greenhouse, and answered the thoughtful questions of the intrigued participants related to ecosystem biodiversity and the tank species self-selection process.\u00a0 Several people of the group were participating in remediation projects already, and were eager to learn of the techniques implemented on the site.\u00a0 One participant said she was even considering the implementation of canal restorer technology in a damaged watershed in Indonesia.<\/p>\n

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For more information on the URI Coastal Institute Senior Fellows, visit their site: \u00a0http:\/\/web.uri.edu\/coastalinstitute\/fellows\/senior-fellows\/<\/p>\n

\u00a0June 17, 2014
\n<\/em>How to Build an Eco Machine<\/strong><\/p>\n

On May 2nd<\/sup> and 3rd<\/sup>, John Todd Ecological Design, Inc hosted its first Ecological Design and Aquatic Restorer Construction Workshop at our very own Living Systems Lab.\u00a0 Participants came together from different fields and locales to learn about the basics of ecological design and began to explore some of the social, political and economical challenges of these types of projects.\u00a0 On the second day, the participants had a chance to get their hands dirty and have a crack at designing and building aquatic cells\u00a0and canal restorers using a new method.\u00a0 In addition to adding local plants, they also planted kale to investigate the potential for aquatic cell\u00a0agriculture in the greenhouse.\u00a0 One month later, the plants seem to be taking extremely well.\u00a0 Scroll down to see pictures of the new design methods as well as the most recent photos.<\/p>\n<\/header>\n

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Aquatic Cell\u00a0Design<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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New Canal Restorer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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If you are interested in learning more about Ecological Design, there will be another workshop offered in Grafton August 14th<\/sup> and 15th.\u00a0 Students, community members and people from all professional backgrounds are welcome.\u00a0 Follow this link to the John Todd Ecological Design website to register and for more information.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.toddecological.com\/news\/workshop.php<\/em><\/p>\n

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June 11,2013<\/em><\/h1>\n

Our first visit of the summer<\/strong><\/header>\n

Last week Professor Hibbett, and two undergraduate research assistants (myself and Sam Kovaka), visited the site. It was a beautiful sunny day! We met Gene Bernat there, and he gave us a tour of the greenhouse. He updated us on the status of the project. We have a lot to do! Soon we will inoculate the mycelium beds in the greenhouse. We found mushrooms growing at the banks of the canal where the previous wood chips were laid out. We also spotted some turtles swimming in the canal! – Vanessa June 15, 2013 <\/em>Plans<\/strong> After our meeting at Clark; Gene, Jim Rice, Brian Seitzman, myself and David set goals and plans for the project. Our biggest challenge was that of deciding on a name. An important goal for the project was to establish it as a teaching platform for education and outreach. We heard about Jim’s passive sampler study and his plans to start this summer. Jim told all of us about the time frame he had planned for the testing, deployment of 10-12 samplers in July, and the analysis in August. Brian also told us about his project,using the site as a business model for economic sustainability. He wishes to see the project as a path to generate income as well and integration into the local economy. Inoculating<\/strong> June 25, 2013 David and I moved forward with our plans for the site to reinoculate the mycoreactors. Our first step was to culture the sample we got from Paul Stamets through Gene. I made some agar plates and cultured the three species (Irpex, T.V.G, and Pleurotus). We made some media out of rye grain in small mason jars and milk jugs. We autoclaved them and then I inoculated three jars with different volumes of water (20 ml, 30 ml, 40 ml) and 1 milk jug for each species. We inoculated one extra jug for pleurotus so that we could grow some oyster mushrooms for food on coffee grounds from Acoustic Java (a local coffee shop near campus). The mycelium has been growing in the plates, jars, and jugs. Everything is going well! – Vanessa<\/p>\n
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jugs, jars, and plates<\/p><\/div>\n

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mycelium growing!<\/p><\/div>\n

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In the hood<\/p><\/div>\n

More Plans<\/strong> 06\/27\/2013 Today Professor Hibbett and I developed more concrete plans for the Fisherville mycoreactors. We shook the mycelium jugs and jars (this was after a week) some of them, mostly the Irpex, had really taken over the rye grain and shaking them loose was hard. We realized there was a lot that needed to be done, quickly!<\/p>\n