This fellowship will provide an enriching transition into my
senior year at the University of New Hampshire as an Environmental Conservation
Studies major. Growing up in New Jersey I was always captivated by the
ever-changing coastal and marine ecosystems. Now that I have lived in New
Hampshire since 2013, I have learned a lot not only about the ecosystems
themselves, but also humans’ role in understanding and conserving them.
I am excited to gain valuable experience in habitat
restoration field work techniques as well as how to communicate successfully
with communities and volunteers. There are three sand dune restoration projects
that we will be working on this summer, each requiring communication with a
diverse group of stakeholders and volunteers from the community and nearby
schools. I am especially excited to be part of the beginning stages of a
riparian buffer restoration project at the Sagamore-Hampton Golf Club. This
will involve water quality monitoring as well as surveys of vegetation
communities. I will also have the chance of helping with NH Sea Grant’s Coastal
Research Volunteers’ projects which include eel monitoring, oyster restoration
and beach microplastics monitoring.
Already, I’ve had the chance to participate in several of
these projects in the field. My first day on the job was a perfect introduction
to the NH Sea Grant world: a baseline fish survey of Lubberland Creek in the
rain. We had a great posse of samplers including representatives from the
Nature Conservancy, NHSG’s Coastal Research Volunteers, and even Dave from the
podcast “Fish Nerds”. Trudging through the vegetated upper creek down into the
salt marsh with sein nets and buckets, we identified, counted and measured fish
species at several sites along the transect. I learned a lot about how the
natural community can shift drastically in such a relatively small area in estuaries, as well
as how to collect data for fish monitoring. Check out NHSG's flickr account for more photographs of the field day, as well as other photos of NHSG happenings: https://www.flickr.com/photos/nhseagrant/
 |
| Me, Alyson and two volunteers scour through the caught debris to find and measure fish on Lubberland Creek. Photograph taken by Becky Zeiber |
My second day in the field and Myrilla’s first was at
Hampton Beach State Park where Dover High School students brought beach pea
plants they propagated at their greenhouses. They helped us plant the beach pea
along with American beachgrass in the restoration area. It was awesome to meet
younger people excited to learn about plants, dunes and the restoration
project.
For the past two weeks Myrilla and I have been helping plant
American beachgrass and other native dune plants on Plum Island for the Newbury
sand dune project. We have had a solid team of ladies putting plants in the
ground everyday, hoping to beat the heat and get as much area planted as
possible. Check out Myrilla’s first post to learn more about our experiences
with the dune projects so far.
 |
| An average day planting beachgrass on Plum Island, Newbury, MA (Photograph by Natalie Feldsine) |
One of my favorite experiences so far has been the eel
monitoring, carried out by NHSG Coastal Research Volunteers. Alyson’s extensive
knowledge has opened my eyes to how amazing eels are, and how important it is
to communicate that information to people - especially those whose lifestyles
and decisions affect the eels.
I am really looking forward to working with more volunteers
and community members on these projects. Science is very important, but being able
to communicate it is even more vital. As the weeks continue I know I will learn
more about how to successfully do so!
In the next few weeks we will continue working in the dunes,
as well as starting work on the riparian buffer project. I’m curious to meet
the other NH Sea Grant and NH Cooperative Extension interns to learn more about
their projects for the summer. Look out for an update in the near future!
Cheers,
Molly
No comments:
Post a Comment