End of fall roundup!

Having moved back to Maine full-time in August, one would think I might finally feel settled here in Rockland and little less like a gypsy than I normally do…not with all of the events we attended this Fall! The past few months have been full of travel – making it to 12 different events in 4 different states. We are growing as a staff, giving us more opportunity to spread the Hurricane message to wider audiences and the possibility of sharing the Hurricane experience with more and more students, teachers, and visitors.

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This year's Common Ground Fair poster

In September, we stuck to our home turf of Maine. Being a water bug myself, I was a bit out of my element at the Maine State Museum’s Bug Maine-ia, surrounded by tarantulas, termites, and honey bees. But the action never stopped, with 1727 people in just a 4-hour time span stopping by to learn about how termites communicate! Shockingly, many of the termites made it out alive. Our Program Manager, Josie Gates, and one of our Science Educators, Chloe Tremper, took Hurricane to the Midcoast Mini Maker’s Faire. Along with the Knox-Lincoln Conservation Fair, we were allowed to spread our artistic wings a little and get creative with visitors as we shared solar prints and algae presses with over 300 students. At the Common Ground Fair we ate delicious food and spent too much money (I ALMOST bought a bunny), and made new and diverse connections with other organizations, students, families, and colleges. Amazing how much Maine had going on for education in just that one month!

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Earth Science Day at the Maine State Museum

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Steel House's low cost submersibles

October didn’t slow down as we were back at the Museum for their Earth Science Day. Our fabulous Education Director, Dr. Jennifer Page, was inundated while teaching students about ocean circulation and how the density of water affects buoyancy in boats! That floated a lot of kids boats (yes that pun was intentional... yes I know it was bad). The Maine Science Teacher’s Association meeting was a highlight, with a mix of teachers who have brought students before and those who learned of us for the first time. So many workshops and discussions about teaching science…Maine teachers are doing amazing things! I traveled down to New Bedford, MA, for the New England Ocean Science Education Collaborative (NEOSEC) quarterly meeting at Buttonwood Park Zoo. NEOSEC is a collaboration of over 40 institutions from across New England with the mission “to leverage New England’s extraordinary assets, to engage the public in understanding the vital connections between people and the ocean.” It’s like a meeting of the minds for people who love the ocean and want to share it with others; awesome! Again, Jenn represented us at the annual Poptech conference in Rockland with Sam and the Steel House running a workshop on our aquaculture and submersible projects. Jenn and Sam are still running around the office with their fancy french-press, coffee mug schwag!

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NSTA nautilus sign - it was amazing in person!

I know, you’re already overwhelmed with the amount of outreach we’ve been doing, but November was really crazy. I attended the Coalition for Essential Schools annual meeting in Portland. This event brings together schools and organizations from all over the country, even some international schools, to share ideas about education practices and methods for creating educational communities to equip students to become powerful and informed citizens. The next stop on the tour took me to New Hampshire for the New England Environmental Education Alliance (NEEEA) Climate of Change Conference. Not only is our climate changing, but the way we teach about it is also evolving as a result of changing education, communication and engagement in such issues. Inspiring people doing inspiring things in this time of flux! This conference. Sam and Josie also connected with EMS crews from along the coast of Maine at the 35th annual Atlantic Partners EMS seminar. Read Josie’s blog about it here. Finally, Jenn and I road-tripped all the way down to the regional National Science Teachers Association meeting in Philadelphia, PA. The little coastal country mice went to the big city, ate some cheesesteaks, and had a blast! Even though a trip to Hurricane means a 9-hour car drive, Philadelphia teachers were unbelievably enthusiastic about the hands-on, experiential, get-dirty type of educational science experiences we offer on Hurricane and we hope to see some of them on the Island in 2016.

Looking back, the past few months were an insanely busy time. We put a lot of miles on our cars, met a lot of people, shared a lot of great ideas, made new connections, ate some good pretzels, and almost purchased some animals. In all of the unsettled running around, the inspiration and the constant was Hurricane Island. Even far from it’s shores and lapping waves, people feel the energy that it instills in us. They want to come and do the science, learn the sustainability, and walk away with the leadership to change their world. So, in 2016, we’ll continue to travel, to share, to connect, and to expand the Hurricane Island community!

Closing up the island

Like clockwork, the early days of September greeted us with the first cold northerly breeze of the season, a canary sign of the winter that lies ahead. We felt so fortunate to have had a wonderful fall season of programs on Hurricane, with busy days of students exploring the island and the sense of community that gives a certain sense of purpose and meaning to the island. But as October came around, the last of the students boarded M/V Equinox and it became time to start putting the island to bed for the winter.

There is a bitter-sweet feeling that comes with closing down the island as it marks the end of the season. It is a time for reflection and contemplation, for putting things in order and taking stock, and also a time to look ahead and assess and contemplate what the future may hold.  It is a process that perhaps mimics the natural world, that we can observe in the species around us, a necessary preparation as the island too needs her time to rest and reflect over the long, cold months ahead. 

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The every mysterious "Bacon Brothers" make their yearly visit to the island, bringing bacon grease and joy with them.  Little known fact: bacon grease and wigs are incredibly helpful when hauling floats.

It is no small undertaking to prepare the buildings and systems for the winter, but much work was done in a short amount of time with the help of the solid Hurricane crew of Josie, Chloe, Phoebe, Jenn, and, of course, Oakley and Silas (rumored to be part of the band of "Bacon Brothers", these suspicions have not been substantiated).  Buildings were secured for the winter, wall tents dismantled and stored away, spaces were cleaned and organized, boats and floats hauled, and finally the water system drained and winterized.  Much thanks goes to the Cabot Lyman and Chip Bauer of our Infrastructure Committee who have been vigilant and thoughtful about designing the systems to be simple yet robust to minimize, as much as possible, the daily and annual maintenance that is necessary to keep the island running. And much thanks to the staff for developing systems and procedures that make close-down smoother and smoother every year.  It is comforting on the blustery winter nights to know that that Hurricane has been properly secured for the winter, and that the when we open the island back up in the Spring that everything will be ready to roll.

We still plan to visit island throughout the next few months to check on things as we move through the winter.  Spending time on Hurricane in the winter is a wonderful experience and one of strong contrast to the days of July and August.  Although the quiet and solitude of days on the island in the winter are beautiful in their own way, the busy days full of activity and students and programs are very much missed.  It is a good reminder and inspiration to continue to develop the mission of this organization and to continue to build the community on Hurricane Island.

Apprenticeshop Expedition

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Full sails aboard the Castor

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First year apprentices Nina and ???

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View from Duck Harbor "Mountain"

Written by Facilities Manager Oakley Jackson

          The Apprentice Shop crew and I set sail aboard Castor, one of the shop built vessels, from Hurricane on the afternoon of Monday the 28th of September.  With a steady southerly we made good time out around Heron Neck on Greens Island.  The breeze stayed on our quarter the whole way as we sailed between Sheep Island and Carvers and out past Saddleback Ledge with its weathered little lighthouse tower. Approaching Isle Au Haut we neared several ledges with seals perched high above the sea. Though we were a good ways off the seals spooked and we witnessed them making a plunge off an 8 ft. sheer cliff into the water below. Exciting show!

            We dropped the hook for the night in Duck Harbor and erected a tent/fort with a tarp draped over a sprit between the masts. Dinner was cooked on board and the moon gave us an incredible show as it rose into a mackerel sky, it was the night following the super moon eclipse. The next morning we awoke to fog and decided to take a hike up Duck Harbor “Mountain” for a nice view of the harbor, despite the reduced visibility. Sailing away from Isle Au Haut we set a course of 320° towards Winter Harbor on Vinalhaven. The fog shrouded us in its folds and we had to rely on the compass for what felt like a long while. The occasional lobster boat crossed our path, but thankfully our course was true and we emerged from the grayness at the mouth of Winter Harbor.

             Sailing past Big Hen Island we tucked in behind Little Hen and anchored for lunch and exploration ashore. Little Hen is part of the Maine Island Trail Association (MITA) and affords a great little campground barely above sea level. With it still being early in the day we decided to sail on past the Goose Rocks sparkplug lighthouse and through the Fox Island Thoroughfare. With snotty weather in the forecast we took refuge in Southern Harbor on North Haven. We made landfall just before the rain began and gratefully took shelter at the Gates’ home.  We listened as the wind picked up and the rain poured down. Big thanks to Josie for recommending the safe haven of her house.

            The onslaught of rain and wind had not ceased by morning and we decided we needed a plan B if sailing on to Rockland did not seem like a wise choice. With the forecast calling for winds of 30 knots, gusting to 40, and seas building to 6 ft. we agreed to give the bay a look and return to Browns boatyard if we deemed it too rough.  Castor is a sturdy vessel and with reefs in both in the main and foresails she took on the waves gallantly, charging through and sending blown spray onto our already rain soaked heads. As in the words of John Masefield’s Sea Fever the wind was“like a whetted Knife,” but we gritted our teeth and sailed out into the rising tempest.  By the time we were abreast of the Sugar Loaves at the western end of the thoroughfare the gusts were putting severe strain on the rigging. With the words, “I’ve seen enough” I turned the helm hard to leeward and began the retreat towards land. After tacking our way back through the Thoroughfare downtown North Haven we snagged a mooring and abandoned Castor to ride out the storm. Although it was tough to call the expedition early it was clear that we had made the right choice.  We were grateful for the days of sailing we were given and all felt rewarded to have tested our vessel in strong winds and to have had her perform so beautifully. I am already looking forward to next year’s expedition! 

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Second year apprentices Dakota and Silas

Organization of Biological Field Stations Meeting

Meeting participants take time to explore the North Pole Basin with Ian Bicknell, RMBL Director

At the end of September, I was fortunate enough to spend a week at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab in Gothic, CO, attending the Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS) Annual Meeting. OBFS is a network that supports over 300 field stations around the world with the mission “to help member stations increase their effectiveness in supporting critical research, education, and outreach programs. We pursue this goal in a manner that maximizes diversity, inclusiveness, sustainability, and transparency.” Individuals are able to trouble shoot and problem solve by accessing the wealth of knowledge contained in this network and the annual meeting provides the opportunity for face-to-face interactions, which leads to collaborations and partnerships. I traveled to the meeting with Laura Sewall, Director of the Bates Morse Mountain Conservation Area and Coastal Center at Shortridge, and my co-PI on the NSF Field Station and Marine Laboratory planning grant. We used the meeting as a venue to gather ideas and make connections to further formalize the network of Gulf of Maine field stations, marine labs, and larger research institutions.

I attended a session on how to develop programs with community colleges to increase field science opportunities to those who may not otherwise have access - Hurricane would be a great venue! Other sessions offered ideas on fundraising events and efforts to supplement operating revenue to keep a field station financially viable over time and establishing and maintaining long-term monitoring projects with the aim of providing services to surrounding communities and the broader scientific community.

Miles O’Brien, a freelance journalist and science correspondent for the PBS News Hour, and Mark Ruffalo, an actor and environmental activist who started Water Defense, connected to the meeting through Skype to speak to the entire group. They spoke about their experiences communicating science to the public and the dire need for increasing science literacy. They emphasized the importance of field stations as providing access to nature and in understanding our world through the scientific process.  

Overall, it was an incredible week in a beautiful place and I am reenergized to continue the work to create field science opportunities for middle and high school students through career scientists on Hurricane Island.

Fryeburg Academy

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Fryeburg Academy's AP Environmental Science class joined us for a fast-paced 24-hour visit! Upon arrival, the students explored Hurricane’s historical roots and sustainable systems. They then hopped on one of our boats to learn how to haul lobster traps with Oakley. The rest of the afternoon was spent with Chloe and Jacque, hiking and learning about basic botany and phenology (the study of seasonal change) in preparation for the development of a phenology focused research project.

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After a tasty, fresh-caught lobster dinner and watching the nearly full moon rise over Greens Island, we headed to the lab where the students developed their research question and methods.  The students were interested in investigating if paper birch trees on the south end were further along in their phenophase (an observable stage or phase in the annual life cycle of a plant) than paper birch on the east side of the island. Early the next morning, the students were back in the lab narrowing down a procedure and then they headed out into the field to collect their data.

They split into two groups – one headed to the south end and one to the east side of the island.  Each group walked along a 60m transect. In order to randomly select paper birch trees, the students would stop every 15m along the transect and then collect data on the nearest paper birch to that stopping point.  At each tree, students quantified the color of leaves on a select number of branches as well as other data about that tree including height, circumference, and available sunlight.

Back in the lab, each group compiled their data and spent time analyzing the results, which were then presented to the Hurricane Island staff. Even in such a short amount of time, students were able to collect enough data to conclude that paper birch on the eastern side of the island were further along in their phenophase than paper birch on the south side of island.  We had a great time with the Fryeburg students and their instructor and we hope they enjoyed their whirlwind trip of Hurricane as well!

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Proctor Academy Ocean Classroom

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Students from Proctor Academy’s Ocean Classroom semester program started the first leg of their journey on Hurricane where we enjoyed two days exploring the island and learning some valuable skills that students can take with them to sea as they begin their sailing voyage aboard the Schooner Roseway.

During the first part of the program we showed everyone around Hurricane’s sustainable systems and then took students on a hike around the island that revealed the foundations and other artifacts that remain from when Hurricane was an operational granite quarry town. Students looked through historical images and identified the church, town hall, and company store from the granite era. We also recently received the original organ from Hurricane’s Catholic Church back from North Haven, and students even took turns playing it and reviving some of the old sounds of the island in the 1900s.

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After the history lesson, students learned about how to read nautical charts and perfected some basic knots including a bowline, slipknot, figure 8, and clove hitch. Each watch then raced to get everyone to successfully tie all of the knots and demonstrate their new skills.

Students also had a chance to explore the low-tide zone near Gibbon’s Point to get a snapshot of the type of organisms that make up rocky intertidal areas in Maine. We caught a lot of green crabs (some students dared to eat a live green crab), watched barnacles feeding in tide pools, and caught hermit crabs scampering around trying to hide among empty periwinkle shells.

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We also enjoyed showing students how to use ornithology field guides and binoculars to identify seabirds. While we mostly saw herring gulls and eider ducks off Hurricane, we expect students to encounter a variety of amazing seabirds during their ocean voyage. We also talked about how seabirds are adapted to survive in the ocean environment.

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Finally, we discussed Maine’s commercial fisheries and how important the lobster industry is to the economy of Maine’s coastal communities. We took a look at the data from this past year’s fishing season from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, and students learned about the history of some of Maine’s other historically important fisheries including the cod fishery and the scallop fishery. Students learned about how Maine manages and regulates fisheries to try and avoid overharvesting different species, and we discussed the challenges of trying to manage species that have complicated and not fully understood life histories and behaviors. Students also had a chance to see how lobster fishing works in action by going out on the boat with Oakley to watch him haul his recreational lobster traps. We got enough lobster to enjoy a lobster dinner that night, followed by a birthday celebration!

We wish students fair seas and strong winds during their next adventure on Roseway headed towards the Caribbean, and you can follow along with their trip’s progress at the school’s blog.

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Pathways 101 Deer Isle-Stonington High School

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We had a great time working with students from Deer Isle-Stonington High School’s Pathways 101 program: an introductory course that is focused on developing core skills so students understand the project-based learning principles that guide the Marine Studies Pathway and the Arts Pathway programs at the high school.

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Students started the program with a discussion about how they operate in groups and the constructive and destructive behaviors that individuals can bring to the table to hold group work back or help group work move forward.

Students then took on two small design challenges where they competed to build the tallest tower using just 1 meter of tape, 10 pieces of spaghetti, and a marshmallow. They also worked as a group to design aluminum foil boats to hold the most rocks while still remaining buoyant in a tub of water. Both of these activities were an opportunity for students to learn how to work as a group towards a common goal, and figure out their individual strengths within the group.

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Afterwards we shifted gears to talk about the issue of marine debris in our oceans. We discussed the sources of marine debris, how long it takes to degrade in the marine environment, and how marine debris can harm marine organisms through ingestion and entanglement.

The group then split into two teams, and we recorded data on marine debris we collected from along Hurricane’s shoreline. Between the two groups we collected over 400 pieces of trash ranging from pieces of fishing debris (buoys, line, and bait strapping ties) to household waste like plastic bottles and food wrappers. One group even returned with a full tire!

The next challenge was for the groups to design a sculpture using the marine debris they collected to communicate a message about some aspect of why marine debris is a problem. Students got inspired by looking at examples of how other artists have tackled the problem including Chris Jordan and Angela Pozzi.

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After planning their art projects to include the materials they would use, the message they were trying to communicate, and the design they were planning to implement, students spent the whole morning on the second day working as a group to develop their marine debris sculptures.

One group chose to make a lobster that was choked up with fishing debris, showing that trash generated by the lobster industry can impact the health of the resource it is trying to harvest. The other group built a series of marine organisms entangled in marine debris including some fish made out of plastic bottles with a comb for a dorsal fin, and a seagull made out of bottles and a Styrofoam cup.

We enjoyed working with students to complete their projects and were impressed by how quickly they learned to work together as a team. This program is part of their formative assessment on group work, and we look forward to seeing the product from their summative assessment! We also appreciate their enthusiasm and dedication to help us keep Hurricane’s coastline clean!​

Brookwood School 6th Grade

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Sixth grade students from Brookwood School in Manchester, MA joined us on Hurricane for a fun-filled 24-hour program (September 17-18, 2015) that helped students kick off their school year as new members of the upper school. We enjoyed showing students some of our favorite parts of the Island and also took advantage of early fall by harvesting apples from Hurricanes trees to make cider.

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Other highlights from the program involved a full-group exploration of the low tide area between Hurricane Island and Two Bush Island. Students left few places unexplored and found all sorts of exciting invertebrates including baby lobsters, sea urchins, tunicates, and we also found some lumpfish!

We spent the rest of the program with students in smaller groups rotating to different stations where they learned about maps, the forest ecosystem, Maine’s lobster fishery, and how Hurricane operates off the grid.

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At the mapping station, students learned the parts of a map and how different maps communicate different messages. Making their own maps of their advisors classroom, students learned the importance of clear symbols, legends and scale bars in painting a picture of a foreign land. Students then collaborated and got creative as they worked to create a map of their Journey to Hurricane. This activity gave the students a chance to think about where their journey started, what were important landmarks and how best to communicate what this journey meant to them and they did it as a team!

Students also explored Hurricane's forest ecosystem starting with granite.  They learned about primary succession and how soil came to be on Hurricane.  Then we talked about how different types of plants would have arrived to Hurricane and how we can learn about a lot about a forest through tree rings.  After that, we discussed ways wildlife impact the forest and looked for wildlife tracks and scats. Finally, we created a Hurricane forest food web as a team and connected common species of Hurricane to each other based on habitat and diet requirements.  Each student was a different species and became directly or indirectly connected to one another through the web so that when one student moved, everyone moved.

During our lobster explorations, students were challenged to draw lobsters only from hearing their classmates describe them. We then talked about how important the lobster industry is to the State of Maine, making up 78% of Maine’s fisheries income last year and how different fisheries have been important to Maine historically. Students took a look at the collapse of the cod industry, and got a snapshot of how global ocean warming and acidification will impact the Gulf of Maine. Students also had a chance to go see our recreational lobster traps get hauled up and more about the mechanics of lobster fishing. There was also some time for students to jig for fish off the dock—where we caught and released a few pollock and mackerel.

At the sustainability stations, we learned about Hurricane’s off-the-grid campus and students also had a chance to really think about what sustainability means. In ecology, sustainability is the capacity to endure; it is how biological systems remain diverse and productive indefinitely. To pursue sustainability is to create and maintain the conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony to support present and future generations. Part of understanding sustainability involves looking at how previous communities on Hurricane functioned: students learned about the human history on the island, form the quarrying era, to Outward Bound and then to our current use of the island. We talked about how each community acquired essential needs (food, water, energy, and shelter) and how we can learn from the past about how we want to live and operate on Hurricane. We also discussed our water system and how we pump and distribute water and where the water ends up after it is goes down the drain, then we talked about food and the cycle of growing food to eating and composting. Some students helped plant beds of hearty spinach and kale in Hurricanes garden that we will enjoy as the season gets chillier out on the island. We finished by talking about solar electricity and the solar thermal system, and the difference between using generators run by fossil fuels vs. photovoltaic panels and the different between the inputs of materials for each.

We had a great time with Brookwood and we hope to see students and classes back out on Hurricane in the future!​