President's Note
Dear NYSMEANS,
There are lots of great events coming up in the next few months. Of course, we have our Annual Conference
 | | Hudson Canyon. Credit: NOAA |
on June 9th-- please consider submitting a workshop proposal. Visit the conference website to stay updated. We have announced another keynote speaker, Dr. Peter Rona, who will discuss exploration of the Hudson Canyon, a very interesting bathymetric feature right on our continental shelf (see picture to the right). Registration will open soon!
Our second annual spring field trip will take place on April 28th and 29th. Last year it was fossil digging in Ithaca. This year we are traveling to Black Rock Forest overlooking the Hudson for hiking, stargazing, and more. Read on in this newsletter to learn more and to register.
Our next meeting will take place on May 5th at the New York Aquarium at 11AM. Prior to the meeting, we will be treated to a special private tour from 9 - 11 AM, before the facility even opens to the public! Please email me to RSVP for this special event. All are always welcome at our meeting, and we provide pizza and salad. The focus of the meeting will be planning for the conference, so come let your voice be heard!
Jealous of the fun we had on the Gulf trip? Now you have a chance to participate in a stewardship trip a lot closer to home. NYSMEA will be co-sponsoring two volunteer weekends at Great Gull Island in Eastern Long Island Sound. Participants will do counts, bird banding, and more. More information is described below.
Are none of these events meeting your needs? Please email me or come to a meeting and let us know what type of activities you'd like to see NYSMEA offer to its members.
Meg
Meghan Marrero, Ed.D.
NYSMEA President
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Long Island Sound Workshops and Educators Conference
 The Long Island Sound Study will be offering two Mentor Teacher Program workshops this spring:
"Teach at the Beach" on May 5th and "Marsh Madness" on June 16th. Six professional development credits will be offered to all that attend and each workshop participants receive a tote bag of resources, in addition to the workshop material presented. Learn more and register here.
The Southeastern New England Marine Educators (SENEME) presents the 2012 Long Island Sound
Educators Conference on Friday, May 4, 2012 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. held at The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk, CT. The Conference will include a broad range of sessions addressing Long Island Sound and watershed issues. To sign up as a presenters or to register for the Conference, contact Lauren Rader at (860) 445-9007, ext. 3021 or email lrader@oceanology.org. More details can be found at SENEME's Web site.
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Volunteer trip to Great Gull Island!
As a follow-up to our two restoration trips to Louisiana, we've begun to organize some volunteer opportunities around NY to help our habitats and marine life.
The first trip we are offering is an exciting one! Helen Hays, the manager of Great Gull Island is looking for volunteers to help with her work on the island this summer: <http://greatgullisland.org/Main_Page.html>
 Great Gull Island is located at the far eastern end of Long Island Sound. Although only 17 acres in size, this island is critically important to the
survival of threatened and endangered species of tern that migrate to the northeast each spring to nest on coastal islands and beaches. Read more.
We are planning two weekend volunteer trips-- one on Memorial weekend and the other the first weekend in June. We will be marking nests, observing and banding birds, and clearing invasive plants. The boat will leave from and return to Waterford, CT, so we can plan to carpool if folks would like.
If you would like to sign up for one of our trips, fill out this form and we will send more details: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHJKc1dsbnoyNzR6QWJmNzl5VkdwZHc6MQ#gid=0
Hope you'll join us for some fun field work and exploring!
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NYSMEA Trip to Black Rock Forest
 Beautiful Black Rock Forest overlooks the Hudson. | | . |
Join us for a fun and educational outing to Black Rock Forest, a nearly-4000-acre oasis just 50 miles north of NYC. We'll meet there at noon on Saturday, April 28, eat a brown-bag lunch, and enjoy a ranger-led program in stream ecology from 2-4 pm. Stay for dinner if you like... it will be pot-luck; you will be contacted to find out what you'd like to contribute. (We will have access to a large kitchen with refrigerator, stove, etc.) Evening events might include a speaker, games, and/or a stargazing hike. You can stay for as much of the day on Saturday as you like, with the option of sleeping over in the very attractive Forest Lodge (be sure to read a description under "Lodging" on the BRF website... linens are provided). After breakfast Sunday morning, we can go on a group hike, or you may choose to explore the forest trails on your own.
Enjoy the company of your fellow NYSMEAns... reconnect with old friends, and meet new ones! This trip has a 10-person minimum, and is open only to current NYSMEA members (go to nysmea.org if you need to renew your membership, or to join us for the first time). The deadline for signing up for the trip is 5 pm on Friday, April 20. The fee is $43 per person (including children) for the sleepover, plus $25 per adult to cover the cost of the ranger. A family of four staying overnight would therefore pay $222... $172 for 4 beds, and $50 for 2 adults' ranger fees. But if you just want to join us for the day on Saturday, the fee would only be $25 per adult.
Register here, or contact trip organizer Sarah Richards at srichards@saintannsny.org if you have any questions about the trip. We hope to see you at Black Rock Forest! | |
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Summer field course
Grad level MAR 531 - Long Island Marine Habitats
Professor Darcy Lonsdale, Instructor
June 25-July 6, 9:00-4:30, Monday through Friday
3 credit course during first Summer Session: $1,260.80
This two-week course based at Stony Brook University focuses on representative marine environments around Long Island, emphasizing the natural history of local marine communities, as well as quantitative ecology, hypothesis testing, and scientific writing. Students will visit various field sites, including rocky intertidal, salt
marsh and barrier island habitats, measure environmental
parameters, and identify the distribution and abundance of common plants and animals. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, the class determines major factors that control the community structure in each habitat. Enrollment is capped at 12 students. Transportation
from Stony Brook University to field sites will be provided. For more information on course content, contact Dr. Darcy Lonsdale at (631) 632-8712 or Darcy.Lonsdale@stonybrook.edu. This graduate course is well suited as continuing education for teachers wanting an introduction to local marine communities.
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New invasive species guide
Marine Invasive Species Monitoring Guide - CZM's Aquatic Invasives Species (AIS) Program has revised and updated the Monitoring Marine Invasive Species: Guidance and Protocols for Volunteer Monitoring Groups to reflect important changes in the Marine Invader Monitoring and Information Collaborative (MIMIC) protocols. Established in 2006, MIMIC trains citizen scientists to monitor priority marine invasive species to better understand distributional patterns and enable timely data collection to inform managers and rapid response efforts. Monitoring Marine Invasive Species is the primary guidance document for MIMIC and contains information on site selection, monitoring protocols, safety, and identification resources that can be adapted for any monitoring effort. The revisions include: the addition of three new species-the bryozoan Bugula neritina, the shrimp Palaemon elegans, and the amphipod (skeleton shrimp) Caprella mutica-bringing the total number of priority species monitored by the program to 23; a new shrimp monitoring protocol; enhanced identification resources; and a factsheet for volunteers to use in conversation with the general public. For more information, see the AIS Program website.
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Strandline (n): the high water mark; the area at the top of a beach where debris is deposited. | |
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Upcoming Events
NYSMEA meeting
May 5, 2012
NY Aquarium
Email info@nysmea.org
for details
NYSMEA meeting
May 19, 2012
Stony Brook Univ
Email info@nysmea.org
for details
June 9, 2012 SUNY Maritime College
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New Web postings!!
- Lots of sites listed to visit for new JOB postings! here
- Updated scholarship opportunities! here
- Summer is almost here-- time to sign up for those internship and volunteer opportunities! here
and why not sign up for some professional development opportunities? here
- Join us at various NYSMEA and other events! here
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Join NYSMEA!
NYSMEA holds an annual conference, periodic meetings, lectures, workshops, field trips, and boat trips. Learn a lot, have a great time
and meet some talented, energized educators with a passion for water, just like yours! Not a member?
Click here and join only
$20 a year.
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