TOPSHAM — Mt. Ararat honors biology students will present their work at the Topsham Public Library as a kickoff event for Cathance River Education Alliance’s 2012 monthly Community Program Series at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 31.

The monthly programs will take place on the last Tuesday of each month and represent an ongoing collaboration between CREA and the library. This year’s topics include programs on the Maine Black Bear, live bird presentations, vernal pools, Cathance River history, dragon flies, local geology, insects and the movie “Mother Nature’s Child.” Visit www.creamaine.org for more information.

As a part of their ecology and environment unit, the students visited the Cathance River Preserve and ecology center weekly to conduct field study research under the supervision of their teacher Glenn Evans, Cathance River Education Alliance educator Cheryl Sleeper and several area professional mentors including local scientists and professionals from Stantec, University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the Maine State Forest Service.

Working in small groups, with help from their teacher and mentors, students designed a scientific study and collected data for their study weekly. The projects ran for the first quarter of this school year. Students’ projects and presentations will include: a digital poster, lab report and a short, student-produced I-movie. Brunswick High School students will also be there presenting their independent study projects which also occurred under the supervision of CREA.

The eight topics that were researched by Mt. Ararat students include: terrestrial insect sampling; an ongoing study, forest inventory growth plot; a mammal study; Cathance River water level and quality monitoring; habitat hole project; a butterfly project; a mushroom project; and a dragonfly study.

Cheryl Sleeper, CREA educator and Ecology Center program director, helped organize all parties involved and assisted in helping maximize the time that students, teachers and professionals had in the field by having all equipment and materials ready for their arrival.