Chesapeake Semester: Peru slideshow

At the final presentations of the Fall 2011 Chesapeake Semester, Director of Digital Media Services Brian Palmer presented a slideshow of photos and video he took during the semester.

This is a rough slideshow that was shown during the final presentations of the 2011 Chesapeake Semester at Washington College. It is a glimpse into roughly 21 hours and 5300 photos taken in Peru during the 4th journey of the Chesapeake Semester. Please be on the look out for the full documentary which will premiere on campus at Washington College in late January or early February 2012.



You can also view photos of the presentations here.

Rare Birds at Chino Farms

Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory banded and released two "rare" Ash-throated Flycatchers during the fall migration period. A husband and wife team of field ecologists (Dan Small and Maren Gimpel) banded one on November 9th and another on November 30th (pictured at left; photo credit Small and Gimpel 2011). These birds are common west of the Rockies, but they rarely show up in the fall on the East Coast. This species has been documented in Maryland less than 20 times and these are the first to be banded in the state. These individuals are only the 3rd and 4th Ash-throated Flycatchers to be banded on the whole Atlantic flyway.

Birds show up in the "wrong" places from time to time, but there is a theory about the unusually high number of Ash-throated Flycatchers being reported in the East this fall. A bird sightings database run by Cornell University (eBird.org) recently reported on the numerous sightings and proposed that the record-setting drought in Texas and the southern Great Plains had driven these birds from their usual habitats and that the strong recent southwesterly winds have propelled them further East than is normal.

Foreman’s Branch Bird Observatory, under the direction of Jim Gruber, is located at Chino Farms in Queen Anne's County. The observatory and companion field research station is part of Washington College’s Center for Environment & Society. For more information please visit Chester River Field Research Center or contact JoAnn Fairchild Wood at 410-778-7295.

America's Wildest Refuge

About the size of S. Carolina, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is home to caribou herds, polar bears, grizzly bears, muskox, doll sheep, wolves, wolverines, snow geese, peregrine falcons and other migratory birds. Discover this isolated and breathtaking preserve at a special screening of "America's Wildest Refuge" on Tuesday, November 29, at Washington College.

You are invited for cake and refreshments at 6:30 PM in the McLain Atrium, located in the Toll Science Building on Campus Avenue in Chestertown. The film begins at 7:00 PM in Litrenta Lecture Hall. It has a running time of 50 minutes. You may watch the trailer on youtube.com. Colby Hawkinson, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service specialist at Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge, will be on hand to answer questions and explore connections between the Eastern Neck and Arctic refuges. Events are sponsored by Washington College's Center for Environment & Society, the Friends of Eastern Neck Inc., and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. For information contact jfairchild2@washcoll.edu or 410-778-7295.

Elm Article about Recent Cooking Demo

Elm: Schindler, Wiest Lead ‘Wild’ Demo for Locavores

In an effort to promote sustainability and expose the Washington College community to under-utilized portions of wild game, anthropology professor Bill Schindler and visiting lecturer Mark Wiest led a “Wild Charcuterie” cooking demonstration on Saturday Nov. 5.

New Chesapeake Semester photos!

View all the pictures here: Chesapeake Semester 2011


Ashley Burdette '14 takes a stroll along the beach looking for megaladon shark's teeth.

Rettie Duke '13 uses an iPad to look a little closer at the Calvert Marine Museum.

Dr. Bill Schindler shows students which mushrooms in the forest are edible.

CRA partners with Ducks Unlimited on a wetland project which enhances habitat for waterfowl, provides farmers with income for marginal lands, and increases water filtration.

Hunting Events this Weekend!

November 4-5, 2011

Hunting: A Matter of Life and Death
November 4, 6:30 PM
Litrenta Lecture Hall
Dr. Marc Boglioli, Associate Professor of Anthropology at Drew University and author of the book A Matter of Life and Death: Hunting in Contemporary Vermont, will give a lecture on how contemporary hunters, women as well as men, understand their relationship to their prey. He shows how hunters' attitudes toward animals flow directly from the rural lifeways they have continued to maintain in the face of encroaching urban sensibilities. The result is a rare glimpse into a culture that experiences wild animals in a way that is at once violent, consumptive, and respectful, and that regards hunting as an enduring link to a vanishing past. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Center for Environment & Society. Please contact tholste2@washcoll.edu or 410-810-7162 for more information.

Wild Charcuterie: Making the Most of Your Quarry
November 5, 2:00 PM
Rose O'Neill Literary House Kitchen
Hunting, butchering, and cooking wild animals is an excellent way of connecting to your local environment and gaining access to high quality and nutritious food. However, many of us keep only a relatively small percentage of the animal and in the process discard some very healthy and delicious portions. This cooking demonstration will teach you how to transform these often discarded parts into great foods that can be stored and enjoyed throughout the year. There will be a $15 fee for the registration. $5 for WC faculty/staff, WC students may attend for free. Advanced registration is recommended as space is limited. Please contact tholste2@washcoll.edu or 410-810-7162 for more information or to register. Sponsored by the Center for Environment & Society.
Recipes to be demonstrated (all recipes are subject to change):

1. Venison sausage
2. Goose confit
3. Venison and goose liver pate
4. Braised deer heart
5. Venison roast braesola (cured and air/dried meat)

The fall program on hunting will be a precursor to the second annual Locavore Lit Fest, March 29-April 1 2012, which will focus on wild foods, from plants to animals to bacteria.

Video: Waterfront Festival

Read the accompanying Elm article here.