FUTURE OF OCEANS Lecture Series: "Immersions in the World of Kelp"

Betsy Peabody
Puget Sound Restoration Fund

Sunday, December 13
3 pm

via ZOOM

Lecture is FREE

 

Our lecture series, The Future of Oceans, draws on the commitment of professional researchers and educators across all academic spectrums to help define and inspire the health of our oceans.

The Port Townsend Marine Science Center continues the lecture series by welcoming Betsy Peabody of the Puget Sound Restoration Fund.

Puget Sound Restoration Fund has been steeped in kelp work for the last decade.  This presentation will delve into the results of the Hood Head seaweed investigation, R&D underway to restore bull kelp forests, a newly launched underwater kelp ecological survey program, and an upcoming 2021 kelp expedition.

 

Betsy Peabody is founder and executive director of Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF), a nonprofit organization founded in 1997 to restore marine habitat, water quality and native species in Puget Sound.  She is also President of the Pacific Shellfish Institute.  In 2012, Betsy served on the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Ocean Acidification, and continues to be actively involved in efforts to mitigate the effects of ocean acidification.  In 2013, she collaborated with NOAA to establish a conservation hatchery at NOAA’s Manchester Research Station dedicated to restoring native shellfish and other living marine resources.  Betsy has a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University – and a strong appreciation for the role that marine resources play in our human story.

Creating Community Through Science

Hello everyone! Meghan Slocombe here, the new Community/Citizen Science Educator. 

I have been blown away by the science community we have built at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center. In my first month, I have worked with our volunteers to find safe ways for them to continue collecting and processing water samples for our SoundToxins program. I’ve seen vets and community members assess stranded marine mammals, and joined individuals in the aquarium to monitor the growth rates of our pinto abalone. Yet, as winter closes in on us and COVID-19 continues to make it difficult to meet in person, I know many are having trouble finding ways to continue to connect with our science community.

Well lucky for you, I’ve found some great online opportunities for contributing to science. (These online programs have clear instructions on how to help, so don’t worry if you do not have experience with the program beforehand.) Now just because you’re conducting science online, does not mean you’re in it alone! We want to hear from you about what projects you’re contributing to.

Zooniverse is an online citizen science platform with projects in all sorts of topics!

Tell us about the fish you’ve recently identified in the waters off of the Hawaiian islands through the OceanEYEs project.

Or send us pictures of the invertebrates you’ve catalogued for the California Academy of Sciences Invertebrate Zoology Collections.

Better yet, report back on the history of Daytona Beach’s fisheries operations after identifying fish from old photographs.

Fish aren’t your cup of tea? How about you help identify plankton off the California coast. Who knows, it might give you something to talk to our SoundToxins volunteers about!

For those still looking to brave the winter weather, check out the King Tides from November to January. Visit a site before and after the highest tides of the year. Just make sure to be careful!

The point is, while winter may limit our ability to meet in person we are still a community. (And a strong one at that!) My hope is that we can continue to make our community stronger and larger by contributing to the science of other communities. If you want to share with PTMSC your experience with community science or some pictures of your most recent beach walk or winter paddle, email Meghan Slocombe (Community/Citizen Science Educator) at mgslocombe@ptmsc.org.