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Highlighted Projects

Maine Watershed Web

The Maine Watershed Web is a site dedicated to collaborative watershed education, research and stewardship in the state of Maine. Initiated in January 2007, this web site has created an online community that is a core resource of an ambitious community service and learning projects initiated by Prof. Peter Lea.

Weather and hydrology data is being collected by remote instrumentation that has been deployed to 7 sites as of September 2007. Several of these collection points are deployed near high schools where students and their science teachers are monitoring the collection and analysis of data. Over time the data will provide a baseline for future work. In the short term, students are able to work use real world data as part of their research.

This project touches many areas of research, instruction, and community collaboration. In the Spring term of 2007, Bowdoin students piloted a project creation area within the web site. Their research projects were part of a community service project to provide valuable water quality information to several local governments.

IT developed web based tools for processing and visualizing the complex data returned by the "datalogger" instruments.

URL
http://learn.bowdoin.edu/apps/hydrology/watersheds/

Collaborators
Peter Lea, Geology
Cathryn Field, Laboratory Instructor and Service Learning Coordinator, Geology
Tad Macy, Information Technology

Contribution
Under the guidance of faculty and scientists, Bowdoin students will have the opportunity to collect, augment, and analyze data in a real world science environment. The site will grow to contain extensive scientific information and data contributed by faculty, collaborators and students.

Faculty are using the data to teach the science and student research projects are presented for public review. Through the web, data are easily and openly accessible to advanced students working on research projects.

The web site provides a variety of useful information to the public, local governments, non-governmental agencies and local conservation groups working to protect streams, ponds, and other delicate habitats.

Technologies
This project weaves together Drupal, Perl, PHP, MySQL, jpGraph, Google Maps, and JavaScript.

Contact
Tad Macy, IT