AACC Environmental Center

Our time at Shoals is almost done, but there’s always time for a sunset watch party—especially when it’s followed by dockside searching for bioluminescence.

Ten AACC students are spending the week at the Shoals Marine Lab in Maine to conduct research projects with faculty members Seth Miller and Kelly Livernoche. Living on an island marine station in the Gulf of Maine provides slightly different views than their normal classrooms!

By land, air, and sea, the EC hunted for SAV! This week, EC staff and volunteers did some pre-restoration surveys in Hunters Harbor Cove, identifying SAV species from kayaks and conducting aerial surveys using drones. Submerged aquatic vegetation restoration is one of the signature programs of the EC—check the link in our Instagram bio to help out!

Hope the snails love their new manicures! This week, High-RISE research students Jennifer and Autumn went to the Eastern Shore to paint marsh periwinkles as part of a mark/recapture study with their mentor Seth Miller. How far snails move can have big impacts on the health of the marsh, and marking them with nail polish and measuring their movements is a great way to dive into research!

Thank you Tom Guay with Eco-Ed Endeavors for the evening trip around the Severn looking for Horseshoe crabs and planning more amphibious survey trips. Found only one lone female last night but learned a lot about osprey and saw several herons.