Student research presentations Friday (22nd) at AMP

A group of mainland college students from Northern Arizona University have been on Saipan for a semester-long field experience in conservation biology. As they wrap up their visit, they are presenting on their research projects at American Memorial Park on Friday, March 22nd from 1-5pm. The public is welcome to attend!

Northern Arizona University Field Experience in Conservation Biology

Conservation Research Symposium

American Memorial Park

Saipan, CNMI

March 22, 2013

1:00-1:15              Opening remarks.

1:15-1:30              Factors affecting the species abundance and richness of fish in sea grass beds in the Saipan lagoon. Alling, R.

1:30-1:45              Contemporary medicinal trees: Diversity and use across the island of Saipan. Marshall, M.

1:45-2:00              Variation in luminescence and insect abundance on bioluminescent fungi. Pletzer, J.

2:00-2:15              Factors affecting green sea turtle nesting preference in Saipan. Brown, M.

2:15-2:30              Erythrina gall wasps on gaogao trees, and their effect on birds in Saipan. Watson, Z.

2:30-2:45              Intermission break.

2:45-3:00              The effect of enrichment strategies and environmental factors on the behavior of captive Mariana fruit bats (Pteropus mariannus). Eilers, J.

2:45-3:00              Effects of sewage effluence on coral reef diversity, richness, and recruitment. Senini, N.

3:15-3:30              Demographics, distribution, and public perceptions of free-ranging dogs on Saipan. Nimer, A.

3:30-3:45              Predation of the small giant clam (Tridacna maxima) in Saipan. Roof, K.

3:45-4:00              Evidence of selective breeding and habitat use in Lambis lambis. Raber, S.

4:00-4:15              Factors influencing metallic blue ladybird beetle abundance. Hottel, E.

4:15-4:30              Shell use and abandonment in hermit crabs (Coenobita spp.). Bulger, B.

4:30-4:45              Closing remarks.

We are grateful to our generous sponsors, collaborators, and supporters: CNMI Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Fish and Wildlife; Asia Pacific Academy of Science, Education and Environmental Management; Northern Marianas College; Saipan Zoo; Mayors of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota; CNMI Department of Environmental Quality; CNMI Coastal Resource Management; National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association; Commonwealth Utility Corporation; CNMI Historical Preservation Office; American Memorial Park.

Two short ocean films this Friday!

Please join us this Friday (March 1st) at 6:30pm at American Memorial Park for our monthly film event! In honor of World Water Day which takes place in March, we're paying tribute to that big blue body of water that surrounds us. We'll start off with a 18-minute film about the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and continue with a 45-minute episode of the One Ocean series, entitled Footprints in the Sand.

First Voyage to the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument is a documentary produced by APASEEM (apaseem.org) which covers the scope and beauty of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument as well as the unique scientific discoveries in the area. The story centers around voyager Dennis Chan, a Saipan high school student who traveled to the trench on a research expedition. The film will be introduced by Ken Kramer, an APASEEM member who has been involved in the production of the film.

 

Footprints in the Sand is an episode of CBC’s One Ocean series. Humans have always lived along Earth’s varied coastlines. For tens of thousands of years the ocean has nurtured and inspired us, and we lived in balance with its seemingly endless bounty. Footprints in the Sand explores how that has changed as our growing demands are changing the ocean and the places of recovery that can give us hope for a healthy future ocean.

First Friday Films is a partnership between American Memorial Park, the Division of Environmental Quality, Coastal Resources Management and the Humanities Council with support from other organizations. This particular film is sponsored by the Humanities Council. As always, our film events are free and open to the public. For planning purposes, this event will run about 80 minutes.

"Homeland" this Friday

Come join us for our February First Friday Film this Friday, February 1st at 6:30pm at American Memorial Park. This month's film is called Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action.

Nearly all Indian lands in the U.S. face grave environmental threats – toxic waste, strip mining, oil drilling and nuclear contamination. But a handful of activists are fighting back. Filmed against some of America’s most spectacular backdrops, from Alaska to Maine and Montana to New Mexico, Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action profiles the against-all-odds struggles of Native American leaders who are taking on powerful energy companies and government agencies to protect the environment for all Americans. A moving tribute to the power of grassroots organizing, Homeland is also a call-to-action against the current dismantling of thirty years of environmental laws.

 

Before the film, we will hear about grassroots efforts taking place on Saipan from members of the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance. MINA has been an environmental presence on Saipan for years, engaging young local community members and building support for initiatives that protect and preserve our island’s resources.

First Friday Films is a partnership between American Memorial Park, the Division of Environmental Quality, the Coastal Resources Management Office and the Humanities Council, with support from other organizations. This particular film is sponsored by the Humanities Council. As always, our film events are free and open to the public. For planning purposes, this event will run about 90 minutes.

Plus, we'll be sharing some new information about what FFF has in store for the next several months. We hope to see you there!

"Plan B" tomorrow!

Happy New Year everyone!

We hope you can join us this Friday, January 4th at 6:30pm for "Plan B: Mobilizing to Save Civilization" at the American Memorial Park theatre. The film is part of the public television series Journey to Planet Earth.

Hosted by Matt Damon and produced by Emmy-Award winning filmmakers Marilyn and Hal Weiner,"Plan B: Mobilizing To Save Civilization" is a PBS documentary based on the book by environmental visionary Lester Brown. Featuring some of the world's most original and influential thinkers, Lester Brown's message is clear and unflinching — either confront the realities of climate change or suffer the consequences of lost civilizations and failed states. Ultimately "Plan B" provides audiences with a glimpse into a new and emerging economy based upon renewable sources plus realistic strategies to avoid the growing threat of global warming. The film presents what will happen if we choose plan A -- "business as usual", and recommends plan B, confronting global environmental problems, as an alternative.

First Friday Films is a partnership between DEQ and American Memorial Park with support from other public and private organizations. This particular film is sponsored by the Humanities Council. As always, our film events are free and open to the public. For planning purposes, this film runs for approximately 80 minutes.

We'd like to encourage you to consider the environment in your New Year's Resolution this year! Commit to making a small environmental change in your life during 2013 -- recycling your aluminum, walking or biking instead of driving once a week, turning off your aircon, or participating in monthly beach clean-ups. It's not to late to make a commitment for 2013!

Native plants for your yard

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Friday for "Green" and a great presentation from Shelly Kremer about building native species habitat in your own yards on Saipan. There were many requests at the movie for more information to be sent about your home litmus test for bird habitat and plants that you can place in your yard, so we have compiled the following information:

Chichirika, Naabak, Rufous fantail (Rhipidura rufifrons)

The litmus test can help you figure out if your yard has sufficient habitat for birds. 

If you see a lot of TREE SPARROWS in your yard, your native bird habitat is BAD.

If you see a lot of STARLINGS, BRIDLED WHITE-EYES, and HONEYEATERS, your habitat is OKAY.

If you see a lot of RUFOUS FANTAILS and GOLDEN WHITE-EYES, your habitat is GOOD.

Don't worry! If you scored low on the litmus test, you can plant the following trees to improve your habitat and attract more birds to your yard:

Nanaso (Scaevola taccada) 

• Gao Gao, Tiger Claw
• Sumak
• Ahgoa, False Elder*
• Agetelang
• Lulujut
• Alum
• Aploghating*
• Nunu, Banyan
• Papaya
• Guava
• Nanaso
• Manzanita

Remember, some of these trees (like papaya) grow very quickly, or you can check our local nurseries or CNMI Forestry for some older saplings to plant. 

If you're looking for more information on native and non-native plants check out:

CNMI Forestry: call 256-3320, stop by the nursery in Kagman, or visit http://www.cnmiforestry.gov.mp/component/content/?view=featured

University of Guam's "Plants of Guam" website, and click on "Plants of Guam" at the top http://university.uog.edu/cals/people/

Even though this is a Guam-specific website, most of the same plants are in the CNMI.

Don't forget about our lending library if you have a community group that would like to host a film showing, and stay tuned for information about our November FFF night of local short films on November 2nd!

"GREEN" this Friday!

Happy October! As our rainy season slowly winds down, First Friday Films is taking you off of Saipan this week to learn about life in another tropical region. Please join us this Friday, October 5th at 6:30pm at American Memorial Park's theatre for the film "Green" and to learn about orangutans and habitat loss in Indonesia.

"Green" is about the rainforests of Indonesia, the life that it holds, and the industries that are trying to destroy it. The film silently follows the life of a female orangutan who is the victim of deforestation and resource exploitation. Although this film is an emotional journey of Green's final days, it also presents the treasures of rainforest biodiversity, which are swiftly being eliminated by logging and land clearing for palm oil plantations.  "Green" makes the point that in order to save the Indonesian rainforests, we must choose to change our consumer habits so as not to be a part of the destruction. Then we can make a significant impact on the industries behind the destruction and make them change.

Before the film Shelly Kremer, a terrestrial biologist who has worked on Saipan for many years, will give a short talk about habitat loss in general and how it is affecting species in the CNMI. Although Saipan's threats are very different in nature and scale from those of Indonesia, there are still a lot of commonalities.

First Friday Films is a partnership between American Memorial Park, the Division of Environmental Quality, Coastal Resources Management and the Humanities Council with support from other organizations. This particular films is sponsored by CRM. As always, our film events are free and open to the public. For planning purposes, this event will run about 70 minutes. Although the film is not vulgar or explicit in any way, the content is very emotional and the film is silent. Therefore, parents might want to carefully consider whether or not to bring young children (under 13).

"The End of the Line" this Friday, Sept 7

Please join us again this Friday, September 7th at 6:30pm for The End of the Line. Before the film, we will have a short introduction to how fisheries are managed on Saipan from the Division of Fish and Wildlife's fisheries supervisor, Todd Miller.

The End of the Line, the first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. In the film we see first-hand the effects of our global love affair with fish as food. It examines the imminent extinction of Bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation. Filmed across the world – from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the Tokyo fish market – featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials, The End of the Line is a wake-up call to the world.

If you fish, eat seafood, are interested in global environmental issues, or just want to watch a new film on a Friday night, you should definitely come and check this out! The film will be shown at the American Memorial Park indoor theater. As always, our film events are free and open to the public. First Friday Films is a partnership between the American Memorial Park, Division of Environmental Quality, Coastal Resources Management and the Humanities Council with support from other organizations. This particular film is sponsored by the Humanities Council.