June 28, 2023

MTRI’s Annual BBQ and Join our Upcoming Seminars, June 2023

MTRI Annual BBQ

Join our staff and board members for our upcoming annual BBQ at the MTRI field station, 9 Mt Merritt Road (Kempt), on Tuesday, July 4, 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. Please RSVP by Thursday, June 29 via email to info@merseytobeatic.ca

RSVP MTRI BBQ

Sit Back Seminar

Salinity and the Atlantic Whitefish: Saving Nova Scotia’s Iconic Fish

The Atlantic Whitefish has an impressive evolutionary history, and as an endemic species that only lives in Nova Scotia represents an important part of Canadian biodiversity. However, this importance is not matched by a wealth of information about the species, and much remains unknown about this little fish except that it is in danger of being lost forever. Join us and Emily Yeung (She/Her), MSc Candidate at Dalhousie University, for her Sit Back Seminar, Thursday, June 29, 7-8 p.m., on her research exploring the physiological ability of the last remaining population of Atlantic Whitefish, which has been landlocked for the better part of a century, to exploit marine habitats as we believe their ancestors did, to restore anadromous populations of Atlantic Whitefish.

Summer Seminars!

Starting in July and running until the end of August, MTRI will be hosting weekly seminars on Thursday evenings from 7 – 8 p.m. These seminars will be hybrid so you can join online or stop into our field station at 9 Mt Merritt Rd, Kempt to join us and grab some snacks and light refreshments. Our seminars will feature speakers on a range of conservation, indigenous knowledge and wildlife topics including bats, the Terranaut Club, forest fires in Nova Scotia, mushrooms, Mi’kmaw Moons and climate change; just to name a few. To watch our seminars online you can register via Zoom or watch our Facebook livestream.

July 6 – Once There Were Thousands: bats, their parasites, and white-nose syndrome

Come to this talk by Acadia undergraduate student Taryn Muldoon, who has been working with MTRI on a project using bat poop to detect the disease-causing white-nose syndrome and intestinal parasites in Nova Scotia bat colonies.

July 13 – Prototype Quillwort: a living fossil in modern times

A look at the rare aquatic plant, Prototype Quillwort with Katie King, Research Assistant at Acadia University. This unique lycophyte plant is only found in Eastern North America, and Nova Scotia has the majority of the known populations. Katie will be talking about what is known about this quillwort, what its current status is, and a look into some of the research being done on this species.

July 20 – Terranaut Club: science and nature exploration for girls+

Terranaut Club is a non-profit organization based out of Nova Scotia that specializes in STEM and environmental education, bringing girls and underrepresented genders (girls+) ages 9-18 to the forefront of exciting, hands-on, immersive experiences in science and nature. For her talk, Sarah Brown, Program Coordinator, will be discussing the different types of programs offered, including 12 summer programs, spring and fall data science and coding workshops, and year-round field trips. She will be touching upon the topics we cover and some testimonials from past participants. Sarah is hoping to raise awareness for their organization and share some of the amazing work they are doing around the Maritimes.

July 27 – Mi’kmaw Moons: a two-eyed seeing project

Cathy (Acadia First Nation) and Dave (Royal Astronomical Society of Canada) have spent nearly 10 years learning about the full Moons of the Mi’kmaq using two eyes: indigenous culture and Western astronomy. The full Moon names relate to the natural phenomena of the time of year while the cycles derive from the orbital motion of the Earth and Moon. Their knowledge-seeking journey culminated in the best-selling book Mi’kmaw Moons: Through the Seasons (Formac 2022). In this presentation, you

will hear some Holly and Auntie stories, learn some Mi’kmaw words, and see how astronomy usually gives us 12 full Moons a year, but sometimes 13.