Week 4: Show me the cockles!

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Katie Gregory

My favorite part about my placement for this internship thus far has been its erratic nature. I mean this in the best way possible! No two weeks are the same ; my schedule is always changing, and with it my tasks (partially due to splitting my time between 2 mentors). This week held in store some challenging statistics work and a new survey for cockle clams in the South Slough Estuary.

I will spare my readers from going too far into detail on the stats stuff, but basically I have been asked by Scott (the ODFW shellfish biologist and pink shrimp fishery expert) to assess the current rule for how pink shrimp takes are measured by authorities, and to see if we can come up with a better system that requires less work to get the same value. This can be done using a power analysis, which determines the sample size necessary for your experiment. Generally, the greater the sample size the more statistical power. However, we want to avoid huge sample sizes because that requires time and resources. And there lies my chore- to find a happy medium that gets the job done better than the current, arbitrary rule (found here #635-005-0645- http://arcweb.sos.state.or.us/pages/rules/oars_600/oar_635/635_005.html ) .

For the cockle survey we set off as a crew of three (Joe, Liz [both ODFW employees], and myself), without the guidance of our trusted leader Scott, who was suffering from severe back pain. Though we were all first-timers to this particular survey, we had full confidence in our ability to run a smooth operation. The survey methods are fairly simple- 1. find your waypoint 2. lay down the 1 meter-by- meter quadrat and take note of the kind of substrate it is on 3. rake in one direction and pull out any cockle clams you unearth, then record that number 4. rake in the opposite direction and do the same. The reason for raking twice is to get a detection rate differential between the first and second swipe. It is almost always an 80% detection rate on the first swipe.

Minus one navigational hiccup, day 1 of the survey went without a hitch. I got to practice more of my GPS skills as I led the team from waypoint to waypoint (which I had generated on our maps using a GIS program- nbd), and soon we had completed nearly all of our 60-point goal. We would have gotten all of them too, if it hadn’t been for those meddling tides! We brought our bag-o-clams back to the lab to be weighed and measured and entered into the data base with the previous years’ data. This survey has been done for almost a decade and the goal is to compare the densities at two sites- one that is open to commercial cockle fishing (they’re often used for bait), and one that falls within the South Slough National Estuarine Reserve that is only lightly recreationally clammed.

The next few days were the same, with the only differences being that we were rejoined by Scott and that we started at the heavily fished site and then moved up to the less exploited site. The south slough was a beautiful work space, we only had to deal with a few sticky spots on the flats (my waders have never been so clean at the end of the day), and we were surrounded by wildlife. Joe, being the typical birder, has an exceptional eye and ear for birds and their calls and never fails to point one out for me. We saw a couple juvenile bald eagles fly right in front of us, and drove past some fat sunbathing seals in the boat. The beauty combined with some great senses of humor made the work go fast, even if we had a lot more clams to carry. It was a fun time.

On a more personal note (since I’ve gotten a few friends and family to read these things), I wanted to share that my time in Oregon has inspired the chef in me. My meals are still mediocre at best, but I really enjoy cooking for myself, especially after years of being stuck on a meal plan. I’ve found joy in planning my meals ahead and making a fine tuned list for the grocery store (which totally helps with budgeting). I’ve been incorporating so many veggies into classically easy college kid foods- like eggs and pasta- yummy and healthy. I’ve made several calls home to my mom along the way to ask some pretty basic food prep questions, and she’s been very helpful. It’s a process, but you gotta start somewhere. Pictured below is a meal I made a couple nights ago- garlic, onion, zucchini, and broccoli with parmesan and alfredo sauce over whole wheat shells.

Cheers,

Katie

“So it goes.”

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Sarah Ann Coffin

So it goes. Vonnegut’s wise words have followed me to the southern coast this weekend for my first work trip out in the field. For the past few days, Oregon State University graduate Katie and I have visited over one hundred houses in attempts to administer surveys. Our goal in this study is to assess quality of life, well-being, and attitudes of residents towards marine reserves on the Oregon Coast. The results of this study will then be provided to researchers, community leaders, and policy makers to inform decision-making.

Katie Williams (OSU) and Sarah Coffin (OSG) on the Coos Bay survey administration trip on July 15, 2017.

As we are still in the pilot study phase of our research, we anticipated a few hiccups as we continue to hone in to the balance between strong methodology and realistic limitations. As expected of any applied research study, many things have in fact gone awry. Nonetheless, I am grateful for the redeeming cup of coffee that sits in front of me as I write.

City map planning at So It Goes coffeehouse in Coos Bay, Oregon.

In my mind, a research project has many similarities to a relationship. It has its high and low points – all of which are testaments to the development of a rewarding finished product. Though low points are not typically glamorized, I find them just as constructive both for the growth of myself as a researcher as well as for my project. Introspection at this time is often a necessity. In attempts to juggle four projects, I’ve found myself mildly overwhelmed by this relationship. So it goes.

In addition to reflection specific to my daily work, this internship has provided me with a glance into future directions. With graduation from my undergraduate program nearing this fall, I am now faced with the question: “Do I want a Masters degree or a Ph.D.?” More importantly, “Am I ready for this?” I feel fortunate to be surrounded by advisors with both professional and academic degrees who have shared their experiences with me. Amongst all of their stories, I have noted a common theme of sacrifice.

An old friend once told me that, “you get out of it what you put in to it”. His words stay with me now as I mull through the decisions in front of me. Though my end results in research have always been exceedingly rewarding, I now strive to find a balance between my academic and personal goals. Perhaps my next step is to go abroad and travel. Perhaps it is to apply to schools. No matter my choice, I am thankful to be part of a program that challenges my perspective and encourages frequent spurts of growth. There is nowhere I would rather be than here. So it goes.

Kurt Vonnegut.

Week Four: Fish Seining Begins

Posted on July 16, 2017 by Julia Indivero

The South Slough–and estuaries in general–are important spawning and nursery grounds for many marine fish species. However, the last time that there was a comprehensive assessment of the fish community in the South Slough was back in 1987. So approximately two years ago, the South Slough received funding to monitor the fish populations again. Once a week almost every month, a set of six sites are sampled at high and low tide. The information on the species and number of fish caught in each sample helps the reserve understand how fish communities in the slough are changing across seasons and years in different parts of the estuary. By combining this species abundance and richness data with water quality data, they can also assess how environmental conditions influence species presence, absence, and abundance. Overall, this project aims to characterize long-term trends in habitat use by fish, and it can additionally help evaluate the effectiveness of past restoration efforts.

This fish monitoring project is the other main part of my internship with South Slough, in addition to the green crab work, and this week was the first fish sampling week scheduled since I started my internship. So starting this Monday, my time this week was almost entirely spent with fish work. The method used for the fish monitoring is called seining. Seining consists of a large net that hangs vertically in the water, with a float line on the top and a weighted line on the bottom. As the net is deployed along the shore, the weighted line drops the net to the bottom of the water and the float line keeps it buoyed on the water surface, creating a large barrier that scoops up all the fish in the seine net area.

To deploy the seine net, we first set a person on shore as the anchor, holding a rope at one end of the net. Then a person on the boat deploys the net from the bow, creating an arc near the shore.

Two people then each hold one end of the net, and haul the net through the water to the shore.

Once the net reaches the shore, everything in the net is funneled to the bag at the bottom of the net. All the fish and crabs in the net are then placed in buckets (with oxygenators).

All of the fish and crabs caught are then identified, and their length and weight are measured.

This week, we caught dozens of different kinds of fish and crabs–Chinook salmon juveniles (both wild and hatchery-released), different kinds of perch and sole, herring, anchovies, pipefish, and more.

It was exciting to learn new field techniques and to become better with fish identification as the week went on. The next week of fish seining will be sometime in August, and I’m excited to do it all again!

Finally Field Work! Willapa Edition

Posted on July 13, 2017 by Allie Blanchette

My research this summer with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is on the ecological role that oyster aquaculture plays in estuaries. It is commonly accepted that current industrialized agriculture has a huge impact on the environment, and we (a team of my mentor, a lab tech, a Master’s student, and myself) are specifically looking at how the fish and crustaceans utilize these aquaculture beds as habitat. Are they hiding in and around the oyster shells? Are they hunting? Just passing by to get to the more natural eelgrass beds? Or do they completely desert the area? Only data will tell.

Road tripping to Washington

Because our main study topic is aquaculture, and the Yaquina Bay where our Hatfield offices and my summer residences are located does not experience aquaculture, our field work involves taking trips of 3-6 days to other bays that do. This past Friday, while everyone was gearing up for the weekend, our little research team trucked up to Willapa, Washington for my first taste of estuarine field work.

Boating to site on a deceptively calm morning

So far, here’s what it tastes like: wind, salt, and great hotel coffee. The wind blasts in your face while on the boat, giving a nice dose of salty muddy estuary water with it, but to compensate the coffee provided at our hotel has been amazing (and I’m not even a big coffee drinker).

Our days have consisted of getting up at the crack of dawn and boating around the Willapa Bay to deploy and retrieve our many devices that will reveal the secrets of the “fishy” behavior going on below. Our technology ranges from camera rigs fastened with the highly regarded GoPro to sticks with squid piece super-glued to them, such is field work.

12-foot camera rigs at low tide (me for scale)

Same camera rigs at high tide

My favorite parts have been retrieving the minnow traps and counting and measuring the little critters we catch. So far, we have found: the feisty Dungeness crab, the “always looks kind of dead” shiner perch, the slimy gunnel, the abundant stickleback, the English sole that looks like Flats the Flounder from SpongeBob, and my favorite the staghorn sculpin (the namesake of my favorite IPA). The days are long and tiring, but to me zooming around on a boat and tromping through mud all day feels doesn’t really feel like work.

We will continue collecting data for the next few days (stay tuned for Field Work Part 2 next week), and upon return to Hatfield, I will finally have my own data to analyze! As a contribution to my mentor’s work on estuaries, my personal project for the summer will be to compare the collected video and predation data from this trip between two different types of oyster aquaculture (long-line vs. on-bottom).

For the past four years, I have been vegetarian to reduce my environmental impact. Being able to further learn about the impacts of agriculture and contribute to research that will help reduce those impacts has already been an amazing opportunity that I am excited to be a part of, and I look forward to what is still to come.

Road Trips, Rockfish, and Redfish Rocks

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Zach Clemens

There is a piece of vital information about science I feel I need to share at this point in the summer. Be advised, this may come as a bit of a shock. Scientists are people too. Every single one of us – human beings. If you are a scientist or know a scientist, you should know this. And if you’re reading this now and know me personally, I hope that you at least somewhat recognized this already. However, I accept that it can be easy to completely forget about the human dimension of this increasingly computerized, data-driven behemoth we call science. Last week provided me with ample examples of how we science geeks are just as human as anybody else.

It began with the 4^th of July last Tuesday. While the laws of nature may never take a day off, the people studying them certainly do. I spent the day at the beach with a couple other Sea Grant scholars and a handful of the REUs here at Hatfield Marine Science Center. Let me take a moment to say that every one of my fellow interns is incredibly bright. Each intern is collaborating with other scientists, conducting high level research on topics that range from oyster antibiotics to deep-sea volcanoes. I’ve had some great conversations over the past few weeks and learned a ton, because I’m living in close quarters with a group of geniuses. However, our collective genius is probably not always fully apparent. For example, we spent a significant portion of beach time trying to push one another out of a small circle in the sand while playing the classic Independence Day game “Beach Sumo”. Hey, even geniuses need to blow off some steam. We grilled out, played some more conventional 4^th of July games (e.g. beach volleyball), and watched the local fireworks just like any other collection of human beings might on America’s birthday. And the next day, it was right back to work in the lab and/or office.

Actually, for me, I wasn’t in the lab or office the next day. Instead I spent the day on a work road trip. Scientists take road trips too. Remember SMURFing? Well we took this road trip down to pick up the fish collected in SMURFs by our collaborators in Port Orford. I travelled with Will, a Ph.D. student at Oregon State studying juvenile rockfish, and Madeline, an REU student working with Will for the summer. The drive to Port Orford is a long one and we filled it with naps, swapping stories, and jamming to mid-90s grunge music. Once we arrived, though, it was all science again. We were somewhat disappointed to have driven four hours to pick up only five fish, but that’s all that had been collected from the SMURFs that morning. As the old saying goes, science is as science does. Rather than turn tail and retreat to Newport immediately though, we chose to take matters into our own hands. The three of us donned our wetsuits and hiked down some 300+ steps at a former coast guard station to reach a beautiful protected cove where we snorkeled for about an hour, collecting fish with nets. Fieldwork is awesome. When the sheer cold of Oregon’s waters finally overpowered the warmth we felt from the beauty of our surroundings (and, more importantly, our wetsuits) we loaded up in the car and drove back to Newport in high spirits. A few days later Will, Maddy, and I went snorkeling for juveniles again, this time in Newport. Conditions were much more difficult. I don’t want to shame Maddy and myself with exact numbers, but the number of fish captured collectively by the two of us was borderline pathetic. In contrast, Will raked in 20 fish all by himself. If I hadn’t personally witnessed him eating a gigantic burrito an hour later, I might believe that perhaps he actually is a fish-catching robot, rather than human.

I spent the most of the rest of my week working on writing up posts for the Marine Reserves website. Not to brag or anything, but the ODFW Marine Reserves Program has a fantastic website. If you have any interest in Oregon’s oceans, marine conservation, or just have a spare 10 minutes I encourage you to check it out at http://oregonmarinereserves.com/. There’s some great information and photos on there about the reserves and the hard work we do here to monitor them. Over the course of the summer I’ll be writing several posts for the news section on the homepage, covering topics such as SMURFing, sea star wasting syndrome, and some of the other projects I work with. The first post went up last Friday if you’re interested!

Writing these posts has gotten me thinking about all of the similar scientific material I’ve read either online or in print. All of these public posts and articles are written by real human people whether you believe it or not. And although the writing style is generally one that intentionally emphasizes the information over the author, I think some of the writer’s personality often leaks into the text whether they intend it or not. In my opinion, this is a good thing for communicating with the public. Making scientific information communicable involves expressing it in a way that interests the public. We’re all social creatures (even scientists), so we’re more interested in things that sound like they were written by humans rather than robots. Most people prefer novels over dictionaries, for example. Next time you’re reading something scientific –whether it’s in a newspaper, magazine, online, etc. – take a second and think about the person who wrote it. Can you tell a little bit about them just by reading it? Maybe they’re a distinguished Ph.D. with hundreds of publications. Or maybe they’re a slightly hungry 22-year-old who is two days late on their weekly blogging deadline, kind of like me!

I do have a (somewhat) decent excuse for being a little late with this post. I spent this weekend camping at Mount Hood with the other Hatfield interns, as well as a group of REUs from Corvallis. That’s right, scientists camp too. The trip was originally planned just for the REUs, but the director of Hatfield’s REU program is awesome and permitted myself and a few other non-REUs to tag along. It was spectacular. We hiked a total of about 20 miles in some 48 hours, the highlight being a 12 mile hike that traversed rivers, boulders, meadows, and mini-snow fields, and ended on a ridge overlooking the majestic Mount Hood. All of this was enhanced by the great group of people surrounding me. We joke around, dance in the moonlight, float down freezing cold streams, have snowball fights/duels/ambushes, and so on and so on. We’re all 100% human, but also 100% scientist, and if there’s enough other students out there who are similar to us, our oceans are in good hands for the future.

Week Three: exploring Oregon

Posted on July 11, 2017 by Julia Indivero

In addition to the fun of catching green crabs over the past few weeks, I have also been able to explore some of the sites around Charleston and in central Oregon.

In just a 20 minute drive from the South Slough offices down Cape Arago Highway, there are a series of beautiful spots along the coast. One afternoon a couple weeks ago, Katie and I decided to just start driving and see what we could find.

A view of Sunset Beach (PC: Katie Gregory)

We first hit Bastendorff Beach, a long, sandy strip of beach that always has plenty of open space to have a bonfire or just sit and enjoy the view of the ocean. I’ve seen people surfing and paddleboarding, but I have only managed to get my toes in because the water is freezing so I’m not sure how the surfers manage.

We then got to Sunset Beach, but for some reason the park closes at 9 pm–before the sunset during the summer–so despite the name, I have yet to see the sunset at Sunset Beach. It’s still a gorgeous beach, with sandy shores surrounded by tall rocky cliffs. Simpson Reef is one of the best spots to view pinnipeds on the southern coast. The cliff overlooks large rocky islands right offshore where harbor seals, northern elephant seals, Steller sea lions, and California sea lions congregate. By the time we got there, the fog had started to roll in so we couldn’t see anything, but we could hear a lot of seals! Lastly, we got to Cape Arago State Park, the end of Cape Arago Highway, where we followed a few trails to spots where you could see the extensive rocky outcrops that line the coast. The trail down to the beach was closed due to seal pupping season, but hopefully we’ll be able to make it back later in the summer.

Last weekend, Katie and I decided to head the other direction and explore the sand dunes north of Charleston. We decided to hike the John Dellenback Trail, a 6-mile roundtrip trail that goes through a small forest, across a stretch of sand dunes, and then through a marshy forest to the ocean. Hiking across the dunes, where everywhere you look around you is sand except for a stretch of trees out in the distance, feels like you’re in the Sahara, not southern Oregon. But then you get to the swampy strip of forest, and the long expanse of ocean, and it feels like Oregon again.

More sand dunes, with some people included for scale. (PC: Katie Gregory)

Sand dunes at the John Dellenback Trail. (PC: Katie Gregory)

For the 4^th of July, I left the coast behind and visited family vacationing in Bend, located in central Oregon near the Willamette National Forest. The drive from Charleston to Bend was gorgeous, passing through endless forest and past large mountain lakes. We hiked Tumalo Falls, though we didn’t make it through the entire loop because my seven- and eight-year-old cousins were getting tired. We also floated in tubes down the Deschutes River, drank some beer from local breweries, and ate some amazing gelato. It was awesome to be able to see a completely different part of Oregon. It was sunny and hot (over 90 degrees, whoo!), and though I love the southern coast, it was nice to be able to wear shorts, have to put on sunscreen, and swim in the river without wearing waders.

Tubing down the Deschutes:

Tumalo Falls:

I’m looking forward to seeing more of the area (I’m hoping to make it to the northern part of the redwoods and to Crater Lake) over the rest of the summer.

(Also, thanks to Katie for letting me use all your pictures since I never take any!)

Coozy Bae

Posted on July 10, 2017 by sea_jam

highlight of the week: meeting Frank

This week really flew by. I don’t know if it was because of July 4 or because I finally feel established here but it just seemed like everything was a blur. My weekdays have just morphed together to become some depressingly adult blend of waking up early, making myself breakfast and lunch, driving to work, working, working, working, driving home, then doing stuff of which has no real significance because I have to wake up at 7 again the next day (more like 7:20 because of all the ‘snoozes’). I say of no real significance not because it really has no significance but more so because I’m a night owl whose inspiration and work ethic are at its peak at 2am. So considering I am a very nap-loving human being who needs at least 6 hours of rest to not set up shop underneath his office desk like George Costanza, I must go to bed well before I can blossom into the sleep-deprived individual who I was born to be.

Despite this lack of energy and sense of accomplishment outside the workplace, within the workplace I am inspired! On Monday, we didn’t go into the office but got work done at the college’s library instead. There, Miles had Catie and I make a very detailed outline for this summer. The document is extremely thorough and literally covers every day of the internship along with what we plan on doing those days, meetings scheduled, and the amount of hours dedicated to each task. While it was pretty overwhelming to create such a future-oriented plan (I can barely even plan what I’ll be eating for dinner some days) it definitely made things clearer as to what I will be doing this summer and the skills that I’ll be taking away once I head back to San Diego. And I can happily say that I am excited! However, this excitement did not hit immediately but rather built up as the week progressed. Various meetings, daily duties, talks with Miles, and my own observations of the South Coast have not only opened my eyes to the various issues and things that are trying to be accomplished here, but it’s helped me understand where I may be able to fit into it all. I know I’m only an intern but there’s just so much potential for change and progress and it’s just really neat to be a part of it all.

I’ve been thinking of whether I would move here if I had a job lined up for me. I know it’s rash and maybe unrealistic to think I could get a job position out of this but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fantasizing about the future. So with that being said, I’ve been fantasizing! I’ve just been imagining if I could see myself living in such a small place like this. I drive around the town, staring at the stores as they pass by just wondering “Would I be cool with this being my life?” I’m enjoying the work and I think there’s a lot of potential for growth, both in this position and the South Coast community in general, and that’s neat, but it seems scary to think I may one day uproot myself from California. But hey, I figure there’s no point in getting too invested in fantasies so I’m just gonna enjoy these next 7 weeks here and live as if I was living here.

In other news, on Friday, Catie and I went to the beach to take photos of people kayaking. We also got to kayak ourselves which was awesome. It was definitely a surreal experience to just paddle out and gradually hear the voices on the beach drown out. After that we enjoyed an incredible seafood barbecue, adorable dogs, good company, and country music. I went to the Oregon Country Fair in Eugene this weekend. My roommate Brendon and I drove up on Saturday and met up with some of his homies who joined our party. The fair was interesting to say the least. I have never seen so many painted boobs in my life, that’s for sure. That was my first real taste of Eugene and I can confirm, it’s a beautiful town. But as sweet as my weekend was, it was very relieving to finally see the Coos Bay bridge, it was a very home-y sight.

The Smell of Ice Cream

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Jeremy Jennings

Last week’s water incubation experiment was useful. The plot of the dissolved oxygen levels over the weekend showed clear declines in all of the samples, but there was some strange “noise” at around the same point in the plots of both of the ziplock bags. There was no way to determine an accurate respiration rate from the data. Additionally, the magnitude of change in the dissolved oxygen was much greater in the ziplock bags than in the carboys. My mentor, Cheryl Brown, found an interesting paper in which similar methods were employed to determine respiration rates, and the researchers found that enough oxygen would leach out of the plastic containers and into the water to confound their results. They carried on using plastic containers for incubations, but incubated additional “blank” containers containing ultra purified water to determine a rate for the oxygen leaching from the plastic so that they could correct for it.

I am currently running several incubations of ultrapure water in carboys and ziplock bags to see if leaching could be the source of the noise in our dissolved oxygen plots. We also went to Tillamook and collected more water samples that are now incubating in glass BOD bottles, glass bottles specifically designed for the purpose of measuring biological oxygen demand through incubation. The oxygen sensor we are using for the bottles is optical like the HOBO loggers, but much smaller and designed to fit into the mouth of the bottles. The sensor does not take a time series of readings, and will be used to take only initial and final readings of dissolved oxygen.

The main purpose of this week’s Tillamook trip was not to collect water for incubation experiments, but as a trial run of the bi-weekly water sampling plan of Tillamook Bay and the tributaries that will take place over the summer. Two teams with boats went out on Friday and collected water samples to measure the carbonate chemistry and nutrients of the bay and the tributaries. I rode along with the team sampling the tributaries. We did a little boating in the lower end of a couple rivers and went out only a short way into the bay before pulling out the boat and driving to all five of the rivers to gather water samples both above and below the agricultural zone. It was a long day, and aside from the pungent smell of dairy cows, or “the smell of ice cream”, I saw juvenile salmon leaping out of the water eating bugs in the morning, green herons and pairs of bald eagles, and even one large juvenile chinook in a pool up the Miami River. We will be doing these sampling trips every two weeks for the rest of the summer and I hope to observe and learn more about the ecology of the Tillamook region as I continue to learn about the science of water.

Collecting water with a Van Dorn sampler.

Nutrient sampling on the boat.

A beautiful morning on the Trask River.

Do It For The Gram

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Meagan Hayes

Instagram, that is.

This week I only worked about two and a half days total, which was kind of a bummer but I think I’m FINALLY getting better!

I was in and out of the doctors for chest x-rays and though I don’t have pneumonia (whew!) I did have to go on steroids to get rid of whatever was happening in my lungs.

My mentor was on vacation this week so I had a few tasks to tackle on my own. As I’ve said one of our big goals is to increase participation, especially among younger crowds. This week I spent a lot of time digging through social media platforms like Instagram to find photographers that had a knack for capturing beautiful scenes along the coast. You may be surprised how many people in the PNW are incredibly skilled photographers and how simple it is to get in contact with them.

Social media has made it so easy to discover new people, especially when it comes to photography. And with our initiative I think we have the ability to really strike a chord with the outdoorsy Oregon youth. Through their participation they are not only serving as citizen scientists but truly helping educate the public about the future of the coast. This year, with the introduction of our photo contest and increased outreach efforts, I think the project will diversify and grow significantly.

We also plan to reach out to Sunset Magazine, REI, and the Travel Oregon group to see just how much coverage the King Tides can get before they arrive. I attempted to draft all the communications I could for the upcoming season – fingers crossed it works to get some attention!

July 4th – Newport Style

Amongst the doctors visits I was still able to enjoy the holiday with the clan of interns. I have always loved fireworks so the hype I heard about the show down here gave me high expectations. For a little beach town I was very impressed with the display, but in bed promptly. I am but a graduate, no longer the college party animal of my past.

I found it almost funny that so many of us said things like “I hope people don’t just dump the fireworks in the water when their done” and “I bet the wildlife around here is a little freaked out.” The reason I found this amusing is because it clearly demonstrates how we’ve transformed into the budding environmentalists we always dreamt of being.

As kids we only thought about the food, family, and fireworks. We didn’t have the knowledge or worries we have now about polluting the planet and saving the animals. As we weaved through the cars I noticed so many kids full of pure joy watching the sparks squeal and explode. It made me incredibly nostalgic for the days when we used to be so carefree, but also proud that all of us have chosen this path. No matter what we were all still able to truly enjoy it the show and spend time together as a group.

Cheers to week 3 and let’s hope I’ve got a lot more to report on for week 4!

A hodgepodge of plants, photographs, and shout-outs.

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Catie Michel

MOVE OVER, sword fern. I have a new favorite vascular flowerless specimen: Adiantum pedatum, or the northern maiden hair fern. These babies are moisture loving, deciduous ferns that favor nutrient rich soils and are honestly so cool. I first noticed its unique circular configuration while hiking on a small, conical shaped island in Japan called Yakushima. (For all those Miyazaki fans out there, the magical forest in Princess Mononoke was inspired by this very place). I thought it was the most exotic plant I had ever laid eyes on, and yet, it grows right here in our Oregonian backyard! Of course. I’m telling you – this is a special place in which I have found myself.

A personal project I am planning on completing over the summer is a series of illustrations of the plants I have encountered during my time here. You know the classic, stately illustrations of birds you see in those Sibley field guides and all the botanical masterpieces of Alexander Von Humboldt (my all time favorite naturalist) from his exploration of the Americas? Such an artistic representation of science, biology, life, and color deeply resonates with me, and studying something by recreating it through art is the most enriching learning experience. I hope to also use these illustrations as part of the interpretive guides Miles and I will be creating and distributing to tour operators across southern coastal Oregon in order to encourage the ‘experiential’ aspect of tourism that I discussed in my first post. To start, I’ve taken a few photos of some to which I will reference when I start drawing next week. As part of the development of tourism throughout the South Coast that both Dustin and I’s projects are contributing to, we will be staying at the Port Orford Field Station for a few days next week, during which we will be adventuring with professional landscape photographers from Portland by day and (I will be) drawing overly detailed pictures of plants by night. (Shout-out to Amazon and the postal service – ya’ll are the real MVPs for shipping my Portra 400 film on time). Here are a few samples of the plant photographs so far.

Maidenhair fern
I’m sorry to say I haven’t been able to figure this one out. (But shout-out to Norma at the Extension office in Myrtle Point for the shrub and tree field guides of Southwestern Oregon – I’ll get on this right away…)
Y’all better know this one already.

In other news, Fourth of July is my favorite holiday and this year’s was one for the books. I began the day by waking up at 4am. Now, before you ask yourself, “Why in the world would you get up so early on a holiday,” let me just show you this…

and this…

Need I say more?

This is Face Rock State Scenic Viewpoint in Bandon, OR. Probably one of the more gorgeous places I have been (and will have been) in my lifetime. I believe I saw two other people the entire time I was there. There is nothing like enjoying the solitude and wildness of a place like this to celebrate the magnificent landscapes that saturate our country. Happy Birthday America, you are a dime and a half!

Here’s me, enjoying being up so early thanks to momma nature. (Shout-out to the Broncos).

After this adventure, I returned home for the most restful nap and then savored some patriotic grilling with Dustin, Katie (fellow scholar), and her friends from the OIMB. Later that evening we all enjoyed a bonfire and firework show that lasted for the better part of three hours at Bastendorff Beach. Let me tell you, non-sanctioned firework shows are THE BEES KNEES. I thought the finale was happening more than a handful of times and the show extended to both ends of the beach. The best part is, the Surfrider Foundation led a beach clean-up there the next day to ensure that the previous night’s shenanigans weren’t at the expense of the beach’s health.

After the fantastic trips to the beach on the 4th, I was itching for an equally fulfilling forest adventure. I set out for the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest yesterday and got to see the Coquille River Falls in all its gloriousness. Blurry photo, but WHAT MAGIC. (Shout-out to my tripod for being a pal and not falling into the water).

With a few hours left of this weekend, I am off to check out Hanging Rock.

Sea Grant Scholars

Learning through experience, for the future of our oceans