2014 Ally- Ready to Go!

Hi everyone!

Sorry to leave you hanging - I have been “patiently” waiting for the UNH Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects in Research (IRB) to approve my research so I can begin to interview people for my report. Because I haven’t been permitted to reach out to my contacts yet, I had a short work week last week and didn’t have time to update my blog. But I have good news; after two weeks of waiting the IRB has finally approved my proposal and I am good to begin my research...Yippee! 

Anyways, my short week does not mean I didn’t have a productive week. I spent my time finishing the literature review for my report, preparing the community champion interview questions, and beginning a rough outline of my research. 

Dr. David Burdick in the marsh(shown above)

In addition to my office work, I attended the third "Preparing for Climate Change in Rye" workshop at the Seacoast Science Center. The objective of this event was to educate members of the Rye community about the importance of the salt marshes in their town and was hosted by Amanda Stone, Kim Reed, and Dr. David Burdick. Burdick is a research associate professor of Marine Wetland Ecology and Restoration at the University of New Hampshire and was the primary lecturer at the event. He took our group both outside into the nearby salt marsh and inside for a lecture that described the importance of salt marshes in coastal communities as well as addressed the current health of the marshes. While Burdick talked, it was extremely encouraging to see community members become passionate and ask educated questions about the implications of sea level rise, land-use changes, and human activities on the marshes. I found the event to be very interesting and am looking forward to attending the final workshop of the series in August. 

The salt marsh at Odiorne Point (shown above) where the first half of the workshop took place.

The view outside the Seacoast Science Center (rough place to work...)

I was also excited to venture outside my cubicle last Tuesday and meet the other NH SeaGrant and UNH Cooperative Extension interns. We all got together for a “meet-and-greet” event where we got to know each other and learn about the projects each of us are working on this summer. It was awesome to talk with the others and get excited about what they are doing- I’m looking forward to hearing about how everyone’s work is progressing at our next event in July. 

This week I hope to spend time practicing my interview questions and reaching out to potential community climate adaption champions to see if they will be interested in talking with me. By next week I should be interviewing community climate adaption champions and getting into the heart of my project!

Wish me luck and keep your eyes out for an update soon,

 

Ally