CALL OF NATURE
ECU Earth Day Expo highlights biodiversity
Frogs, fossils and jellyfish were among the popular activities for visitors at the annual Earth Day Expo April 8 in the Howell Science Complex at East Carolina University.
The ECU Center for Biodiversity and Department of Biology hosted the event, with ECU faculty and students providing interactive activities and displays related to biodiversity.
Sara Kimmel, left, and Rachel Kimmel listen as ECU professor Tom Fink discusses the sounds that insects make.
In laboratories throughout the complex, attendees enjoyed fishing for plankton, poison frog mimicry, hunting for fossils and planting sunflower seeds. Educational presentations featured topics such as primate skulls, fish evolution, sea level rise, plant activity, pond life and plant biodiversity.
Following the day’s activities, a public lecture featured Dr. Mary Ruckelshaus, managing director of Natural Capital Project, who spoke on “Nature of, by and for the People.”
The Center for Biodiversity, housed in ECU’s Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, supports research, education and outreach related to global biodiversity. For additional information, visit www.ecu.edu/biology/ncbiodiversity.