Me at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Institute (SERC).
This is me on the dock of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Institute during one of our Scholars field trips right before we cleaned oyster shells.The Smithsonian Environmental Research Institute facilitates research into different habitats, species, and climate change. For example, while on the trip, we learned about their flood simulators that they use to simulate higher sea levels on local forest ecosystems. In addition, we were able to obtain hands on experience into what it is like to be an environmental researcher here. For example, SERC contains marshland and we used nets to gauge what organisms are currently in the water. After hiking the grounds and learning more about their facilities, we were able to talk more about their climate change research with some of their employees. During this discussion, we opened our minds to the variety of notable climate change research that has given us a better sense of how dire the climate change crisis is. For example, one of the employees told us about how they use Ginkgo trees, which have been able to withstand much stress in the past according to fossil records, and pump carbon dioxide into a closed room to measure the impact of rising greenhouse gas levels on these trees. While scientists have been able to make predictions of the effects of greenhouse gases on forests, this simulation gives concrete results to base our conclusions on which has consequences for the future of our trees both locally and globally. Lastly, we were given the opportunity to learn about their outreach efforts and ways in which we can be a part of their mission.