Students Learn Aquaculture At Jun
ALEXANDRIA, Va. Stu
dents at Juniata Valley High
School will discover the secrets of
science and math in the course of
learning how to raise and market
fish and other aquaculture pro
ducts when classes resume this
fall.
The students and their instruc
tors are part of a pilot aquaculture
education program being imple
mented by The National Council
for Agricultural Education. Six
sites were selected from applicants
across the nation to receive a
$49,100 grant to develop an aqua
culture learning center and test
curriculum materials. The prog
ram is being funded by Congress
through the U.S. Department of
Agriculture’s Cooperative State
Research Service.
The program was created in
response to a shortage of people
trained in aquaculture. Diet
conscious Americans are eating
more fish. This rise in demand
comes at a time when the supply of
natural fish and seafood resources
is falling because of overharvest
ing and polluted waters. The
resulting supply gap has created
tremendous opportunity in the
aquaculture industry, thus a need
for more people trained in this
area.
The aquaculture program inte
grates instruction in science, math,
English, and agriculture through a
hands-on approach. John Pope,
executive director of The Council,
said, “We will be teaching science
and the use of high technology in
an emerging industry which is of
increasing economic importance.’’
Pope sees aquaculture education as
a means of stimulating American
students to study math and science,
particularly as it relates to water
quality arid the environment
Each of the six selected applic
ants will send a team of teachers,
including an agriculture teacher
and'a-biology or chemistry teacher,
to a two-week inservice workshop
July 7-19 at the Gulf Coast
Research Laboratory (GCRL) in
Gulfport Miss. The workshop will
include instruction in aquaculture
and a review of the curriculum
materials to be tested. The curricu
lum materials were developed by
GCRL, the Oceanic Institute in
Honolulu, and lowa State Univer
sity in Ames.
Aquaculture isn’t a separate
course at Juniata Valley High
School. It’s a part of the agricul
ture, biology, and chemistry curri
cula. According to Peter Ludwig,
principal, students will be required
to take a one-half semester agricul
ture course during their freshman
year that includes instruction in
aquaculture.
Joe McMullen, formerly the
biology teacher and now the aqua
culture program coordinator,
explains the program’s team teach
ing approach. “Our students will
receive training in aquaculture
through other courses. Biology
courses will include information
on water quality. Chemistry stu
dents will study water chemistry.
Agriculture students cover feed
rations and feed conversion. All of
UNIVERSITY PARK (Centre
Co.) As you head to the great
outdoors for spring and summer
recreation, what is your risk of
contracting Lyme disease? How
can you prevent infection by the
Lyme-canying deer tick?
The answers to these and other
questions about Lyme disease are
provided in a newly released Penn
State video titled “Outsmarting the
Deer Tick.”
“Although Lyme disease should
not be taken lightly, the potential
for acquiring the disease is
extremely low if you follow cur
rent recommendations,” said Penn
State entomologist Steven Jacobs,
who helped develop the video.
“We hope to inform the public of
the risks associated with Lyme dis
ease and recommend strategies to
deal with those risks.”
Jacobs said outdoor and wildlife
these classes will use the aquacul
ture lab facility.”
In addition to the high school
program, McMullen teaches an
adult class which focuses on deve
loping an economically viable
aquaculture module. McMullen
has traveled extensively gathering
information for the project and has
designed a working fish produc-
Lyme Disease Protection
groups, scout troops, health care
providers, and other organizations
will find the video useful in edu
cating their members and clients.
The time to plan strategy for
Lyme disease prevention is now,
Jacobs said. ‘Ticks become active
by mid-May and continue to be a
threat throughout the summer.”
The video gives advice on pre
vention and personal protection,
tick control in the backyard, and
Lyme disease and pets. It also cov
ers symptoms, difficulties in diag
nosing the disease, the appearance
and ecology of the deer tick, and
other topics.
Jacobs is one of three Penn State
researchers conducting a three
year survey of Lyme disease in
Pennsylvania. Now in its second
year, the survey is designed to map
the distribution of Lyme disease in
the state. The goal is to develop a
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LancMtor Farming, Saturday, July 6, 1991-823
iata
lion unit for a relatively small capi
tal investment.
The aquaculture program was
developed by The National Coun
cil for Agriculture Education, a
partnership between education and
agriculture involving more than
one-half million students and
12,000 teachers. The council is the
leadership organization for agri
cultural education.
program to advise the public on the
risks associated with outdoor
activities in various habitats.
The researchers ask that Pen
nsylvania residents assist in
gathering data by taking any licks
they find, dead or alive, to their
local Penn State Cooperative
Extension county office. The
extension office will send the tick
and a completed questionnaire
concerning where and how the tick
was found to the University Park
campus for the researchers to
analyze.
Jacobs said preliminary statis
tics indicate that three areas of the
state appear to have the heaviest
concentrations of ticks: the south
east, from Philadelphia to Dauphin
County; parts of Elk, Cameron,
and Clearfield counties, including
Moshannon State Forest; and Pre
sque Isle in Erie County.