Baltimore Ecosystem Study Annual Meeting October 24-25

Dear Members, Collaborators and Friends of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study:

You are invited and encouraged to attend the 2012 Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES) Long-Term Ecological Research Program Annual Meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, 24-25 October and the Community Open House and Greening Celebration on 24 October.

The Annual Meeting is designed to share the technical scientific results of the project with BES researchers, educators, local, state and federal agency representatives while also being open to the media, and interested community members.  The Community Open House is an informal venue to share non-technical project information and results with teachers, students at all grade levels, community members, media, and regional decision makers.

Annual Meeting:

The fourteenth BES Annual Meeting will be held at the Cylburn Arboretum Vollmer Visitor Center at 4915 Greenspring Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21209.  Here is a link to directions and a map: http://tinyurl.com/cylburn-map

The Annual Meeting talks will start promptly at 8:30 am on Wednesday including Keynote Speaker Professor Sherry Olson, author of the BES Book of the Year, “Baltimore: The Building of an American City.”  After lunch there will be a poster session followed by afternoon talks.  The Community Open House will begin at 6:00 pm.  The Thursday session will begin at 8:30 am, ending at noon.  Breakfast will be available both days beginning at 8:00 am for those who purchase meal tickets.

Those who have research results gathered as a part of, or particularly relevant to, the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, are invited to present a 15-minute talk or a poster summarizing the results.  If you would like to present your research at the meeting, please submit your 250-word abstract by Friday 12 October.  The abstracts will be published on the BES website as well as in the program booklet.  You can include one graphic or table with your abstract.  Please submit your abstracts electronically using the online form here: http://tinyurl.com/bes-2012-am-reg.  This is a strict deadline, so be sure your abstract reaches us by 12 October.

The final program of talks and posters will be posted via the BES website - http://beslter.org shortly before the meeting.

New This Year:

As an enhancement to our poster session we will start it off with each poster presenter coming up to the podium and showing a slide of their poster.  Two minutes will be allotted for each presenter to say just a few very brief words about their poster.  This will be followed by presenters standing with their posters for more in-depth talks with attendees.  This will give an opportunity for each poster to be highlighted and allow for those interested in further discussion to talk with the presenter at their poster.

As an opportunity to link science and art, our BES Artist-In-Residence, Lynn Cazabon will have a photo exhibit of her work up during the meeting.

Annual Meeting Parking:

There is free parking available at the Arboretum.  The Vollmer Center is a reasonable walk from the #1 bus stop.

Annual Meeting Meals:

Coffee will be available for all attendees. Pre-paid breakfast and lunch will be available onsite on the first day and breakfast on the second day.  Time allotted for lunch will be one hour. We encourage you to register and pay for your meals in advance. There will be very few extra meals available if you sign up at the door.  You can also bring a bag lunch. Options for local dining close by are limited.  The costs below are to cover your food and drink.  There is no fee to attend the meeting.

The options are:

Breakfast Day 1: $ 8.50

Lunch Day 1: $14.00

Breakfast and Lunch Day 1: $22.50

Breakfast Day 2: $ 8.50

Breakfast both days and Lunch Day 1: $31.00

Descriptions of the meals are included on the registration form.  See below.

You can either pay by credit card through the registration form or by check payable to "Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies."  Checks should be mailed to Holly Beyar, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, PO Box AB, Millbrook, NY 12545.  You will be given tickets for your pre-paid meals along with your name tag when you arrive at the meeting.

Meeting Registration:

All Annual Meeting attendees and participants will need to register by Wednesday 17 October. Here is a link to the form: http://tinyurl.com/bes-2012-am-reg .   If you have any questions, please contact Holly Beyar at (845) 677-7600 x210 or beyarh@caryinstitute.org.

Community Open House and Greening Celebration:

The eleventh Community Open House and Greening Celebration will follow the Annual Meeting on Wednesday evening 24 October from 6:00 to 9:00 pm at the Cylburn Arboretum Vollmer Visitor Center.

The Community Open House and Annual Greening Celebration is a joint gathering by BES and the Parks and People Foundation.  This event highlights community involvement in various greening activities such as community gardens.  It is also an opportunity for community members to meet and talk with BES researchers in a less formal setting to learn more about BES.  The event will feature non-technical displays and handouts.  Please contact Valerie Rupp at Parks & People, 410-448-5663 x114 or valerie.rupp@parksandpeople.org with any questions about the Open House, or if you would like to submit a non-technical poster or other display.

I encourage all participants and collaborators in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study to present a talk or poster at the Annual Meeting, as well as to attend the Open House in order to promote communication and mutual understanding in this spatially, topically, and institutionally very diverse study.

Sincerely,

Steward T.A. Pickett,

Project Director