As Forest School has become more widespread throughout Britain an understanding is needed of its impact. This paper outlines a two-phase evaluation project undertaken in Wales and England from 2002 to 2005. The evaluation was undertaken through a partnership between Forest Research and the New Economics Foundation. A methodology was developed to explore the impacts of Forest School on children and this was then used to track changes in 24 children at three case study areas over an 8-month period. The research highlights that children can benefit in a range of ways. Six themes emerged from the data of the positive impacts on children in terms of confidence, social skills, language and communication, motivation and concentration, physical skills and knowledge and understanding. Two further themes highlight the wider impacts of Forest School on teachers, parents, and the extended family. Contact with the natural environment can be limited for children and young people in contemporary society due to concerns about safety outdoors and issues of risk and liability. Forest School provides an important opportunity for children to gain access to and become familiar with woodlands on a regular basis, while learning academic and practical skills. The constructivist theory of learning seems to be particularly suited to the Forest School approach as children make meaning from their direct experiences. The participatory action research approach taken in this study promoted reflective practice amongst the stakeholders involved and provided them with a sense of ownership of the study, as well as an opportunity to learn from each other. 相似文献
The effect of variations in the amount or quality of food provided on the amino acid profile of larvae, was tested in two marine fish species, the Senegal sole (Solea senegalensis) and the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax). The objective was to assess whether such nutritionally suboptimum dietary patterns, which simulate situations that may occur in hatcheries, result in variations in the concentration of one or more amino acids that could be used as indicators of nutritional condition of larvae. Restriction in the normal food ration by 60% had no clear effect on the amino acid profile of sea bass, while the concentration of some amino acids (Arg, Ala and Phe) showed significant variations in sole. Feeding on artificial diets, which have shown their inadequacy a priori, resulted also in no significant effect on the profile of sea bass, but in a dramatic modification of the amino acid profile in sole. In addition, changes in the amino acid profiles considered as a whole were evaluated using the cluster analysis instead of paired comparisons between amino acid concentrations in each treatment. The analysis clearly separated profiles of larvae fed restrictedly or inadequately from their controls, irrespective of the species. This demonstrated the potential value of evaluating whole changes in amino acid profile as nutritional indicator. Besides, it was demonstrated that sensitivity of larvae to nutritional changes that may be reflected in the amino acid profile is greatly conditioned by the species and developmental stage. 相似文献
1. To conserve biodiversity in a human‐dominated landscape, a science‐based inventory and monitoring plan is needed that quantifies existing resources, isolates drivers that maintain natural communities, determines harmful stressors, and links ecological drivers and human stressors. A tactical approach is proposed for conservation planning using freshwater fish at the Cape Cod National Seashore.
2. Freshwater fish are well studied and occur across environmental gradients. The lentic systems at the national park are relatively pristine yet are enveloped by a region of high population density. Using fish community data, three steps were taken for tracking anthropogenic impacts in a human dominated landscape. First, fish and potential drivers were sampled intensively along a gradient to determine which fish metrics reflect natural communities and which abiotic and biotic factors structure them. Second, emerging and existing regional human threats were identified. Third, these human threats were linked to the potential drivers that maintain natural communities to identify the most informative metrics to monitor and track change.
3. Fish communities, water quality, habitat, and food resources were sampled concurrently in 18 ponds in 1999 and 2000. Three common fish species explained 98% of variation in numbers across systems. Based on ecological relationships, pH, depth, vegetation, prey, and community complexity were determined to maintain biodiversity of freshwater fish communities.
4. The primary human threats here included: development‐related, land‐use changes; non‐point source pollution; eutrophication from septic systems; and introduced species that are a byproduct of high human visitation. These are common threats in many rapidly urbanized areas and are likely to have relevance to many sites.
5. To track the impact of emerging threats to freshwater ponds related to increased human population, monitoring changes in water quality, vegetated habitat, fish diversity, and trophic interactions are recommended.
Labor costs of guppy growers and breeders are largely those of manual sorting (by strain, quality and gender) and counting fish. In most farms, female and male fish are grown together and sold either separately or together. Sorting fish according to gender is important for marketing as well as for breeding programs, so that a device for sorting and counting fish can potentially reduce production costs and improve quality.
A project aiming to develop sorting and counting technologies for ornamental fish growers included development and testing of image-processing algorithms for sorting guppy fish (Poecilia reticulata) by gender. The algorithms are derived from shape and color differences between female and male guppies. An algorithm for the determination of landmarks on fish contours was developed and found to be accurate in accordance with human judgment, enabling extraction of specific shape and color features of the tail and the body.
The algorithms were applied to three sets of images of guppies of the “Red-Blond” strain. Gender identification accuracy was approximately 90% using shape features, approximately 96% using color features and was slightly improved when both color and shape features were used.
Some of the components used are essential for future development of a computer vision based system for sorting and grading ornamental fish by strain and quality. 相似文献