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The Wells Fargo Earthwatch Fellowship

What is the Wells Fargo Earthwatch Fellowship about?
The Wells Fargo Earthwatch Fellows was created to bring educators into the field to study and learn about climate change and it's impact on the various inhabitants of the world. Educators leave their classes and join the expedition for a week or two to study an issue and use technology to include their classrooms in the experience. Earthwatch Fellows will frequently update a blog accessible to students in their classrooms and answer student-generated questions. Real-time online chats are a possibility as well as video-conferencing. At the end of the experience, Earthwatch Fellows return to their schools and are given a smal grant to design a project to share their experience with the larger community. All of this is possible by the excellent people at Earthwatch and the generous donation of Wells Fargo.

Who gets to go?
Teachers are nominated by either local community members or parents of students. After nomination, candidates must send in an application and be selected by a selection committee. Lee Wignall was one of nine teachers selected nationally to participate in the Mammals of Nova Scotia Earthwatch Fellowship.

When will the expedition take place?
The expedition takes place from April 12th to April 25th. Lee will be flying out of the Minneapolis Airport at 6am on Saturday, April 11th in order to reach the research site on time.

What's the purpose of this particular expedition?
The Mammals of Noca Scotia expedition is an opportunity to learn more about climate change and it's effect on the indigenous mammals of Noca Scotia, Canada's Eastern penninsula. For more information please visit the [|Expedition Overview] (located on navigation menu as well) or the [|Earthwatch Landing Site.]

How will the students be involved?
Leading up to the expedition, students will learn about the purpose and type of research done during the Earthwatch Fellowship. There will be some short activities gearing them up for sharing the experience. Students will need to learn how to make comments on a blog as well as how to navigate the various pages to get the information or see the pictures they want. Lee Wignall will be updating his blog at least every other day (and hopefully more than that) with descriptions of what he is doing day-to-day and the type of research he is performing. At the end of each blog post, he will post several questions for students to consider (or answer, depending on the teacher working with the students in the classrooms). Once on-site, Lee will organize a couple online chat times to talk LIVE with students back home about his experience. (This will probably during the evenings). The school may also attempt to organize a live video-conference for some time during the second week of the expeditiion.

===It's my hope as their science teacher that our students will realize that "science" isn't limited to the science classroom, it's a lifeling process for learning about the world in which we live, and it's a journey that can take you to exciting places and introduce you to many new people who share your interests. ===

Lee Wignall

[|Earthwatch Landing Site:] This site has all sorts of interesting and helpful links for those interested in learning more about the Mammals of Nova Scotia expedition. Click on the "Meet the Team" tab to learn more about the Earthwatch Fellows! (Mr. Wignall included!)