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Katia Griffin-Jakymec
At the end of July we bid farewell to our Education & Outreach Assistant, Katia Griffin-Jakymec. As an AmeriCorps member, Katia served as a wonderful ambassador for APNEP by actively participating in community outreach events, creating educational videos, and assisting with communications and field studies. Always cheerful and eager to help out with any project or task, we will miss her creativity, sunny disposition, and lyrical writing style. We look forward to seeing where she will steer her career next! She's in action above filming Lori Davis of the North Carolina Coastal Reserve. In case you missed them on social media, several of her videos are highlighted in the updates below.
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Seth Jenks
Seth Jenks joined APNEP in September as a volunteer. A recent graduate of Appalachian State University with a degree in economics, he is hoping to combine environmental economics with ecological science. Building upon the economic valuation released last spring, he is assisting with additional research to determine how to utilize the information to inform policy makers' understanding of the ecosystem services provided by the A-P region. Seth previously worked as an environmental educator for elementary and middle school age children at the Chestnut Ridge Camp and Retreat Center, and worked at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences identifying, sorting, and preparing fish specimens for future examination. He is actively pursuing enrollment in an ecology-based graduate program for autumn of 2017.
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Marygrace (Knight) Rowe
Look who came back in with the tide! Marygrace (Knight) Rowe re-joined APNEP in September to assist with Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) mapping and other field studies, projects integrating ArcGIS technologies, and communications. We’re happy to have her back--she helped Hilde Zenil and Dr. Joe Luczkovich of East Carolina University wrap up their SAV field season, and is already hard at work digitizing SAV maps from past initiatives.
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Coley (Hughes) Cordeiro
Congratulations to Coley (Hughes) Cordeiro on tying the knot in September! Please update your contacts with her new name and email: coley.cordeiro@ncdenr.gov. We also congratulate Coley on her new position of Program Manager! In addition to continuing to manage APNEP’s grants and contracts, Coley’s responsibilities have expanded to include broader program administration roles including budget management, strategic planning, and program implementation.
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More information about our staff is available on our website.
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Visit from EPA Headquarters and Region 4
We had a whirlwind tour of the Albemarle-Pamlico region in September with staff from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including EPA Headquarters staff Dr. Ellen Gilinsky, Associate Deputy Assistant Administrator of the Office of Water, Marcus Zobrist, Director, Division of Oceans and Coastal Protection Division, Vince Bacalan, NEP Coordinator, Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds, and Region IV staff Joanne Benante, Chief, Water Quality Planning Branch, Water Protection Division, and Rhonda Evans, NEP Liaison. Our discussions highlighted the collective successes and strength of our partnerships, as well as the challenges faced implementing the CCMP in the 2nd largest estuarine system in the United States.
We appreciate our partners who took time to meet with us along the way, including past and current Policy Board and STAC members Dr. Doug Rader, Environmental Defense Fund, Tony Reevy, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Institute of the Environment (UNC-IE), Linda Culpeper and Tom Fransen, NC Division of Water Resources, Dr. Tom Allen, Old Dominion University, Dr. Burrell Montz, East Carolina University, Dr. Jud Kenworthy, NOAA-retired, Todd Miller, NC Coastal Federation, Dr. Michelle Moorman, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Dr. Hans Paerl and Dr. Michael Piehler, UNC-CH Institute of Marine Sciences, Dee Lupton, NC Division of Marine Fisheries, and Dr. Kirk Havens and Dr. Carl Hershner of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences.
Read more in this Q&A written by the North Carolina Coastal Federation, who hosted a tour of the North River Wetland Preserve.
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Estuaries Week Wrap Up
In honor of Estuaries Week 2016, we unveiled a special new video about APNEP during EPA's Office of Water twitter campaign, which featured tweets from the 28 National Estuary Programs. The effort was part of a larger coordinated national campaign led by Restore America’s Estuaries (RAE), in partnership with the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA) and the Association of National Estuary Programs (ANEP). The effort, which resulted in increased collaboration from partners working on estuarine and coastal issues at national, regional, and local levels, is considered the most successful to date as described in the accomplishments report from RAE.
The campaign utilized coordinated messaging on social media and promotion of outreach and volunteer events around the nation. Efforts included reaching out to policy makers to garner support and recognition of the importance of estuaries to the nation’s economic well-being. The effort resulted in proclamations from both Governors of North Carolina and Virginia, and bipartisan resolutions expressing the intent of both the United States House and Senate to continue working to understand, protect and restore U.S. estuaries.
Unfortunately, none of our members of Congress from VA or NC co-sponsored the resolutions, so we have work to do next year!!
Our partners were hard at work hosting events throughout the region--low country boils, barn parties, bike rides, volunteer cleanups, and Day at the Docks to name a few. We hope you were able to attend some of the events hosted by the NC Coastal Reserve, North Carolina Coastal Federation, Virginia State Parks, among others!
View the video, which highlights APNEP’s work connecting people and watersheds to the Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds here: http://goo.gl/gLpESM Produced by former Education and Outreach Assistant, Katia Griffin-Jakymec |
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In August, our Science and Technical Advisory Committee (STAC) members evaluated a proposed action plan and received updates on the Implementation Action Teams including the Albemarle Nutrient Workgroup, Ecological Flows, Education & Engagement, Decision Support Tools. We thank everyone for participating and extend a warm welcome to new members. The next meeting will be held as a Joint STAC / Policy Board meeting February 1, 2017, location TBD.
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APNEP staff participated in SciREN--The Scientific Research and Education Network-- events in Greenville November 15 and Raleigh September 7. SciREN is a graduate student-led network that connects educators and researchers. SciREN hosts lesson plan workshops and events where scientists can share their research with teachers through K-12 classroom ready materials. This was the first SciREN Greenville event, filling an identified need to reach teachers in the central part of the state unable to travel to the annual SciREN Coast and Triangle events. Our featured resources were the Wetlands Race and North Carolina’s Underwater Grasses, available from our online searchable database of lesson plans.
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We are pleased to announce that Stacy Zhang has been awarded the joint North Carolina Sea Grant and Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership 2016 Graduate Fellowship in Estuarine Research. She is a doctoral student in marine science and conservation at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Her advisor is Brian Silliman, a marine ecologist at Duke. Stacy's research will be of great value to our long-standing Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Partnership and help guide development of effective restoration strategies for seagrass.
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This summer twenty enthusiastic (and dedicated!) 8th-12th grade science teachers spent four days exploring the sounds and the sea at the Trinity Center in Salter Path. Led by Sarah Yelton and Dana Haine of the UNC Institute for the Environment, At Water's Edge participants learned about the latest resources for teaching watershed and estuarine science, and were provided with tools, activities, and proven curriculum including It's Our Water and Project WET. They engaged in hands-on activities with partners from the NC Division of Water Resources, Office of Environmental Education, NC Wildlife Resources Commission, NC Coastal Federation, and UNC Institute of Marine Sciences. Teachers learned about barrier island ecology and estuarine shoreline habitats, restoration and current research, groundwater, online mapping tools, and toured a reverse-osmosis desalination facility. We are pleased to continue this partnership with the UNC Institute for the Environment.
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Planting Seeds of Inspiration for the Next Generation! The North Carolina Coastal Federation and Mano al Hermano completed another successful summer literacy program. Students learned about the wonders of our estuaries through books and activities that illustrate scientific concepts. The 8-week summer literacy program culminated with hands on learning at a living shoreline restoration site, as documented in this video produced by Education & Outreach Assistant Katia Griffin-Jakymec. For the past two years funding from APNEP’s Education and Engagement Action Team helped support the program, which serves over 100 children from 5 schools in Dare County.
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A fresh take on the region's salty affairs
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Proud Shaddys and Shamommas! A “Shad in the Classroom” Tale
Our partners at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences are gearing up for the 2017 Shad in the Classroom season. The Shad in the Classroom program begins for North Carolina schools with a teacher workshop in February, shad tank set up and water quality monitoring in late March or early April, learning about the life history and management of American shad, and participating in some special educational offerings related to the program. But for the Shad in the Classroom students, the true enthusiasm begins with the delivery of their shad eggs (babies)! Read more our latest guest Soundings post from Danielle Pender of the NC Museum of Natural Sciences.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore Provides Opportunity for Scientific Discovery
Read all about the recent Science Workshop conducted by Cape Hatteras National Seashore in our guest Soundings post from Emily Jones of the National Parks Conservation Association. The workshop evaluated factors affecting shorebirds and sea turtles on Seashore beaches. Hatteras is one of four National Park Service sites in the Albemarle-Pamlico region. We congratulate the NPS on their 100th Anniversary and our proud that our national treasures in the Albemarle-Pamlico include national seashores, historic and memorial sites!
For Estuaries Week we featured a guest Soundings post from Caroline Lamb and Danielle Herman, communications specialists with the North Carolina Coastal Federation. The article highlighted the federation's work on living shorelines, oyster restoration and events held during the week of September 17-24. It also shared exciting recognition received on both national and state levels commemorating Estuaries Week.
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Add your organization to the NCWSN Map!
Are you on the map? Join the North Carolina Watershed Stewardship Network! If your group works on watersheds, you can contribute to the online story by entering information about your group’s activities, events and volunteer needs. Adding your data to the site’s comprehensive database strengthens the ability of citizens to protect the health of streams, lakes and estuaries across North Carolina!
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We extend our congratulations to North Carolina's Brownfields Program, which celebrated a milestone next week, as it recently entered into its 400th agreement with a prospective developer. The agreements, which have created thousands of jobs and pumped $14 billion into North Carolina's economy, create special conditions for developers to cleanup or mitigate contamination so a site can be safely redeveloped and put back into productive use.
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Dr. Coley Hughes represented APNEP at the 8th National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration and the 25th Biennial Meeting of the Coastal Society December 10-15 in New Orleans, Louisiana. We look forward to hearing about the latest news in estuarine science from around the nation!
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Upcoming Events & Meetings
APNEP Combined Policy Board & Science & Technical Advisory Committee
(STAC) Meeting
February 1, 2017, location TBD
SciREN Lesson Plan Workshop
January 28, 2017, Duke Marine Lab
SciREN Coast Educator Open House
February 16, 2017, North Carolina Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores
Albemarle Chowan Watershed Roundtable Meeting
February 17, 2017, location TBD
Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) Annual Conference
March 15-16, 2017, NC State McKimmon Center, Raleigh
Sea Grant North Carolina Coastal Conference
April 4 and 5, 2017, NC State McKimmon Center, Raleigh
Watershed Planning Workshop: Strategies and Tools to Protect and Restore Coastal Water Qualiity
April 2017 [tentative, date and location TBD / POSTPONED from October!]
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