Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Summer's Heating up in the Dunes



Hello Everyone! 

Myrilla here,reporting in to give you all another adventure filled update on my summer so far at NH Sea Grant. Working alongside my fellow intern Molly McGovern we have experience a diverse experience of field work so far.

 
The first few weeks Molly and I jump feet first into the dunes, helping plant American beachgrass and other native dune plants on Plum Island for the Newbury sand dune project. We had an awesome group of ladies out with us to get as many plants in before the heat came. We manage to get through most of the plants we had in cold storage but unfortunately with the mid-summer heat it is too hot to plant. However, this does not stop the task force as we are much engaged on this project.


 We have also broke grounds on the riparian buffer restoration project at the Sagamore-Hampton Golf Club. Breaking out our checkered shorts and dusting off our clubs we tried to act like we were fluent in the golf lingo as we surveyed the greens for potential buffer areas. But make sure to check out Molly’s posting about the buffer project!

                                                                                          

 
At Hampton State Park, in the beginning of the summer, we worked with Dover High School students, who brought beach pea plants they propagated at their greenhouses. They helped us plant the beach pea along with American beachgrass in the restoration area. Later on Molly, Alyson, and I went back out in the field too collected some data on the garden. With our quadrat square( ½ M square), tape measure, and field journal we measured out the distanced of the each garden and generated random numbers to have unbiased data collection. With the quadrat square in hand we gave it a toss to give us a sampling point and collected information on the plants; dead or alive and if any runners came up from the parent plant. This information is important to collect because it will give us details for the next planting cycle. Being out in the field has given me valuable experience in habitat restoration field work techniques along with working with community engagement that I will be able to carry on in my future education and work experience.





 Along with working in the dunes, Molly and I have been working on a website for the dune restoration project that will be up soon on the NH Sea grant website! The website will be full of wonderful information on what dunes are the importance of them, the restoration project and details for each site. We hope you enjoy the information and pictures, as well as find the site easy to maneuver around with!

A quick update, Alyson’s wetland permit has just been approved ( happy dance!) and we are able to get out in the field to start work in Harbor state park. At the park we will be setting up rope fencing along to dunes to help keep beach goers off the dunes and on the right path. We have also drawn up some signs to educate the public on the project and get them involved.


It’s hard to believe it is already midway through July and I’m over halfway done my internship! But I hope you enjoy the posting and  check in later for my future posting!

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