Spider Silk – the Next Sustainable Resource?
Spider silk is the world’s strongest natural fiber known – it is incredibly durable but also extremely lightweight and flexible. One strand of spider silk is one-tenth the thickness of a human hair, and its flexibility resembles that of thread. These qualities are unmatched by other fibers, such as cotton or nylon, giving it a wide variety of industrial applications. The value of spider silk is increased by the fact that it can be a renewable resource. RTPI conservation staff works with the Forman School during research expeditions in Costa Rica to explore the potential to “farm”...
Read MoreGlass Frogs
Researchers from the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI) have been monitoring Glass frogs and other amphibian species in Central America for more than two decades – not only to keep these frogs from extinction, but also to learn how some populations have been able to survive catastrophic declines due to the parasitic Chytrid fungus. Hopefully this information will help us as we try to find ways to help other endangered species as well. Glass frogs owe their common name to their transparent undersides which, in some species, allow one to see their internal organs. Note...
Read MoreWhat in the Whorled?
On a recent visit to coastal Florida, a personal friend encountered what she though to be a vacant seashell, but soon discovered that it was in fact occupied by a feisty resident. Knowing my profession (and my affinity for what I affectionately refer to as “goobies”; the world’s slimy, obscure, and often over-looked and under-appreciated critters), she shared the photos she had taken in hopes that I could assist in identifying her find. Somewhat serendipitously, it turned out to be the very creature that I studied intensively in grad school. You might be inclined to...
Read MoreUnique Fly Fishing Conference for Educators to be Held at RTPI – June 9 registration deadline
In the summer of 2012, we held the first and what remains as the only national interdisciplinary fly fishing conference. The Children in the Stream’s intensive three-day conference continues to be a huge success as it trains adults who are interested in integrating fly fishing into the curriculum in their community, school, organization or company. These comprehensive workshops use fly fishing as the foundation for investigating science, math, English language arts, visual arts and community outreach. This truly unique interdisciplinary approach is possible because of eclectic...
Read MoreCelebrations Set In Stone
If you pay a visit to RTPI this spring, you will find that our flower beds are bedecked with new garden stones. The garden in the circular drive received a stone in honor of, and donated by, the Green Thumb Garden Club, who has tended this garden for many years. A Ralph Waldo Emerson quote, “The earth laughs in flowers” adorns this stone, along with the iconic Snowy Owl image as painted by Roger Tory Peterson. The garden at the side of the building boasts a stone honoring the Jamestown Garden Club. This group tends the garden which is called “Eleanor’s Sanctuary” in memory of Mrs. Eleanor...
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