Monthly Archives: March 2008

Orcasphere calendar

I’ve recently been enjoying using Google calendar for sharing events and schedules with other organizations and project members.  Here is a fledgling prototype of an embedded “Orcasphere” calendar that could enable us to pool all orca-relevant education and research activities in a single interface.

http://www.orcasphere.net/calendar/

You can also get there using the “Calendar” tab in the header…

Orcasphere migration

The web site is currently undergoing a renovation and migration. To save money and support open-source software, we are moving away from squarespace.com and to a Word Press installation on dreamhost.com servers. General blog articles from http://beamreach.squarespace.com, some images, and the public library will migrate here, while Beam Reach student blogs will go to http://beamreach.org/blog

Our new platform will enable us to experiment with additional collaborative tools, like a bulletin board, content management systems, photo galleries, wiki, and more. We are also piloting a reputation system within Word Press developed by SezWho.com

Calendar

Research and education activities relevant to the recovery of the southern resident killer whales.

To add an event to this calendar, simply create a Google calendar, add the event to it, and invite the southern residents to take notice via this address: srkw@orcasphere.net Alternatively you can share your entire calendar and — with the help of an orca steward — it will be added to this public calendar in a unique color.

About

Welcome to the orcasphere!

The orcasphere is a virtual collaborative space inspired by the Southern Resident Killer Whale Symposium held in Seattle, Washington, from April 3-5, 2006.

The Symposium was an intellectual exchange between scientists, policy makers, managers, industry representatives, and the general public. Participants shared multidisciplinary, multinational insights into the natural history of the local orcas. There was a uniform spirit of constructive dialogue in pursuit of truth, pressing questions, and a precautionary approach to recovery of this iconic endangered species.

In that spirit, the orcasphere is devoted to the southern residents. It is a place to learn and promulgate with their recovery and their ecosystem in mind. It is a space in which to experiment with new tools for communication and coordination. May we maintain a clear perspective here on their progress and plight. Please share your thoughts and ask your questions.

P.S. (Thanks to Howard Garrett of Orca Network for the “orcasphere” name.)