An Exotic Opportunity for Teachers

In early August, the lazy days of summer are coming to an end for many teachers, as thoughts turn to lesson plans for the fall. If exotic species - zebra mussels, purple loosestrife, round gobies and Eurasian water milfoil - are part of those plans, teachers can find new resources at Michigan Sea Grant's Exotic Species Day Camp for Teachers.

This year's camp, scheduled for August 1 at Belle Isle in Detroit, will feature the great new E.S.C.A.P.E. - an Exotic Species Compendium of Activities to Protect the Ecosystem. The compendium consists of 36 user-friendly sets of lessons that incorporate experiments, art, music and games. The collection was developed by educators who have attended the Exotic Species Day Camp in previous years.

Participants will also become familiar with other Sea Grant tools for teaching about aquatic nuisance species such as the Zebra Mussel Mania Traveling Trunk and the Aquatic Exotics Traveling Trunk.
The only requirement for this year's camp is a commitment to use the E.S.C.A.P.E. compendium and share it with colleagues.

Resources
ESCAPE Compendium
The ESCAPE Compendium provides educators with 36 hands-on,
multi-disciplinary activities to teach students about exotic species.
See www.iisgcp.org/edu/escape to learn more about the compendium,
special game set, sample activities, and ordering and pricing information.

Exotic Species Day Camp
To register, contact Steve Stewart at stewart@msue.msu.edu,
(589) 469-7431 or Mike Klepinger at klep@msu.edu,
(517) 353-5508, or see www.miseagrant.umich.edu/exotic-camp.html