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The invasive spotted lanternfly and Park students in the Arctic

Students from the Park School of Baltimore traveled to the arctic to conduct climate change research monitoring permafrost and caribou. They worked alongside local Junior Canadian Rangers. Photo: Provided by ISAMR
Students from the Park School of Baltimore traveled to the arctic to conduct climate change research monitoring permafrost and caribou. They worked alongside local Junior Canadian Rangers. Photo: Provided by ISAMR

Maryland has been invaded. Again. This time the spotted lanternfly is the enemy, endangering the nutrient systems of plants. Mike Raupp, Professor Emeritus of Entomology and Extension Specialist at The University of Maryland, talks about what’s being done to keep the insect in check.

Plus, The Park School of Baltimore citizen scientists have been hard at work in the arctic! Biology teacher Vicki Mathew and Park Upper School science department chair Julie Rogers talk about the program, now in its 17th year. Rogers says:

“It’s churning out some scientists for sure, but it’s also just churning out students who have had an opportunity that they thought they would never have and it has helped them dream big.”

Links: Spotted Lanternfly at The Bug Guy, Maryland Extension Spotted Lanternfly information, International Student-led Arctic Monitoring and Research program.

Sheilah Kast is the host of On The Record, Monday-Friday, 9:30-10:00 am.
Melissa Gerr is a Senior Producer for On the Record. She started in public media at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., where she is from, and then worked as a field producer for Oregon Public Broadcasting in Portland. She made the jump to audio-lover in Baltimore as a digital media editor at Mid-Atlantic Media and Laureate Education, Inc. and as a field producer for "Out of the Blocks." Her beat is typically the off-beat with an emphasis on science, culture and things that make you say, 'Wait, what?'