Board of Directors

President
Diane F. Cowan, Ph.D.

Executive Director
Sara L. Ellis, Ph.D.

Vice-President
Kari Lavalli, Ph.D.
Southwest Texas University

Treasurer
J. Maurice L. Bisson, CPA
Berry, Dunn, McNeil and Parker

Secretary
Adria Elskus, Ph.D.
Marine Sciences Research Center
State University of New York

Scientific Advisor
Andrew R. Solow, Ph.D.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Industry Advisor
Mark Wallace
Fishermen’s Heritage Lobster Co-Op

Government Affairs Liaison
Amy Watson
Bernstein, Shur, Sawyer and Nelson

The Lobster Conservancy has recently made great strides towards spreading “Lobster Literacy” throughout the Gulf of Maine. Our goal is to provide the next generation of decision makers with the knowledge they need to conserve New England’s most valuable commercial fishery and the marine environment that sustains it. In spring of 2002, TLC premiered Lobster Larvae in the Classroom, an enthusiastically received pilot project involving 4-6^th grade students in Carla Eutsler’s science classes at the Friendship Village School. Students raised and cared for lobsters from egg to larvae to settlement in classroom aquaria. The project also involved in-class presentations by TLC and University of Maine Cooperative Extension scientists along with field trips to sample phytoplankton and explore the intertidal zone. Mrs. Eutsler made rich use of the language arts, math, social studies, and art connections this project provided.

TLC is now ready to expand the project. We wish to enlist interested teachers from coastal Maine to work with us in developing a Lobster Literacy Curriculum for Maine elementary school students. The products of this collaboration will be a teacher’s guide, student workbook, and classroom project kit that meet the state’s Learning Results guidelines. We plan to hold a two-day retreat in spring, 2003. TLC scientists will present the essential biological information and demonstrate the Lobster Larvae in the Classroom project. TLC scientists will work with teachers to outline curriculum materials. Participants will be assigned to develop parts of the curriculum. We plan to distribute the curriculum materials through the Internet and continue to work directly with teachers and students participating in the Lobster Larvae in the Classroom project. We wish to foster an increased knowledge among students about the fundamentals of lobster biology, encourage an increased appreciation for the lobster’s role in the history, culture, and economy of the Gulf of Maine, and inspire a sense of stewardship of our natural resources.

For more information, please contact:
Linda Archambault, Education Coordinator
The Lobster Conservancy
(207) 832-8224
Email: larch@tidewater.net

PO Box 235, Friendship, ME 04547 207-832-8224 www.lobsters.org