VCU Rice Center

World Water Monitoring Day

2009-11-12T14:00:21Z

Sponsored by Smithfield, VCU Life Sciences Education and Outreach hosted Charles City Middle School 6th graders for World Water Monitoring Day™ on Sept. 18, 2009.

WWMD is an international education and outreach program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world, by engaging citizens in conducting basic monitoring of their local water bodies. Test kits were provided by Smithfield and students measured the dissolved oxygen, pH, turbidity and temperature of the James River from the Rice Center Research Pier. Two VCU Ph.D. students, an undergraduate student and two Smithfield employees participated and helped direct the student groups.

The findings were added to an international database of water quality measurements from more than 70 countries.

Learn more about WWMD

VCU graduate student award winner

2009-11-05T13:24:22Z

Michael Brandt, a graduate student in the VCU Center for Environmental Studies was one of three award winners in a “Best Student Presentation Competition” at the Virginia Water Research Conference held October 15 and 16, 2009. The conference attracted 140 water scientists and managers and 75 oral and poster presentations.

Brandt’s presentation was titled, “Factors Limiting Benthic Algal Abundance in Virginia Streams of the Coastal Plain.”

>> View the presentation [PowerPoint]

VCU kicks off Year of the Environment at Rice Center

2009-10-05T20:35:47Z

Virginia Commonwealth University kicked off the Year of the Environment on Oct. 1 with the presentation of a plaque recognizing the Walter L. Rice Education Building at the VCU Rice Center as the first building in Virginia to achieve LEED Platinum Certification, the highest sustainability rating possible.

Rice Education Building wins “Project of the Year” in design awards

2009-09-24T21:30:20Z

The Walter L. Rice Education Building at the VCU Rice Center has been named the region’s Overall Project of the Year in the Mid-Atlantic Construction magazine’s Best of 2009 awards program.

“This selection proves that great things can come in small packages,” Bruce Buckley, editor of Mid-Atlantic Construction, said of the $2.8-million 4,890-sq-ft winning project. “Our jury reviewed a record number of entries—including several megaprojects—and The Walter L. Rice Education Building rose above the rest in the eyes of our jurors.”

Read more about the award

The Center for Conservation Biology at VCU Rice Center tracks flight of ‘Hope’

2009-08-19T16:28:18Z

Hope, a whimbrel carrying a satellite transmitter, made landfall Friday evening on St. Croix after completing an extraordinary 100 hour, 5,720 kilometer (3,500 mile) flight over the open ocean toward her wintering grounds in South America.
The bird had been staging on Southampton Island in the northern reach of Hudson Bay since July 15 before leaving on a non-stop flight south on Aug. 10. The bird flew south over Hudson Bay, crossed the interior of Canada and New England to emerge from the coast of Maine and out over the open ocean.
Flying more than 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) over the ocean and east of Bermuda, Hope then turned south and moved toward the Caribbean. Before landing in St. Croix, Hope had been on the wing for six days with an average flight speed of 60 kilometers/hour (37 miles/hour).

Hope was originally captured and fitted with a satellite transmitter on May 19, while staging on the Delmarva Peninsula of Virginia. She left Virginia on May 26 and flew to the western shore of James Bay in Canada. She staged on James Bay for three weeks before flying to the MacKenzie River near Alaska and then on to the Beaufort Sea where she staged for more than two weeks before flying back to Hudson Bay. Hope has traveled more than 21,000 kilometers (13,000 miles) since late May.

Hope is one of several birds that has been fitted with a state-of-the-art 9.5 gram, satellite transmitters in a collaborative effort by the Center for Conservation Biology at the College of William and Mary - Virginia Commonwealth University and the Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy to discover migratory routes that connect breeding and winter areas, and to identify en route staging areas that are critical to the conservation of this declining species.

Updated tracking maps may be monitored on the CCB’s Web site.

Photo credit: CCB

This is a map of the migration route used by Hope from Southampton Island in upper Hudson Bay to near the Virgin Islands. She has been tracked using a 9.5 gram, solar-powered satellite transmitter.

Background

The whimbrel is a large, holarctic, highly migratory shorebird. The North American race includes two disjunct breeding populations both of which winter primarily in Central and South America. The western population breeds in Alaska and the Northwest Territories of Canada. The eastern population breeds south and west of Hudson Bay in Manitoba and Ontario. Both populations are of high conservation concern due to dramatic declines in recent decades.

Satellite tracking represents only one aspect of a broader, integrated investigation of whimbrel migration. During the past two years, the CCB in partnership with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has used conventional transmitters to examine stopover duration, conducted aerial surveys to estimate seasonal numbers, collected feather samples to locate summer and winter areas through stable-isotope analysis, and has initiated a whimbrel watch program. Continued research is planned to further link populations across staging, breeding and wintering areas, and to determine the ecological requirements of whimbrels staging along the peninsula.

VCU receives $1.2 million gift to support Rice Center

2009-08-12T17:50:30Z

Virginia Commonwealth University has received a $1.2 million gift from long-time benefactor Inger Rice.

The gift was made in recognition of the start of Michael Rao’s tenure as VCU president, and will support initiatives at the Inger and Walter Rice Center for Environmental Life Sciences in Charles City County.

Read more about the gift

VCU Rice Center is now on Facebook

2009-07-31T17:00:52Z

VCU is part of the growing social networking scene and as such the VCU Rice Center has joined Facebook to offer an interactive site for interested individuals. Sign up for Facebook and keep a pulse on commentary relating to the Rice Center. One of our first efforts will be to attract ex-campers who enjoyed their experiences at Camp Weyanoke on the beautiful site of the VCU Rice Center and encourage them to identify themselves and invite other ex-camper friends to the site so we can arrange a reunion.

Partnership on the James

2009-07-30T13:00:56Z

The VCU Rice Center claims a feature spot in the Virginia Wildlife Magazine June 2009 issue discussing the cross-disciplinary research that is underway at the center.

>> Learn more [PDF]

A night of blacklights and owls at the Rice Center

2009-07-07T12:44:57Z

By Arthur V. Evans

The 342 acres of riparian woodlands and wetlands hugging the upper shore of the James River at the VCU Rice Center in Charles City County is the perfect place to stage events that blend science and scientists with students, educators, and naturalists.

One such event was “A Night of Blacklights and Owls,” held on June 27-28 organized by Anne Wright, Life Science Outreach Education coordinator. The evening was designed as an “advanced field experience and training” for the Riverine and Pocahontas Chapters of the Virginia Master Naturalist program and included members of the Powhatan/Dutch Gap MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) Program. Forty-five people took part in the evening’s festivities, which ran from Saturday at 7 p.m. to Sunday at 9 a.m.

Entomologist and VCU Life Sciences Research Associate Dr. Art Evans established seven black light stations to attract night-flying insects to share with the group. The insects collected during the evening were part of an effort to document the fauna at Rice and establish a permanent reference and teaching collection for the center.

The highlight of the evening was finding a rarely encountered turtle beetle, Chelonarium lecontei (Photo 2), the fourth known to be collected in Virginia. The turtle beetle is the sole North American species of the mostly tropical family Chelonariidae. It ranges from Virginia to Florida, west to Oklahoma and Texas. Nothing is known of its larval stages, but it is suspected that they occur in rotten wood, possibly in association with ants. Adults are attracted to lights during the months of June and July, or are found resting on vegetation, especially at night.

Master Bander and VCU Professor of Economics Dr. Robert Reilly led regular owling forays into the woods, broadcasting the recorded calls of both owls and distressed rodents to lure owls down from their lofty perches so folks could get a better look. VCU’s Holly Houtz, Life Sciences’ Lab and Outreach Education Specialist, and Mary Arginteanu and Julie Kacmarcik of MAPS assisted Reilly in his efforts.

The owls were less than cooperative but for those intrepid naturalists still up and about around 2 a.m. they were treated to some fine barred owl action.

Judging by the excitement and positive comments generated by all who attended the program along the James River, it appears that there is demand in Central Virginia for outdoor science events such as “Black lights and Owls.” Future programs are being developed at the VCU Rice Center for both the Master Naturalists and the general public to participate in.

Education Building recognized by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network

2009-07-01T14:12:06Z

The VCU Rice Center Walter L. Rice Education Building has been recognized by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network with the “2009 Green Innovation Award for Best Institutional Project - Higher Education.”

The Virginia Sustainable Building Network, or VSBN, is a statewide, non-profit organization that was developed in 1995 to promote environmentally friendly, energy-efficient buildings and sustainable communities. The award was presented during the Virginia Sustainable Building Network’s 14th anniversary celebration and annual meeting on June 25 in Charlottesville, Va.

Anne Wright receives 2009 Thomas Jefferson Medal

2009-05-06T20:07:14Z

Anne Wright, professor, VCU Department of Biology and coordinator, VCU Life Sciences Outreach Education has received the 2009 Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions for Natural Science Education from the Virginia Museum of Natural History Foundation.

The medal is a statewide award given to a Virginia educator who has made significant contributions to natural history, environmental science or science education at any academic level. It captures the spirit of our nation's third president, an early student of natural science and natural science education. It is given to individuals who have consistently made outstanding contributions to natural history, environmental and science education in either the formal or nonformal sectors, exemplify the best educational practices and stand as models worthy of emulation by others.

Photo courtesy Anne Wright.

Walter L. Rice Education Building receives platinum level LEED certification ― the first in Virginia

2009-03-27T19:04:31Z

On Friday afternoon, March 27, 2009, the director of the VCU Rice Center made the following announcement.

"I am very pleased to report that we have received official word that the Rice Center Education Building has received LEED certification at the platinum level for its sustainability design and construction," said Leonard Smock, Ph.D. "Platinum is the highest certification level and our building is the first building in Virginia to be certified at this level. This is an achievement of which we all can be proud."

Visit the Walter L. Rice Education Building Dedication media kit »

VCU and the College of William & Mary begin conservation biology partnership

2009-01-29T14:10:19Z

The College of William & Mary and Virginia Commonwealth University are collaborating through the Center for Conservation Biology to take advantage of the research and expertise of their respective environmental science programs.

On Jan. 26, VCU President Eugene P. Trani, Ph.D., and William & Mary President Taylor Reveley signed a memorandum of understanding at the VCU Rice Center allowing for joint appointments within this center. A major player in the field of eagle and osprey conservation, the Center for Conservation Biology will be a natural collaborator with the VCU Rice Center whose considerable expertise also covers the area of species conservation and restoration.

VCU debuts eco-friendly Education Building at Rice Center

2008-10-15T16:55:49Z

The 4,900-square-foot Walter L. Rice Education Building houses lecture and laboratory rooms for classes, a conference room and administrative offices as well as an outdoor classroom pavilion. The $2.6 million research and education building was constructed with a goal of achieving the highest sustainability rating possible, LEED platinum.

View photos from the dedication »

Visit the Walter L. Rice Education Building Dedication media kit »

Artist Robert Caldwell exhibits his work at the Walter L. Rice building dedication

2008-10-13T14:45:08Z

On Oct. 13 the Richmond Times-Dispatch highlighted the work of artist Robert Caldwell. The article described how many of his drawings were inspired by work he had done at the VCU Rice Center following along beside researchers. The VCU Rice Center invited Caldwell to exhibit these works at the dedication of the Walter L. Rice Education Building. To view more of his artwork, visit his blog at http://rlcaldwell.blogspot.com.

“Blue” is proudly on exhibit in the conference room.