Getting squirrelly
Whether they’re digging up your crocus bulbs or clutching a tree trunk and tormenting your dog, squirrels are a fact of life in Chicago and suburbs. But not everyone takes them for granted.
Steve Sullivan of Brookfield – who spends his days as an urban ecologist for the Chicago Academy of Sciences’ Peggy Notebaert Museum – has started Project Squirrel, which invites “citizen scientists” to gather data on squirrel populations in Chicago and the suburbs.
The centerpiece of Project Squirrel is a Web site (www.projectsquirrel.org) where anyone can enter their observations about squirrels and their activities. In addition to information about the two main squirrel species in the Chicago area, there’s an online form where people can record their personal observations, the types of squirrels they’re seeing, in what numbers, their location (as in zip code) and other bits of information.
Sullivan said that since March, when the Web site launched, he’s had about 2,000 unique contributors to the site, who have provided 3-4,000 responses. He’s hoping participants will contribute at least one observation per season (four per year).
“We hope to be able to see the ebbs and flows of the squirrel population,” Sullivan said. “It’s necessary to have one year’s worth of data to have anything meaningful.”
Two species of squirrels dominate in the Chicago area – grey squirrels and fox squirrels. Grey squirrels have gray backs and sides, white bellies and a tail fringed in white. Fox squirrels have orange or rust-colored backs and sides, orange bellies and tails fringed in black.
Most areas include both species. However, some areas for some reason are home to just one species. Initial observations about Chicago-area squirrels date from 1997, when two University of Illinois scientists did a study on the coexistence of grey and fox squirrels in the Chicago area.
The Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, for example, has been a stronghold of the grey squirrel, while the city of Berwyn is home to only fox squirrels. Oak Park, which used to have lots of fox squirrels, now has mostly grey squirrels. Why? That’s what Project Squirrel is set up to find out.
“We’re creating the foundation of getting snapshots of urban biodiversity,” Sullivan said. ]
OPRF alum offers ‘green’ vehicle tips
An Oak Park and River Forest High School alum is among 10 finalists nationwide with a shot at a $5,000 scholarship for helping car owners drive safer – and greener.
Lorne Golman, a 2008 OPRF graduate, is one of two Chicago-area finalists in the Safety Scholars Teen Driver Video Contest, sponsored by tire manufacturer Bridgestone Americas. For the first time in the competition’s three years, “green-themed” videos were solicited.
The participants – young drivers, age 16-21 – had to come up with a short video about making safe and environmentally conscious decisions while operating a vehicle. The winner of the third-year contest will receive a $5,000 college scholarship and also have his or her video used in a national public service announcement. In all, there were 817 entries. Golman’s one-minute video, titled “Eco-mercial,” was a spoof of infomercials, with the flashy graphics popping up on screen and an overly enthusiastic, screaming host. Near the end it turns serious as the host breaks character to offer a sensible solution to driving more eco-friendly.
“My video is a fake infomercial selling a product that makes your vehicle get up to 300 miles per gallon,” said Golman, who’s currently studying television production and design at Indiana University, in a press release through Bridgestone. “The infomercial transitions from comedic to serious when the host explains that, while the product doesn’t actually exist, there are things that we can all actually do to drive greener.”
The other area finalist is Rebecca Densmore, a senior at Waubonsie High School in Aurora. Her video on safety showed the positives in not texting while driving. All 10 finalist videos can be viewed and voted on at safetyscholars.com. Voting ends Aug. 3. Three grand prize winners will be announced Aug. 10.
Not mincing words
Our own Terry Dean, who, unbeknownst to most Wednesday Journal readers, also edits our sister publication, the Austin Weekly News, appeared last week on The Takeaway, a radio show co-produced by the New York Times, the BBC World Service, Public Radio International, WNYC and WGBH Boston. The host is John Hockenberry.
They read Terry’s Austin Weekly column on the Burr Oak Cemetery scandal (Terry’s two grandfathers and an uncle were buried there), and asked him to lend his viewpoint to a discussion of the story.
The segment appeared for about six minutes at around 6:20 a.m. last Friday (the show airs 5-7 a.m. Central time).
Here’s a link to the segment if you’re interested: www.thetakeaway.org/stories/2009/jul/17/rest-peace-continuing-tragedy-burr-oak-cemetery