Stars and STEM Stories

Earth's climate is changing, with thawing glaciers and melting of the sea ice shrinking at rates that are occurring far quicker than climate models have predicted. A growing body of knowledge indicates that the warming of the air near the surface and the melting of the ice are due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases such as CO2 in our atmosphere.  >>

The regional meeting of the GLOBE Africa Consortium (GAC) was held 20-21 June 2008 at the Newlands Hotel Conference Center, Cape Town, South Africa. Ten countries participated in the meeting, including Benin, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Guinea, Madagascar, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda. Mrs. Margaret Besong, Cameroon, and Mr. Mark Brettenny, South Africa, presided over the meeting. Madame Ngossi Fall Bousso, Senegal, recorded the minutes of the Meeting in French, and Ms. Helen Agebesong, Cameroon, recorded the minutes of the meeting in English. Ms. Alidjennatou Emmanuel, Benin, provided French translation as necessary throughout the proceedings.  >>

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has reported that "Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change and climate variability" and warns that higher temperatures caused by climate change will depress crop yields there, and in many parts of the world, over the coming decades. In Cameroon, GLOBE Alumni Network member Tamsu Fogue Marcelin and GLOBE students of the Lycee Technique Industriel and Commercial of Bafoussam are investigating this issue, focusing on the corn crop of the West province of the country.  >>

GLOBE trainers and Peace Corps Volunteers recently released the first edition of a classroom guide developed specifically for use by teachers and students in Niger and West Africa at a teacher workshop in August 2007, in Niamey, Niger.  >>

The GLOBE Program Office (GPO) is pleased to announce five winning U.S. teams to attend the GLOBE Learning Expedition (GLE) in Cape Town, South Africa. These school teams will meet with scientists and students from around the world to present oral and poster presentations on research related to the 2008 GLE theme, GLOBE Research for Sustainable Communities.  >>

The GLOBE Africa Regional Meeting was held 23—27 April 2007 in Riversdale, South Africa. The meeting provided an opportunity for GLOBE Country Coordinators, scientists, government officials and GLOBE Alumni to come together to promote program integration and strengthen relations throughout the region. Representatives from GLOBE countries Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda presented country status reports, discussed challenges, and developed strategies to improve and expand national and regional implementation.  >>

Between 2000 and 2003, twenty secondary-school students at Lycée Bilingue d'Application (LBA) Yaoundé used GLOBE protocols to study the water quality of Yaoundé Municipal Lake in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Under the guidance of their teacher, Mr. George Nditifon, who is also a GLOBE Assistant Master Trainer in Hydrology, these students found the lake to be highly stressful for aquatic life.  >>

More than 90 teachers from across Ghana convened for the country's first GLOBE Teachers Conference, which included a launch of the recently added ozone and aerosol protocols. Trainers and trainees also tested the deep red clay and sandy soils, which contrasted mightily with the equally deep greens of the area's vegetation.  >>

A special partnership between GLOBE students in Finland and South Africa is demonstrating both the scientific and educational benefits of the GLOBE Program worldwide. The Groot Brakrivier Secondary School of South Africa initiated their GLOBE Program as an extra-curricular activity with over 150 students and two trained GLOBE teachers.  >>