Greetings to the Shoals Community:

 

Throughout the summer, I wrote about the things that were happening on the island, my experiences with the students in classes and the student researchers, and things I learned about the lab. This month, I would like to share some reflections of the people who work diligently behind the scenes to make the Shoals experience so impactful for the students.

 

As you know, Shoals operates from sunrise to after dark, daily, so we must be able to support our faculty and our students for long hours every day, from late May to early September.  The Shoals Marine Lab is run by a combination of a small number of people who work throughout the year for the lab and a summer staff of 12. The Shoals staff can be organized into essentially four teams: programs/logistics, kitchen, facilities, and waterfront, working in close coordination with our permanent team. 

 

As I thought about how to share the complexity of operating Shoals from any of these perspectives, there wasn’t a single group that was easy to describe. For example, I might start with the kitchen crew that manages to feed a constantly shifting number of people three, freshly-prepared, delicious meals each day (two on Sundays including brunch).  However, have you ever considered that whenever there is a whale watch or shark fishing trip, extended field trip to the mud flats, or mid-day visit to another island (because of tides), the kitchen also prepares a meal (and snacks) for that group? They are also known to set aside plates (with appropriate dietary requirements) for staff, researchers, or interns who are late to a meal because of logistics or an unexpected repair or delay.  Did you know that they also prepare an extra lunch for each of the garden tours or that they make special snacks for the end of class coffee houses?

 

The waterfront team also might seem to be an “easy” group to describe because their primary job is to serve as our transportation team to and from the island. Our boat schedule is extremely complicated when we consider the transportation to the mainland, the myriad of academic field trips, the research trips, the scientific equipment deployments, and the opportunistic trips because we saw a pod of dolphins or a shark.  Additionally, they maintain our entire fleet of vessels which includes the Kingsbury, Heiser, Miss Christine, and four inflatable boats so that they are always ready to take advantage when opportunities knock. They are also extremely generous with their time and knowledge, teaching many of our students how to tie lines on a cleat, how to drive inflatable boats, and how to properly use a variety of fishing gear and techniques.  While the shark fishing trips start at 6 for the students, the captain must start earlier to get the boat ready for that trip.

 

The facilities team begins each day checking on our systems to ensure that everything is running smoothly.  Any hiccup in the electrical grid will put our saltwater system, and thus all of the animals in the sea tables, in jeopardy. They are constantly monitoring the electrical grid, the water lines (fresh and saltwater), the water conservation structures, the reverse osmosis system, the solar arrays, and all of the physical structures on our island campus. They work hard to ensure that our green grid is having the desired impact of providing as much of our energy needs as possible.  It is their constant work that has reduced our dependence on the diesel-fueled generators, while still providing us with the water we need to cook, wash dishes, and shower, especially in August. In addition to the monitoring and adjusting systems as needed, they work to repair buildings or other structures or to address other physical plant issues as they arise. Often their work goes unnoticed because they intentionally work on projects when they will have the least disruption to the living and learning environments.

 

The programs and operations staff arrange all of the logistics from boat manifests, housing assignments, classroom and lab preparations, field trips, and special requests for activities, meals, and occasional sunset cruises. Juggling the needs of the different classes, visiting researchers, public programs participants, day trip participants, and visitors with staff schedules and the need to have deckhands on all boat trips is a massive challenge. They facilitated the “changeover” as classes, groups, or individuals left the island and others arrived with only a short time to prepare for the new group.  I witnessed the complexity of the programs and operations electronic log and the whiteboards with the range of requests that were being updated multiple times each day.  For anyone who was watching, this team rarely ate a meal without being interrupted with additional requests or questions that needed to be addressed quickly.

 

These teams were supported by an amazing group of student staff who worked for as little as one week or as long as several months doing the prep work in the kitchen, clearing trails, mowing the lawns, cleaning the dorms, and preparing the island for every turnover of classes and residence. As I watched each group of new students arrive, it became clear that the team we assembled was able to facilitate the learning community that has been a hallmark of the Shoals experience for almost 60 years. 

 

I am unbelievably impressed by and grateful to the staff who made the magic of Appledore and the Shoals Marine Lab happen this summer. Please join me in thanking all of them!

 

Sara

John M. Kingsbury Executive Director

 

SML Permanent Staff

 

SML Seasonal Staff

 

SML Auxiliary Specialists

 

 

 

Remember Hagfish Nautical Knots? A Shoals classic! 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark your calendars to join us online for a special community outreach 

meeting with the Alumni and Friends Association that will include:

2024 Season Reflection, Planning for 2025, and an AFA Update

If you are enthusiastic about what SML has done for you either personally 

and/or professionally, consider getting more involved with the AFA.

Please reach out to Jackie Webb, our AFA Interim Chair, to learn more at

jacqueline_webb@uri.edu

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