Extinction: Where Will It Stop?

The 2009 edition of the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species was released yesterday, and the news wasn’t good: out of 47,677 assessed species, 17,291 (36 percent) are threatened with extinction.

These include 21% of all known mammals, 30% of amphibians, 70% of plants and 35% of invertebrates. The breakdown of the endangered species’ status on the new IUCN list is as follows:

• Extinct: 809
• Extinct in the Wild: 66
• Critically Endangered: 3,325 (of these, 257 species are listed as “possibly extinct”)
• Endangered: 4,891
• Vulnerable (to extinction): 9,075
• Near Threatened: 3,650

Last year’s list assessed 44,838 species; information on more than 2,800 additional species has been added in 2009. This includes more than 1,300 previously unassessed dragonflies and damselflies, of which the IUCN recently completed a major new study.

Amphibians seem to be facing the greatest threat, with 1,895 of 6,285 assessed species in danger of extinction. One amphibian species, the Kihansi Spray Toad (Nectophrynoides asperginis), has been moved from the IUCN’s critically endangered list and is considered extinct in the wild. This toad was only found in the Kihamsi Falls area of Tanzania and its population has crashed from a high of about 17,000 in recent years. Conservationists suggest that this is as a result of a dam being constructed upstream from the toad’s habitat, which resulted in a 90% reduction in the flow of water.

“These results are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Craig Hilton-Taylor, manager of the IUCN Red List Unit, in a prepared statement. “There are many more millions [of species] out there which could be under serious threat.”

For further information, visit www.iucn.org

posted by Kathy & Sophie

Theme week: Sustainability and the Environment

Green Week

19th – 23rd October 2009

 ‘Green Week’ – a sustainability and environment theme week – runs throughout this week. There will be information leaflets and display stands on the subject across all of Warwickshire Colleges’ sites. Activities on offer include:

•Design and decorate a sustainability t-shirt

•Name the college sustainability frog

Furthermore, students from Moreton Morrell and Pershore centres are invited to apply for the role of Sustainability Champion at: mhtml:http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/cms/content/public/intranet/college_information_and_support/student_association/sustainability_-_go_green/Sustainability_Champion.mht

For further infomation on Green Week and further resources and associated links, follow the links on th intranet: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/intranet/default.asp?cNode=23689

You can find out more about what the college is doing towards recycling and take a look at the college sustainability policy at: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/cms/content/public/intranet/college_information_and_support/estates/recycling_and_sustainability/web_info_dec_08/page_03.htm

posted by Sophie

Say goodbye to the books?

THE FORMER LIBRARY AT CUSHING ACADEMY, NEW ENGLAND, HAS REPLACED ALL THEIR BOOKS WITH INFORMATION AND LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES!

In addition to desktop and laptop computers, they have installed flat screen TVs that project data from the internet and have purchased electronic readers giving access to millions of electronic resources.

Read more  in this article from The Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/09/04/a_library_without_the_books/?page=1

What do you think? Add a comment…

Posted by Alison

Wind Farms : do you have a problem with wind?

Government legislation requires that by 2010 10% of electricity supply must come from renewable sources. Wind power is currently the most cost effective alternative energy and produces no greenhouse gas emissions or waste products. There are a number of websites outlining the facts and myths about wind energy and the impact wind farms have on the environment, countryside and wildlife.

 We are all too well aware of the need for alternative sources of energy, however, how would we feel if they impacted on our own backyard?

Currently there is a proposal to erect up to 6 wind turbines on farmland close to the villages of Knightcote, Gaydon, Northend and Bishops Itchington (http://www.starboldwindfarm.co.uk/).

With the very real prospect of windfarms being built in our local area, is it time we found out about the facts and myths of wind energy for ourselves and ask ourselves: are wind farms good or bad for the environment; is beauty is in the eye of the beholder; or are they just a blot on the landscape?

posted by Lucy

Huge selection of ebooks now available through ebrary!

Along with all the books on the shelves in the LRCs across Warwickshire College’s six sites, members of the college can now access a massive selection of electronic ebooks through ebrary on their computers! Access the ebrary site via the LRC’s intranet page by clicking on the ‘Digital library’ link followed by the ‘Ebrary Collection’ link, or visit http://site.ebrary.com/lib/warkscoll/home.action

Listed below is sample of the ebrary functions that enable users to get the most out of their library resources:

• Search by choosing simple or advanced (by keyword, full-text, publisher, or author).
• Instantly open documents in QuickView by clicking on a book jacket or title. No downloads or installations are required.
• Navigate using the table of contents, which shows search results at the chapter level. You may also navigate to every occurrence of your search term in a document, flip through pages, or go to specific page numbers.
• Use ebrary InfoTools™ to expand your research to other library resources and information on the web. Many InfoTools features can be activated by selecting words of interest in a document.
• Copy and print with automatic citations. Use Preferences on the InfoTools menu to choose from four citation styles. ebrary citations include a URL back to the source.
• Highlight text with or without notes and post multiple notes to a page. They are automatically stored on your personal bookshelf.
• Create a personal bookshelf to automatically save an archive of your highlights and notes as you conduct research. Unless you create a bookshelf and sign in before annotating any documents, your annotations will not be saved.

posted by Sophie

Adult Learners’ Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adult Learners’ Week is all about getting adults back into learning, whether that’s to start a new course and gain the right qualifications for higher education or a new job or discovering a new hobby or skill. Warwickshire College’s activities will include free tasters at our centres, free tasters out in the community and we’re even asking our students to ‘bring a friend to class’ for one lesson during that week. Don’t forget to tell all your friends and family about this great opportunity to try out some of our course tasters.

If you want to see what’s on offer visit www.warkscol.ac.uk/alw

Don’t forget to come to the Learning Resource Centre or go to the LRC intranet pages to find out about all the resources we have on offer to assist learners of any age and ability. For example, why not try:

Learning How To Study Again

By Dr Catherine Dawson

(Currently held at the Leamington LRC)

 

posted by Sophie

‘Minding Your Body’ Theme Week

 27th April – 1st May 2009

Minding your body – stress awareness and physical wellbeing – is this week’s theme throughout Warwickshire College. All this week, students can visit the information stands at all centres and pick up tips and advice on dealing with stress, healthy eating and getting physically active. Further information can be found on the intranet: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/intranet/default.asp?cNode=20661

Plus, don’t forget the great range of books on offer in the LRCs! Why not check out:

Stress Management in Essence

By Jennie Harding

(Copies currently held at Leamington, Rugby and Henley-in-Arden LRCs)

 

Mindful Eating 101: a guide to healthy eating in college and beyond

By Susan Albers

(Currently held at Leamington LRC)

 

posted by Sophie

Moreton Morrell Farm Open Weekend

Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th March 2009 10am to 4pm 

Spring is in the air...

A fun and education day out for the whole family! The Nethermoreton farm at Moreton Morrell will be open to the general public for everyone to enjoy fun and farming! There will be lots of fun activities for everyone to learn more about farming, including:

-        seeing and cuddling newborn baby lambs 
-        visit our working dairy and see newborn calves 
-        interactive and fun learning activities to find out where food comes from 
-        explore farm machinery 
-        farm demonstrations and sheepdog trials 
-        buy advance tickets to our annual open day

Tickets are £2 for adults and £1 for children under 14.  Free farming goodies will be available.  Refreshments will also be available.  No advance booking is necessary.

 See ewe there!

Posted by Debbie

Thinking about living a Greener life? Here at Leamington LRC we have just the right books for you!

Shades of Green: A (mostly) practical A-Z for the Reluctant Environmentalist by Paul Waddington. 

“Paul’s books will inspire even the most reluctant among us.” — Darina Allen.

 

The Eco-house Manual: How to Carry out Environmentally Friendly Improvements to Your Home by Nigel Griffiths.

‘This manual covers every aspect of domestic renovation from heating and electrical systems through to building materials and outdoor space. Whether you want to work out the payback period on a wind turbine or find out about the most eco-friendly floor covering, all information is presented in a clear and practical format with colour photography throughout.’ – Amazon.co.uk

Building Green: A Complete How-to Guide to Alternative Building Methods by Clarke Snell, Tim Callahan

‘This manual doesn’t just talk about eco-friendly building techniques, but actually shows every step. More than 1,200 close-up photographs, along with in-depth descriptions, follow the real construction of an alternative house from site selection to the final-touch interior details.’ – Amazon.co.uk

Attention All Art Students!

Hermito's Children by Spartacus Chetwynd

The Tate Triennial 2009 at London’s Tate Britain has arrived! The museum’s fourth Triennial exhibition- entitled ‘Altermodern’ and curated by Nicolas Bourriaud- shows long-established figures alongside unknowns from Britiain and abroad. 

Here’s how the museum explains the consept behind this exhibition:

 ”A new modernity is emerging, reconfigured to an age of globalisation – understood in its economic, political and cultural aspects: an altermodern culture. Increased communication, travel and migration are affecting the way we live. Our daily lives consist of journeys in a chaotic and teeming universe. Multiculturalism and identity is being overtaken by creolisation: Artists are now starting from a globalised state of culture. This new universalism is based on translations, subtitling and generalised dubbing. Today’s art explores the bonds that text and image, time and space, weave between themselves. Artists are responding to a new globalised perception. They traverse a cultural landscape saturated with signs and create new pathways between multiple formats of expression and communication. The Tate Triennial 2009 at Tate Britain presents a collective discussion around this premise that postmodernism is coming to an end, and we are experiencing the emergence of a global altermodernity”.

The Tate Triennial 2009 at Tate Britain is running between 4th February – 26th April 2009. For more information visit http://www.tate.org.uk/britain/exhibitions/altermodern

posted by Sophie

Colour Printing in the LRC

                                                                         Colour printing in the LRCs is now quicker, easier and better quality. We now have shiney new laser colour printers that have been networked to all the student PCs so you can send your work straight to the colour printer, just as you would to the ordinary mono printers. To print in colour, simply click on ‘File’ then ’Print’ and select the colour printer (the printer name varies between sites- if unsure, ask a member of staff). Next, come to the IT desk or main counter and your document will be printed by LRC staff upon your request (30p per page).

posted by Sophie

Big Green Week

12 – 16 January 2009

‘Big Green Week’ – a sustainability and environment theme week – runs throughout this week. There will be information and display stands across all of Warwickshire Colleges’ sites.

Here at the LRC, we encourage students to do their bit by recycling any unwanted paper in the paper recycling bins provided. As paper does grow on trees, please do remember to recycle and please try to avoid wasting paper when printing out information – THINK BEFORE YOU PRINT!

You can find out more about what the college is doing towards recycling and take a look at the college sustainability policy at: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/cms/content/public/intranet/college_information_and_support/estates/recycling_and_sustainability/web_info_dec_08/page_03.htm

Further information, associated links and a resource for use in tutorials, can also be found on the intranet: http://www.warkscol.ac.uk/intranet/default.asp?cNode=20657 

REDUCE  REUSE  RECYCLE!

posted by Sophie

Stems Cells for Horses: Equine Regenerative Medicine

It seems stem cells are always in the news these days, but it’s not often that you come across any discussions about their application to veterinary medicine. You’re in luck, dear reader, because I’ve just been turned on to two new resources by our good friends over at Intute.

The first is a Royal Veterinary College Podcast on equine stem cells, where Roger Smith, Professor of Equine Surgery at the RVC describes how stem cell research can be used in order to improve the treatment of tendon disease in horses.

The second resource is a freely available full-text publication produced by the Center for Equine Health, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. ‘Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine in Horses’ is a special issue of the ‘Horse Report’ dedicated entirely to this subject. It describes in detail the potential uses for stem cells in equine medicine and includes a veterinary case study presented to the UC Davis teaching hospital of a mare with a severe fracture of her right front long pastern bone.

posted by Brooke

The RSPCA is ‘fed up’

Meet Simon’s Sister’s Dog. Does he look familiar? That’s because he’s been produced by the creator of the hugely successful animation Simon’s Cat, in support of the RSPCA’s campaign to tackle pet obesity.

Simon’s Sister’s Dog has got his eye on one thing, and one thing only – food! (follow the link to see video) And he doesn’t stop until he’s devoured every tit bit and scrap of dropped food from the Christmas dinner table and has reached bursting point.

There is of course a serious message to this animation. According to leading vets, pet obesity is one of the biggest issues affecting pets’ health and one in three of the UK’s dogs and cats are now overweight. Fat pets can develop serious health problems – including diabetes, arthritis and even organ failure.

The RSPCA has created ‘Pets Get Slim’ – an online community to help people help their pets lose weight.

We claim to be a nation of animal lovers but are we actually guilty of killing our pets with kindness?

posted by Brooke

Visual On-Line Arts Resource For Design Students

Trident LRC suggest you check out www.Vads.ac.uk is a fantastic visual arts online resource with a large and varied catalogue which includes the works of many renowned artists. It also has digitised copies of Design Magazine from 1965 – 1974, photographic exhibitions, sculpture, ceramics, textiles and many more.

VADS offers expert guidance and help for digital projects in art education and could provide an invaluable resource if you find yourself stuck for inspiration.

 

Why not have a look and see for yourself?