Greetings to the Shoals Community:

 

I am writing on the one-year anniversary of accepting the position as Executive Director of the Shoals Marine Lab. It still feels new in some ways, and it feels like home in others (most) --familiar, comfortable, and right.  The whole team is busy preparing for the 2025 season, which will be here before we know it and will be the 60th season of Shoals!

 

Last month I shared reflections about the team that made the island campus run during the summer.  To continue that theme, I wanted to share some of my observations about other members of the staff who contribute to creating the tight-knit Shoals community.  Our newsletters and social media presence for most of the year were managed by Rachel Lewis, our Communications Coordinator, until she started grad school at UNH this fall. As a Shoals alum, Rachel was able to convey the wonder, excitement, and unique experiences that people enjoy on Appledore in her many communications, especially on social media. Amy Fish, Director of Community Relations, has been leading these activities since Rachel left, with support from Wendy Goldstein, our Senior Program Support Assistant.  Amy and Wendy were also critical to the planning and success of our special events this summer including our Navigator’s Circle Events, our tribute to the life and legacy of Jack Kingsbury, and our public programs including our garden tours.

 

I couldn’t end a season without sharing our gratitude to Terry Cook, the current Garden Steward, who has accepted the challenge of maintaining (and expanding) Celia’s garden.  Terry has worked to ensure that the island garden matches Celia’s documented garden plans, using heirloom seeds and plants whenever possible, and also matching the garden documented by the artists from her times, especially the paintings by Childe Hassam.  Additionally, Shoals is fortunate that Terry has chosen to serve as the unofficial Shoals host, ensuring that our events are planned to truly welcome guests to the island and lab.

 

Additionally, I want to recognize the work of Liz Craig, PhD, who serves as both our Academic Coordinator based at UNH and our Director of Seabird Research.  In her role as a seabird scientist, she mentors two seabird technicians, two Shoals Undergraduate Research Group interns, a number of additional undergraduate and graduate students at UNH and Cornell, and contributes to the rich educational opportunities among the isles.  Under her leadership, the Isles of Shoals Seabird Ecology and Conservation Program has grown to encompass applied seabird ecology broadly, with topics including health and environmental contaminants, local seabird movement and migration, and seabird diets as sentinels for changing fish communities in our rapidly-warming Gulf of Maine.

 

I am truly grateful to all the people who have helped make Shoals a leader in immersive education, a special community of learners and stewards of a unique and special environment, and a place where scientists find the opportunity to complete important research while also mentoring and being mentored.  This community would not exist without an amazing group of staff, faculty, and volunteers and the generosity of many people who help make our programs affordable.

 

With sincere gratitude for all the people who continue to advance the mission of Shoals,

We are bursting with pride that the hard work of Ross Hansen, SML Director of Facilities and Planning, was recently recognized with the President's Award for Employee Excellence 

in the area of Culture of Sustainability at Cornell!

 

 

This award is particularly meaningful because sustainability and environmental stewardship are core values of SML.  Over the last 20 years, the lab has made huge strides in reducing our energy use, generating electricity from renewable sources, decreasing water use, and decreasing waste. Ross has been a driving force in all of the lab's infrastructure upgrades and upkeep that have helped build and support our culture of sustainability.  Everyone who visits Appledore has participated in efforts to help us achieve a sustainable island community. We are all grateful to Ross for his hard work building and maintaining our island systems.

 

 

Braeden came to Shoals as a senior at Cornell in the Environment & Sustainability major after engaging in several undergraduate research projects through the Lab of Ornithology. In eight straight weeks of long days and sparse navy showers on Appledore, he took Marine Parasitology and Disease (BIOSM 3330), Anatomy and Function of Marine Vertebrates (BIOSM 3210), Shark Biology and Conservation (BIOSM 4650), and Marine Ecosystem Research & Management (BIOSM 3750), impressing his instructors and classmates with his energy and insights, resulting in outstanding grades and allowing him to finish a Marine Biology minor before graduating. After finishing classes, Braeden stayed on the island for several weeks as student staff, providing a very welcome helping hand to island operations and contributing to island morale with his upbeat personality. He is currently working in the Channel Islands off southern CA studying the island scrub jay. Braeden truly embraced our living, learning community, and we are pleased to recognize all his efforts and 

his future scientific plans with the 2024 Anderson Award. 

Our new winter boat is a small inflatable that can be transported to the island on any of our other vessels (here shown on the Storm Petrel).  It allows easy access to the island once we pull the float and brow. The winter boat has been christened "Muffy" after the name the Gregg's grandchildren call Kathy (photo courtesy of Zach Charewicz). 

Each year, some of our staff make a fall visit to Ithaca.  Eugene Won, SML's Academic Coordinator at Cornell, plans a fall recruitment event and a reunion for Cornell students to coincide with this visit. The team also meets with key partners who help Cornell students learn about, get major and minor credit for, register and take, and receive scholarships for Shoals classes.  We meet with faculty, advisors, summer school partners, and leadership to discuss current and future programming and to recruit future Shoalers. We also meet with Cornell faculty who research at Shoals to discuss current and future projects being planned for Appledore, often in collaboration with some of the Shoals island team. 

This year, Sara Morris, Dave Buck, and Liz Craig spent a busy week engaging in person with the Cornell community.  We also caught up with Jenna Lilly, the 2024 SML Programs Coordinator who is now pursuing her master's degree at Cornell.  

As we head into the holiday season and the end of 2024, we are beginning our end-of-year appeal to our community to remind you of the importance of our donors as you may be considering additional charitable giving at the end of the calendar year.

 Your gift, no matter the size, makes a big difference for SML students and island operations. 

There are many ways you can give to help us achieve our goals, 

please contact Amy or Sara at shoals.lab@unh.edu to learn more.

 

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

 

 

Positions at Shoals Marine Laboratory offer a unique, rewarding, and 

challenging experience. Students, instructors, and staff live and work together 

on Appledore Island in a close-knit, team-oriented community. 

We are excited to announce that we are currently hiring for two year-round positions: 

Director of Facilities and Sustainability, and Lead Research Vessel Captain.

 

Additionally, we are accepting applications for our seasonal positions. 

Please share these opportunities with your networks and with anyone you 

think would make a great addition to our community of "Shoalers"

 

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