True
to form, each year the Expedition New England crew heads south to escape the cold
but this year "the cold came too" and it was a good thing. Endanger due to loss
of habitat and numerous boating accidents each winter the West Indian Manatee
are drawn to hot springs in the Crystal River National Wild Life Refuge. With
daughter Daphne and Mom Helena on the snorkel team, Scott captures fantastic underwater
video of this peaceful herbivore.
Additionally,
the Expedition New England team fast forwards to April '09 where they team up
with Mardi Hanson-d'Alessandro of Higganum CT who teaches us who to cultivate
and harvest a delicious "yard salad" loaded with vitamins and minerals "beyond
belief".
Finally, we tie it all together
with interviews of Daphne's top three Expedition New England Jr. Oceanographers
Tommy Knowles, Jayonna Holmes and Cameron Dreher who proclaim their plans for
protecting Long Island Sound.
Junior
Oceanographers Search for Seals Aboard EnviroLab III, in early March
Riding
The Waves And Searching For Seals By Christopher Weingart New London
Day
Westerly winds drove rolling swells down Fishers Island Sound yesterday,
giving a bumpy, chilly ride to anyone out on the water. But for 10 Expedition
New England Junior Oceanographers trying to spot seals on the EnviroLab III, it
couldn't have been a finer day.
”It is awesome out here!” beamed Daphne
Tucker, 8, of Higganum, as the deck rolled under her feet. Daphne's dad, Scott,
is at least as excited about Connecticut's coastal waters as his daughter. He
organized the seal-watching trip as part of his educational outreach project “Expedition
New England,” which encourages people to explore the natural world in their own
local areas. ”I grew up in New England, but I didn't appreciate all the wildlife
because everyone always talked about Costa Rica, Australia or Africa. We have
some of the coolest wildlife in the world right in our own backyards. I try to
help people see that.” Click
here for full story
On
Oct. 11th Daphne and Scott met kids and their parents at Madison's Hammonasset
State Park's Nature Center-- Daphne told the kids "10 Things They Can Do
To Help Protect The Long Island Sound" -- Scott showed the kids some plastic
garbage that would have wound up in the Long Island Sound
On
Oct. 4th Daphne and Scott met kids and their parents at SoundWaters at Cove
Island Park in Stamford, -- Scott and UCONN Oceanographer, Charlie Yarish
made a presentation on what can be found in and around Long Island Sound --
then, Scott gave an impromptu nature walk and discovered a horseshoe crab.
This
special project to encourage protection for Long Island Sound, is in conjunction
with grant support from the Long Island Sound Fund.
EXCITING
NEWS! We added video to our website!
Meet a spotted salamander upclose (from episode 61)
Scott's
dive finds the ocean teaming with life (from
episode 41)
Scott
finds a species of ants he has never seen before (from episode 62)
Got
Seals?? Connecticut Does . . .
With the generous
support of Connecticut Sea Grant,
Expedition New England premiered "Searching for Seals" as episode 43.. The
goal of this documentary is to excite and inspire us to protect Long Island Sound
and awaken us to the fact that Seals are begining to inhabit the Sound all year
long. Catch clips of this exciting show on YouTube (see below)
Scott
videotaped these seals while riding in his brother Earl's helicopter in the Guilford
section of the Long Island Sound. This footage is part of Expedition New England,
Episode 43.
Scott and his family
take you on a spectacular helicopter ride over Faulkner's Island and Plum Island
where they get a bird's eye view of over 60 Harbor seals hauled out on March 30,
2007. Scott leads a group of 35 naturalists on a seal cruise from the Thimble
Islands in Branford, Connecticut where they also encounter another 20 seals hauled
out at Goose Island. Then, to round out the show, Scott's wife Ava and daughter
Daphne Tucker lead their Brownie Troop to Hammonasset State Park in Madison, CT
where the whole troop combs the beach for garbage while earning a clean up badge.
Finally, as a complete surprise bonus, Scott Tucker & Scuba diving partner regular
Chris Pimley head to Rhode Island on May 17, 2007 to capture footage of the unprecedented
release of 14 Harp seals and 1 Grey seal by Mystic Aquarium and Center for Exploration.
Expedition
New England On YouTube Wanna
Share Expedition New England??
The
latest frontier for our Scott is YouTube. So if you haven't seen Scott's coverage
of the seals he found in Long Island Sound, you can see a part of it on YouTube.
Simply follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/v/FHIKfwXOpfQ or
to keep up with the collection of Scott's clips, bookmark this: http://www.youtube.com/avaswt
Scott
and Daphne dropped in to Channel 8's Weekend and brought along a few reptile friends
as father and daughter tried to educate people about snakes.
No
Plant Or Critter Is Too Small For This Nature Lover: The Path Less Traveled Peter
Marteka July 20, 2007 Scott Tucker walked
through the forest and fell to the ground like he was some kind of commando ducking
for cover. When he stood up, his hand had closed gently around a forest creature.
"Oooooh!
Look at this: a spring peeper! Wow!" he exclaimed as he slowly opened his
hands so everyone could look at the frog. "Look at how he blends into the
forest background. There you go little guy. Whoa, a quick little scoocher. Let's
be careful where we are walking since he's now disappeared."
Scroll
down for full story
Scott
and Daphne visit Dudley Farm in Guilford, CT dropped in on the Guilford Land Trust's
annual meeting at the Dudley Farm and introduced the crowd to many of their snakes
and turtle friends. Here Scott and Daphne are showing off a tiny little Eastern
Painted Turtle. Photo by Peter Otis.
No
Plant Or Critter Is Too Small For This Nature Lover: The Path Less Traveled Peter
Marteka July 20, 2007 Photo
by TIA ANN CHAPMAN ( July 18, 2007) Scott
talks into his video camera while walking in the Ponset Ridge Preserve. Behind
him are his wife, Ava, and son, Race.
Scott
Tucker walked through the forest and fell to the ground like he was some kind
of commando ducking for cover. When he stood up, his hand had closed gently around
a forest creature.
"Oooooh! Look at this: a spring
peeper! Wow!" he exclaimed as he slowly opened his hands so everyone could
look at the frog. "Look at how he blends into the forest background. There
you go little guy. Whoa, a quick little scoocher. Let's be careful where we are
walking since he's now disappeared."
When Tucker isn't
flopping on the ground, he's working through a streambed and turning over rocks
in search of forest creatures hiding in the shadows.
"Citronella
ants," he yells, as tiny ants scramble around the overturned rock. "They
will start nibbling on me in a moment. When they are threatened, they spit out
some delicious citrus smelling stuff. Smell it?"
Welcome
to Tucker's world. With the enthusiasm of a child making his first discovery and
something you wish you could bottle, Tucker recently explored the Ponset Ridge
Preserve as part of the Haddam Land Trust's hike called "Under the Rocks."
Billed
as an educational program aimed at youths of all ages,Tucker and his 6-year-old
daughter, Daphne, led an intrepid group of Saturday morning explorers through
the streambeds and forests of the 135-acre preserve off Bartman Road in Haddam.
I brought my own two explorers, Sam, 7, and Molly, 5, and during the journey,
our group found American toads, frogs, headless frogs (eaten by some predator),
two-lined salamanders and Northern dusky salamanders.
"It's
like a little piece of Costa Rica," Tucker pointed out as sunlight beamed
through the forest canopy. "How many places in July can be this cool?"
Tucker,
a Haddam resident, hosts a cable-access program called "Expedition New England."
The show is broadcast to about 600,000 homes across the state. Tucker has visited
backyards, swamps and wetlands in Haddam. He has swum with seals in Long Island
Sound, searched the woodlands for snakes and explored places like Old Field Creek,
an urban stream flowing through West Haven. When he's not at home in the natural
world, he manages a construction company with his father and two brothers.
"You
see all these different things, if you just stop and look for it," Tucker
said as we find a series of hoof prints in the moss left by deer that cut across
a nearly dry stream.
Much of the hike involved stopping every
few minutes to flip a rock. Under some rocks was nothing but muck. But others
were homes to everything from salamanders to daddy long legs to dragon fly nymphs.
"These
will eat tons of mosquitoes," Tucker said of the young dragon fly. "We
want to protect these guys. A brook like this, we could spend hours flipping rock
over."
Under one rock was a dusky salamander, which Tucker
pointed out as a sign that the water was clean. "They will not live there
if it's dirty water," he said. After hearing a tree frog, Tucker noted they
spend almost their entire lives in a tree, coming down only during spring showers
to mate. Then it's back up the tree.
A few minutes later, Tucker
found a toad and he noted the amphibian had peed on him as a defensive mechanism.
"It's
a way to scare me ... if I eat him," Tucker said. "It tastes really
bad. It's a total wives' tale that toads cause warts."
But
the tour wasn't just about turning rocks over. Tucker pointed out everything from
Lycopodium obscurum - otherwise known as princess pine - growing on the forest
floor to 100-year-old beech trees that dot the forest. He pointed out a hole in
the trunk at the bottom of a tree that he said is the perfect spot to find a wood
or box turtle.
The two hours passed quickly and it got to the
point where I didn't care what we found under the rocks or on the forest floor.
It was a joy to watch someone with a love of nature and the boundless enthusiasm
of a child.
"It's your job to keep watch on these lands
after your moms and dads have gone to Florida," Tucker said to the children
with a laugh. With that, we returned to civilization with a deeper appreciation
of the natural world that surrounds us.
Photo
credit: Scott Tucker, Expedtition New England
Naturalist
Scott Tucker began documenting his underwater and land adventures and showed them
on public access television.
Scott
wanted to show people what he finds when he goes into the waters and woods
of New England.
What
is Scott Tucker's Expedition New England television show about?
It's
about adventure. It's about discovery. It's about seeing the wonderful nature
and wildlife that's thriving in our backyards, our Land Trust properties, our
forests, and our oceans. My wife Ava, our daughter Daphne and I explore New
England and beyond to capture amazing, interesting plants, and insects, and wildlife
both on land and in the water. Sometimes we do this without even leaving our own
backyard. There is just so much to see.
Why
did I create Expedition New England?
While
I was already going out on my own adventures, I was encouraged to share them with
local people through public access television. My immediate response was what
a great way to show the amazing wildlife in New England that goes unrecognized.
With the programs currently on cable and satellite we see more about Australia,
Africa and Costa Rica! Meanwhile, our own New England is getting little enjoyment
and discovery so I thought a show like this could inspire people to take their
kids and do something different - an activity the whole family can enjoy. I also
hope that whether they take advantage of what's around them or just watch my show
I can help bring respect and ultimately protection for the fabulous flora, fauna,
and wildlife around us.
Where
am I planning to take the show from here?
The
world of course.
For
the next 5 years I plan to spend most of the summers Scuba diving in New England
filming our spectacular marine environment. During the other seasons I will take
the television audience on journeys and adventures to different places on land.
I
will also be including in my program the many people I have met as a result of
producing the show. Their specific knowledge will add so much to what I am doing.
I
would love to see the show grow into a wider regional or national audience and
have the content of the show cover more other un-sung places around the country
and the world. Ultimately, I really want to inspire everyone on the globe to marvel,
respect and work to preserve this amazing place we call Earth!
A
Family, Nature
Treks And Mirthful TV
By PENELOPE OVERTON Hartford
Courant
HADDAM -- Scott Tucker bounds into the dining room
of his split-level Higganum house on a recent Saturday afternoon hauling black
swamp muck in a plastic storage tub that had only hours before held his son's
fluffy crib bedding.
Using plastic spoons and Dixie cups, Tucker
sorts through the sludge, hunting for treasure.
For this amateur
naturalist and filmmaker, treasure comes in the form of aquatic sow bugs. Tucker,
who is mid-40ish, scoops up a small, brown crustacean, drops it into an ice cube
tray filled with water and then zooms in with his video camera for a close-up
of its seven pairs of legs.
His
wife, Ava, stops in the middle of brewing herbal tea and, with their 9-month-old
son on one hip, comes to check out Tucker's latest find. Their 6-year-old
daughter, Daphne, calls a halt to a friend's manicure and scours a well-worn field
guide to identify the bug.
WITH
VIDEO CAMERA, boundless enthusiasm and 6-year-old daughter Daphne in tow, Scott
Tucker explores the Ferguson Nature Preserve in Higganum. He and his family produce
a cable TV program showcasing nature in New England, from sow bugs to salamanders
to the Sound. (Photo by Patrick Raycraft)
This is
what the Tuckers do on their weekends. They explore Haddam wetlands, swim with
jellyfish in Long Island Sound and enjoy moose encounters in New Hampshire, documenting
the adventures on video for Tucker's cable-access TV show, "Expedition New
England."
Tucker and his wife shoot, edit and produce
the show out of a huge walk-in closet in their home. Theyhave made 37 half-hour
episodes so far, with a new one showing every two to three weeks. The show is
broadcast to 600,000 homes in 63 Connecticut towns.
His breathless
appreciation of the local environment, family-friendly approach to exploring the
outdoors and cable TV success landed Tucker a $25,000 grant from the state Department
of Environmental Protection last month to make a film about Long Island Sound.
It was one of 15 Long Island Sound Fund grants awarded this year for a total of
$266,000.
New
Film About Long Island Sound Released on Cable Television and Sent to All
Sixth Grades in Connecticut Schools
Press
Release From The Connecticut Department of Enviromental Protection: Is
your family going stir crazy in the winter while you wait for it to warm up for
a day trip to the shore? That's just what Scott Tucker was thinking as he recently
mailed over 500 free copies of his new film to every 6th grade class in the State
of Connecticut and sent more to area nature centers and educational facilities.
Thanks to a $24,854 grant from the Department of Environmental Protection's Long
Island Sound License Plate Fund, together with a corporate contribution from the
XL Corporation, Scott Tucker's Expedition New England is proud to present a thirty
minute documentary DVD about Long Island Sound entitled "More than a
Sound, a Symphony of Life." While the program is designed to inspire everyone
to protect this magical body of water, it is specifically geared it to capture
the hearts and minds of Connecticut's youth. That's why every sixth grade science
educator received a copy of the DVD. Scott and his family took the camera underwater
while scuba diving to show us the fantastic creatures that depend upon Long Island
Sound for survival.
Also featured are the coastal estuaries of Southern
Connecticut, bringing the viewer face to face with bizarre reptiles like the Diamondback
Terrapin and wild arthropods like the Horseshoe Crab that call the Sound home.
Finally, Scott and his crew teamed up with scientist Dr. Jennifer Mattei of Sacred
Heart University to tag and monitor horseshoe crabs and joined the staff of Project
Oceanology on their educational vessel to take these students deeper into
Long Island Sound than ever before.
Governor M. Jodi Rell said, "I
am especially pleased that teachers and educators all across Connecticut now have
access to an engaging new tool to teach their students about the extraordinary
life that lives below the waters of Long Island Sound. I am excited that Connecticut
has residents such as Mr. Tucker that are engaged in this type of educational
filming and that we have funding opportunities to support his efforts."
DEP
Commissioner Gina McCarthy said, "Through our 'No Child Left Inside' initiative,
DEP is committed to encouraging people – especially young people – to
learn about and care about the outdoors. This new film will certainly help accomplish
that goal. It will stimulate the interest and imagination of people all across
our state. It will also lead more people to explore the wonders of Long Island
Sound and its many inhabitants, and to take the time to bring their children to
our coastal parks and educational facilities for some good wholesome fun."
The
Long Island Sound Fund derives its revenue through the sale of Preserve the Sound
license plates, through proceeds from the Preserve the Sound Affinity credit card,
and by private donations. To date, residents have purchased over 138,000 Preserve
the Sound license plates, raising over $4.8 million for projects to help preserve
and protect Long Island Sound and to create educational and public access opportunities
that foster greater public appreciation for our local marine environment. Information
and order forms for purchasing Preserve the Sound license plates are available
by calling 1-800 CT SOUND, or by writing to Long Island Sound Plate, 60 State
Street, Wethersfield, CT 06161-6001 or online at www.ct.gov/dep/lis . Look for
the Long Island Sound License Plate Program under "Featured Links."
Hey
Kids -- Can you tell what this is?
What
kind of moth is this?
Send
an email to me by clicking HERE (scott@expeditionnewengland.com)
How
about this? What is the name of this frog?. Give it your best guess and scroll
to the bottom for the answer.
And
how about this? What is the name of this turtle?. Give it your best guess and
scroll to the bottom for the answer.
Photo
by TIA ANN CHAPMAN ( July 18, 2007)
What
is Scott Tucker's Expedition New England television show about?
