Reprinted by permission of North Shore News, North Vancouver, BC. Rockridge Kids Watch the Weather

Jen Kwan Contributing Writer

TREE biologist Dr. Reese Halter knows telling stories of a near-death experience in the Australian outback and wearing T-shirts and jeans to work, will grab the attention of Grade 8 students.

That's the route the 35-year-old scientist - founder of Global Forest Society - took when he visited Rockridge school in West Vancouver on Tuesday.

"We want to convince kids that science is cool, the forest is cool and science and biologists are way cool," Halter said. Seven months ago, Halter sponsored 14 stations (including one at Rockridge) - more than $30,000 worth of equipment - to schools in North America, Israel, Australia and England. Halter will spend the next 28 days visiting nine other secondary schools currently using the weather station in the U.S. to talk about activism, environmentalism and conservation biology.

"The weather and kids are a good mix (because) once kids have the weather on mind they can better understand trees and nature," he said. Each 20 lb. unit will allow kids to monitor UV rays and track air temperature, as well as changes in wind patterns. Students are also measuring soil temperature. In October last year, students using the station at Jacoby Creek middle school in Arcata, California, were able to explain why a fire at a nearby forest grew out of control, he said.

Teacher Tom Harding said the equipment exposes students to the real world of science. The students will interpret then upload the information onto Global Forest's educational Web site, GFAwesome.org.

In 1988, Global Forest was registered as a society in B.C., and is currently a consortium of more than 100 scientists worldwide who are working on more than 50 research projects.

Andrew Weaver, Canada research chair in atmospheric sciences at the University of Victoria, and an honorary Global Forest scientist, said it's a practical way for kids to learn. "The main value is having kids that get hands-on experience with the collection of scientific data and the interpretation of scientific data."

Weaver may even one day use the data in his research on climate change. "Eventually as this gets going, there will be new data sets that could be added to global data sets," he said.

Dean of sciences at Simon Fraser University, William Davidson, said thanks to a $25,000 gift from Halter early last year, an insect quarantine facility to study the impact of foreign pest on plants, will be operational this March.

Up until four months ago, Halter financed the annual $600,000 operation costs of the organization from an inheritance. "What we are doing is truly altruistic," he said. "Philanthropy attracts good people."