Growing Collaboration

engaging youth in the civic and scientific study of the local watershed and marine environment to inspire stewardship of our planet’s ecosystems

3 Things We Do

-and 3 Reasons To Join our Work-

At the heart of our work with students are three outcomes: 

• data; the reports and observations our students share with the community, at conferences, through school events, in small group stakeholder meetings, and on our website, etc
• education; the interdisciplinary scientific, civic, place-based knowledge students gain through the research experience, as well as the enduring skills students strengthen through personal growth
• partnerships that support the research paths students follow and nurture the growth of content knowledge and social capital, i.e., old fashioned networking.

Juggled in a constant state of motion, evolving in ways that can never be predicted, these three outcomes always benefit students. For example, a student on our Dune Grass research team was stuck on a GIS (geographic information systems, i.e., computer mapping) coding problem. In need of some expertise, CSCR reached out to friends and colleagues in the GIS community; instantly, personal connections CSCR has built over the past few years brought solutions to the student's inbox: "It strikes me that the file path using OneDrive is causing the runtime error. Try..." We don't yet know if this solution worked, but we do know that the student now has mentor connections in Colorado and Pennsylvania.

Similary, our State of the Harbor connected us to a prominent research scientist in Maryland, one who had been mentoring a member of our Eelgrass research team. After the event, the scientist wrote to us telling us that he so enjoyed working with the student that "I am happy to engage and advise as you recruit students for this upcoming summer. I imagine your other students are just as amazing. The benefit of engaging early in the process is that we can consider/shape an experiment that could end up being published! Which would be a huge benefit for the students."

Nationally and locally, we are deeply appreciative of our numerous partnerships, collegial network, and personal friendships that yield benefits for our students. Thank you, partners, colleagues, and friends, for your support.

Join our work today.

Sping is in the air- we felt it the other day when the sun was shining gloriously, and when the eclipse gave us pause to enjoy our natural world. Even though it continues to rain, and Phaeocystis pouchetii (more on that next week) continues to pour out of the Gulf River, it's time to register for CSCR Programs.

Last week, as we did at our State of the Harbor, we congratulated Laila Al Rashid for her selection by the Henry David Thoreau Foundation as a Thoreau Scholar. We called your attention to a slide image listing CSCR students who have been so recognized since 2002. Ashley Howard, speaking of scholars and the power of networks, reached out to us yesterday to see if we needed some lab supplies. Ashley is currently a QC chemist in the beer brewing industry. Networks. Partnerships. We build them because they benefit our students-- and we love the community they foster. Thanks, Ashley.

In case you've not yet watched all the snippets highlighted below, we share again the video recording of the State of the Harbor Community Forum, March 28, 2024.

Video Guide:

Please watch the full hour. These breakpoints, however, may be useful for your viewing.

• First 6 minutes: event overview by Susan Bryant, student interviews, some footage from Owen Gurtz' documentary on the eel grass research project, and general footage of a growing audience joining us for the evening.
• Aproximately minutes 6:00 - 9:00, Jack Buckley opens the event and speaks about CSCR and the evening ahead;
• At ~minute 9, Jack introduces former Cohasset High School Science Dept Chair Dave Magnussen. Dave then speaks about his work with Thoreau Scholars and congratulates CHS Senior Laila Al Rashid's selection as a Thoreau Scholar!
• ~12:30, CSCR's work with Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS);
• Ben Haskell, Deputy Supt of the Sanctuary, is introduced just before the 16 minute mark (short segment, but critically important and significant).
• The next few minutes feature the Eel grass research team (16:30 - 21:00)
• Minutes 21-25, the mike gets passed around the room and students provide a one sentence reason for audience members to speak with them about their research.
• ~25:00 - 36:00 shows students and community members engaged in conversation about their research. It might be the segment we select as "most authentic" student voice, for it captures the organic interactions that occur at poster presentation events.
• Just before the 36 min mark, Dr Collins takes command of the room. Dr Collins, a Thayer Academy teacher by day, is sharing her sabattical year with CSCR. We are thrilled and honored to call her our colleague;
• ~minutes 36 - 48, Dr Collins engages students in reflections about collaboration, inspiration, stewardship and more. This segment is also a candiate for "most authentic." We'll let the viewers decice.
• Minute 50:00 shines the camera light on State Representative Joan Meschino, and Joan shares inspirational words with the students.
• The event then closes, but Elena Cain's camera work and interview skills shine in the last 6 minutes, from ~54:00 - 1:00:00.

TGIS Number 67 April 12 2024

3 Things We Do