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YourHub.com \\ Stuart \\ Stories \\ Education \\ School News

ANDERSON MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS IN UF BRAIN BOWL

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Contributed by: Robin Koestoyo on 4/24/2007

Five Martin County middle school students were selected for participation in the 2007 University of Florida Biological Control Brain Bowl program at the UF Indian River Research and Education Center near Fort Pierce.
"The students selected for this program possess outstanding speaking and science talent with an enthusiasm for the environment," said Robin Koestoyo, media coordinator at the UF site.
The students are: Raquel Rizkalla, Linda Lu, Vishalaksi Lakshimanan, Allison Ivak, Louis Shatkun and Tia Belvin, all representing Anderson Middle School. The participants are the "Martin Brain Team" and will compete in the official 2007 Biological Control Brain Bowl on Saturday, May 12, from noon until 3 p.m., against teams representing St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
Anderson Middle School Gifted Science teacher Tonya Belvin is leading the students in their program participation. Daniel Call, a Martin County resident and 2006 St. Lucie Brain Team Championship winning member, is serving the group as a mentor.
Preceding the brain bowl competition event, the team members are carrying out an experiment under the direction of Scott Adkins, Ph.D., in the $3.8 million UF Norman C. Hayslip Biological Control Research and Containment Laboratory. Dr. Adkins is a researcher at the U.S. Department of Agricultural Horticulture Research Laboratory, adjacent to the UF campus just west of Fort Peirce. The experiment involves the deliberate inoculation of invasive plants, tropical soda apple, with a live plant virus, (harmless to humans). Tropical soda apple is an invasive species that is troublesome to Martin County cattle and dairy fields. Other activities the team has or will participate in are a mini-Melaluepooza, hosted by St. Lucie County Extension Agent Ken Gioeli, a cockroach race hosted by Okeechobee County Extension Agent Dan Culbert and educational sessions during which team members learn about the state's $90 million annual fight with invasive species and biological control as the most efficacious method to control them.
The program will culminate with the official 2007 Biological Control Brain Bowl on May 12, after which each participant is asked to serve as a spokesperson for the research.
The UF Biological Control Brain Bowl is an award-winning initiative that commenced in 2005 and was funded by a grant made by Florida Integrated Pest Management, based at the UF Gainesville campus . The objective for the program is to share with the public, the research being carried out in the UF Norman C. Hayslip Biological Control Research and Containment Laboratory, a facility in which only researchers and staff members are permitted.
"The brain bowl program is made possible to the students in large part with the support of local sponsors," said Robin Koestoyo, media coordinator at the UF Indian River Research and Education Center.
Program sponsors are: The University of Florida, Pelican Island Audubon Society, St. Lucie Audubon Society, Audubon of Martin County, 4-H, TAME Melaleuca, The Florida Research Center for Agricultural Sustainability, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the Bug Master Inc. an ethical, local pest management organization that practices IPM, and Papa John's Pizza in Fort Pierce.
The public is welcome to attend the 2007 Biological Control Brain Bowl. Please call (772) 468-3922, Ext. 103 for more information or for directions to the facility.

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