WBNERR Education

EDUCATION

Past Events & Presentations2024-04-04T10:11:06-04:00

Past Presentations

Thank you for visiting the community education past events & workshop materials page. If you have any questions, or would like additional information please contact Joan Muller, Education Coordinator. There are Presentation PDFs and video links listed below for you to read, view or download. The Community Education Program encourages community members to take advantage of courses, workshops, and other more informal events to broaden their scientific and practical knowledge on topics including estuarine ecology, storm preparedness and resilience, ecological landscaping, organic gardening, energy efficiency, and water quality.

Research at the Reserve 2024

Assessment & Monitoring of Tidal Marsh Bird Populations in the Face of Global Change
Kate Ruskin, University of Maine, and Sophie Barno, Adjunct Professor, Baruch College of Natural
Sciences and Queens College Dept. of Biology

Salt Marsh Migration into Maritime Forests in the Northeast
Andrew Payne, Ph.D. Candidate, Drexel University

What is a Runnel and Can It Help Restore Our Salt Marshes?
Hillary Sullivan, Woodwell Climate Research Center, Ph.D. Candidate, Northeastern University, and NOAA Margaret Davidson Fellow at Waquoit Bay NERR.

Into the SWMP and BayWatchers Meta-Verse?
Theophilos (Theo) Collins, Research associate, Waquoit Bay NERR.

Research at the Reserve 2023 

Brook Trout Restoration & Research in the Quashnet River
Steve Hurley, Southeast District Fisheries Manager, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife

Sandplain Grasslands: A Rare Habitat at the Waquoit Bay Headquarters 
Dr. Robert Wernerehl, State Botanist, Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife

Tracking Winter Founder in Waquoit Bay with Nets and DNA
John Logan, Fisheries Biologist, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Carbon-based Permeable Reactive Barriers: What does the Future Hold for Curing the Nutrient Problem in Cape Cod’s Estuaries?
Kenneth Foreman, Ph.D., Ecosystems Center, Marine Biological Laboratory

Deoxygenation, Acidification and Warming in Waquoit Bay
Dr. Matthew Long, Associate Scientist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Research at the Reserve: Home Edition (video links 2022)

What’s in a Sound? Ecoacoustics is the study of natural and manmade sounds and their relationships with the environment over time and space. 
Alison Noble, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium

Shorebirds at Waquoit Bay: Challenges and Successes
Lyra Brenna, Director, MA Audubon Coastal Waterbirds Program

Research at the Reserve: Home Edition (PDF links 2021)

Managing Mosquitos in Marshes
Aubrey Paolino, Entomologist, Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project

Life’s a Beach…For Insects too. Barrier Beaches as Specialized Habitat for Rare Moths
Mark Mello, Research Director, Lloyd Center for the Environment

Recent Trends in Water Quality in Response to Urbanization Across Waquoit Bay Estuaries
Kelsey Chenoweth, Research Assistant, Marine Biological Laboratory

The Underappreciated Rivers of Cape Cod
Max Holmes, Deputy Director and Senior Scientist, Woods Hole Research Center

Microplastics in the Salt Marshes of Waquoit Bay: A Story of Urbanization and Plastic Waste
Javier Lloret, PH.D., Research Scientist, The Ecosystems Center Marine Biological Laboratory

Landscaping
Water Quality
Storm Preparedness & Resilience
Sea Level Rise & Climate Change
Wildlife & Marine Life
Habitats

Landscaping

Wrangling Rainwater on the Homestead and other Landscape Choices for a Changing Climate

When it rains, it pours! This seems to be a common occurrence these days. Rainwater is a valuable resource and there are practical ways of managing stormwater on your own piece of Cape Cod to avoid property damage and protect water quality. There are landscape design choices that welcome the rain and offer attractive alternatives to the traditional landscape. And, there are ways to conserve water for those dry spells in between.
Featured Speaker: Kristin Andres, Director of Education and Outreach, Association to Preserve Cape Cod
> Download Presentation PDF

All About Trees

Russell will focus on trees including assessing your yard for hazards and tree health assessments; how to handle tree damage and find professionals to do tree and other work beyond the skills of the homeowner. He will explain why trees are essential to the wellbeing of the Cape and although a downed tree can cause a power outage, trees can also be helpful during power outages and give all sorts of benefits that make us more resilient in the long run. He’ll also give some hints on what to expect with trees as a result of climate change so people can plan ahead.
Featured Speaker: Russell Norton, Agriculture and Horticulture Extension Educator, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension
> Download Presentation PDF

Values of Nature Based Approaches

Are you ready for the next big storm? A workshop for hardy Cape Codders. Living shorelines are an eco-friendly option to keep you connected to water while helping to protect your property from erosion.
Megan Tyrrell, Research Coordinator, Waquoit Bay Reserve, Values of Nature-based Solutions
> Download Presentation PDF

Pariah Dog Farm- A Study in Sustainable Farming Practices

Matt Churchill and Jeny Christianson, Pariah Dog Farm
> Download Presentation PDF

Water Quality

Urine Diversion Toilets: What’s It All About?

A Workshop for Curious Community Members
May 30, 2024
Nitrogen entering our coastal and fresh waters is the main reason the water quality of the coastal water bodies on the Cape is degrading. Most of the nitrogen in our waste is found in the urine. To what extent can we reduce the main source of nitrogen to our bays, ponds, and groundwater by simply diverting the urine at the source?

This workshop provided information about prospects for urine diversion in our area. Earle Barnhart and Hilda Maingay of the Green Center in East Falmouth have been researching and using waterless composting eco-toilets for 25 years. Bryan Horsley, MASSTC Environmental Project Assistant will cover the results of the recent urine diversion study done by the Green Center in cooperation with MASSTC.  He will also review the previous 2012-14 Falmouth eco-toilet project and explain a proposed future Falmouth urine diversion pilot project.
Urine Diversion Presentation, Earle Barnhart and Hilda Maingay , Green Center 
Recent Projects Assessing Urine Diversion for Nutrient Management on Cape Cod, Brian Horsley MASSTC

Wrangling Rainwater on the Homestead and other Landscape Choices for a Changing Climate

When it rains, it pours! This seems to be a common occurrence these days. Rainwater is a valuable resource and there are practical ways of managing stormwater on your own piece of Cape Cod to avoid property damage and protect water quality. There are landscape design choices that welcome the rain and offer attractive alternatives to the traditional landscape. And, there are ways to conserve water for those dry spells in between.
Featured Speaker: Kristin Andres, Director of Education and Outreach, Association to Preserve Cape Cod
> Download Presentation PDF

What’s Trending in Waquoit Bay?

Reserve’s monitoring data on seaweed and eelgrass as well as nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorous) and weather data and interesting trends and relationships in the Waquoit Bay estuary. How are climate changes (wind speed, temperature, and precipitation) affecting the health and productivity of the estuary?
Jordan Mora, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
> Download Presentation PDF

What’s Up with the Water in Waquoit Bay?

One of Dr. Tyrrell’s first orders of business when she joined the Reserve this past fall, was to analyze the wealth of over 20 years of water quality monitoring data the Reserve has collected. She has discovered  trends in temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen that could have implications for seagrass and harmful algal blooms as well as fish and crabs in the bay.
Megan Tyrrell, Research Coordinator, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
> Download Presentation PDF

After Twenty Years, What Can the Waters in Waquoit Bay Tell Us?

The Waquoit BayWatchers volunteer citizen science program has over twenty years of temperature, salinity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll data for Waquoit Bay. The Reserve’s Research Associate Jordan Mora has recently examined the data and detected dramatic changes in temperature and dissolved oxygen that provide compelling evidence that Waquoit Bay may be experiencing impacts from climate change as well as eutrophication from the addition of too much nitrogen to the waters stemming from wastewater, fertilizers, and the burning of fossil fuels. Join us to see what the data is revealing.
Jordan Mora, Research Associate, Waquoit Bay Reserve
> Download Presentation PDF

Nitrogen Removal A Shell (or Shellfish) Game: Insights into Nitrogen Loading in Coastal Waters & Potential Remediation Strategies

Nitrogen pollution of our coastal waters is a threat to the health of our ecosystems, public health and economy. For the residents of Cape Cod, nitrogen remediation is a multibillion dollar issue. This economic driver has spurred increased interest in alternative strategies to restore the health of our coastal waters. Oyster aquaculture is one such strategy that has benefitted from the increased interest but does it really remove nitrogen or just move it to another place within our estuaries?
Dr. Daniel Rogers, Assistant Professor, Analytical Chemistry, Stonehill College in Easton, MA
> Download Presentation PDF

Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria at the Beach

Antibiotics have revolutionized the way we treat bacterial infections.  However, bacteria have increased their resistance to antibiotics partially due to the prevalent use of these chemicals by humans.  Why are the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the White House, and World Health Organization,  concerned about antibiotic resistance?  What does it have to do with our local beaches? (video link)
Megan May is a second year graduate student pursuing her Ph.D. in Biological Oceanography in the MIT-WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, she is a National Science Foundation Fellow and works in Rebecca Gast’s laboratory in Woods Hole.
> Download Presentation PDF

What’s Happening with Contaminants of Emerging Concern in our Coastal Waters?

The Center for Coastal Studies, in collaboration with several other organizations, including Waquoit Bay Reserve, has documented the presence of contaminants of emerging concern (from sources including pharmaceuticals and personal care products) in our coastal waters.  In 2014, the Center expanded this work to include research on accumulation of these contaminants in living organisms.  What is their impact on the environment and humans? (video link)
Dr. Amy Costa is a Research Scientist at the Center for Coastal Studies.  Her work focuses on the quality and overall health of marine and coastal ecosystems through the integration of chemical, physical and biological studies.
> Download Presentation PDF

The Subterranean Estuary: An Unseen and Overlooked Boundary Between the Land and the Sea

This presentation will explore the Waquoit Bay subterranean estuary. This unique mixing zone between fresh and salty groundwater has been used over the past 25 years as a natural laboratory for understanding groundwater’s effects on marine chemistry and biology. (video link)
Matt Charette is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry and Director of the Coastal Ocean Institute at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
> Download Presentation PDF

Storm Preparedness & Resilience

What can past hurricanes and nor’easters tell us about our current and future risks? The history of past storms in southeast New England gives us insight into what the future may hold with the backdrop of sea level rise. Hear about forecast capabilities and limitations as well as where to find information when a storm threatens. Learn about measures that can protect you, your family, your pets, and your home.

Hardy homes can help keep you safe and comfortable. What should homeowners and renters be doing now to prepare for the next storm? Learn how to reduce damage to your home and help your family stay warm during power outages and times of extreme conditions. Topics include how to detect issues in your home, generators, solar electric systems with various types of energy storage options and solar hot water.

Wrangling Rainwater on the Homestead and other Landscape Choices for a Changing Climate

When it rains, it pours! This seems to be a common occurrence these days. Rainwater is a valuable resource and there are practical ways of managing stormwater on your own piece of Cape Cod to avoid property damage and protect water quality. There are landscape design choices that welcome the rain and offer attractive alternatives to the traditional landscape. And, there are ways to conserve water for those dry spells in between.
Featured Speaker: Kristin Andres, Director of Education and Outreach, Association to Preserve Cape Cod
> Download Presentation PDF

All About Trees

Russell will focus on trees including assessing your yard for hazards and tree health assessments; how to handle tree damage and find professionals to do tree and other work beyond the skills of the homeowner. He will explain why trees are essential to the wellbeing of the Cape and although a downed tree can cause a power outage, trees can also be helpful during power outages and give all sorts of benefits that make us more resilient in the long run. He’ll also give some hints on what to expect with trees as a result of climate change so people can plan ahead.
Featured Speaker: Russell Norton, Agriculture and Horticulture Extension Educator, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension
> Download Presentation PDF

Spectrum of Coastal Solutions to Erosion/Structural Modifications for Resilient Buildings

Practical measures that can protect homeowners, renters, and their families, as well as minimize damage to homes and property from hurricanes, nor’easters, and flooding.
Greg Berman, Woods Hole Sea Grant and Cape Cod Cooperative Extension
> Download Presentation PDF

Eating Our Way to a Resilient Community

Storm interference to our food supply, and how to develop resilient local food systems.
Karen Schwalbe, Southeast Massachusetts Agricultural
> Download Presentation PDF

Safe and Warm Before, During and After the Storm

Resiliency and energy efficiency can go hand-in-hand.
Greg Abbe, Cape Light Compact
> Download Presentation PDF

Values of Nature Based Approaches

Are you ready for the next big storm? A workshop for hardy Cape Codders. Living shorelines are an eco-friendly option to keep you connected to water while helping to protect your property from erosion.
Megan Tyrrell, Research Coordinator, Waquoit Bay Reserve, Values of Nature-based Solutions
> Download Presentation PDF

Energy Initiatives for Resiliency

Otis Air National Guard Base’s plan for sustainable energy featuring details about microgrid R&D project.
Major Shawn Doyle, US Air Force, Microgrid Project Manager, Base Cape Cod
> Download Presentation PDF

What Can the Past Tell us about Our Current & Future Storm Risks?

Sea-level rise is one of the most certain impacts of climate change, and adds to storm risks. Recent projections suggest that sea-level will rise between 1 foot and 8.2 feet by 2100. Every coastal issue that Falmouth faces today will very likely get worse, and increase in extent and magnitude. Effective adaptation to rising sea level and storms will require changing approaches to coastal management.
Dr. Neil Ganju, U.S. Geological Survey
> Download Presentation PDF

What About our Pets?

Learn about about disaster preparedness for companion animals.
Kathy Catanach, Cape Cod Disaster Animal Response Team
> Download Presentation PDF

Resilient Cape Cod Video Presentations

Deepen your understanding of coastal storm issues, practical tips to keep you and your family safe and comfortable while also contributing to Cape Cod’s ability as a region to be resilient.
> View Video Presentations

Emergency Preparedness: Town of Falmouth Emergency Response Team

In order for a community to be prepared for a disaster, everyone needs to take the necessary steps to become disaster-ready. Includes suggestions for creating a supplies kit, making an emergency plan, and being prepared for a disaster.
Dan Dinardo, Coordinator, Falmouth CERT
> Download Presentation PDF

Responding to a Rising Tide: Coastal Storm Hazards for Cape Cod

Cape Cod is vulnerable to both hurricanes and nor’easters. Expect more frequent and severe coastal flooding and erosion episodes with continued sea level rise.
Featuring explanations about the types of coastal storms, their impacts, and forecasting. Recommendations about using National Weather Service Resources.
Bob Thompson, Meteorologist-in-Charge, Southern New England National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA
> Download Presentation PDF

Preparing the Whole Community for Storms and Flood Impacts

Tonna-Marie Rogers, Coastal Training Program Coordinator, Waquoit Bay NERR
> Download Presentation PDF

Sea Level Rise & Climate Change

What Can Tea Bags in Salt Marshes Tell Us about Climate Change?

Jim Tang, Associate Scientist, the Ecosystems Center Marine Biological Laboratory
> Download Presentation PDF

Can Humans Increase Salt Marsh Resilience in the Face of Sea Level Rise?

Due to accelerated sea level rise, the fate of some salt marshes is in jeopardy. The deliberate placement of sediment on a marsh surface can, in selected cases, be used to give the plants an elevation boost to overcome the stresses of prolonged flooding. This technique is relatively new. Come find out what eight National Estuarine Research Reserves, including Waquoit Bay, are researching to contribute to the enhanced understanding of the benefits and potential pitfalls of this technique to aid drowning marshes.
Dr. Megan Tyrrell, Research Coordinator, Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
> View Video Presentation

What Can the Past Tell us about Our Current & Future Storm Risks?

Sea-level rise is one of the most certain impacts of climate change, and adds to storm risks. Recent projections suggest that sea-level will rise between 1 foot and 8.2 feet by 2100. Every coastal issue that Falmouth faces today will very likely get worse, and increase in extent and magnitude. Effective adaptation to rising sea level and storms will require changing approaches to coastal management.
Dr. Neil Ganju, U.S. Geological Survey
> Download Presentation PDF

Are Our Salt Marshes Rising to the Challenge of Sea Level Rise?

In the past few decades, scientists across New England have observed a decline in salt marsh plants that prefer higher elevation and less frequent flooding. Sea level rise is considered to be the main driver of this ecological shift. Salt marsh survival and the continuation of important marsh ecological services, including bird and wildlife habit, recreation, shoreline protection, and as a natural carbon sink, depends on marshes keeping pace with sea level rise.
Meagan Eagle Gonneea, U.S. Geological Survey
> Download Presentation PDF

Responding to a Rising Tide: Coastal Storm Hazards for Cape Cod

Cape Cod is vulnerable to both hurricanes and nor’easters. Expect more frequent and severe coastal flooding and erosion episodes with continued sea level rise.
Featuring explanations about the types of coastal storms, their impacts, and forecasting. Recommendations about using National Weather Service Resources.
Bob Thompson, Meteorologist-in-Charge, Southern New England National Weather Service Forecast Office, NOAA
> Download Presentation PDF

After Twenty Years, What Can the Waters in Waquoit Bay Tell Us?

The Waquoit BayWatchers volunteer citizen science program has over twenty years of temperature, salinity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll data for Waquoit Bay. The Reserve’s Research Associate Jordan Mora has recently examined the data and detected dramatic changes in temperature and dissolved oxygen that provide compelling evidence that Waquoit Bay may be experiencing impacts from climate change as well as eutrophication from the addition of too much nitrogen to the waters stemming from wastewater, fertilizers, and the burning of fossil fuels. Join us to see what the data is revealing.
Jordan Mora, Research Associate, Waquoit Bay Reserve
> Download Presentation PDF

Wildlife & Marine Life

The Natural History of the American Eel on Cape Cod

The American eel has a remarkable life history that is unlike any fish species in North America. They are born in the Sargasso Sea and travel great distances to colonize coastal rivers from Brazil to Greenland. Formerly of high cultural importance in Massachusetts due to their fine taste and availability for sustenance harvest, their populations have declined to historical lows in recent decades. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries participates in local, state and interstate management and restoration processes for American eel. This presentation includes restoration and monitoring efforts at nearby Cape Cod coastal rivers.
Brad Chase, Senior Marine Fisheries Biologist, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
> Download Presentation PDF

Bats & Bunnies: Managing Habitat for Seldom Seen Mammals

The New England cottontail, a species of conservation concern and Northern long-eared bats, recently listed as a threatened species, are being studied by US Fish and Wildlife biologists in the forests of Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge and Waquoit Bay Reserve.
Eileen McGourty, Fish and Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
> Download Presentation PDF

Tracking the Movement Patterns of Seabirds and Shorebirds to Inform Siting and Monitoring of Off-Shore Wind Facilities

Ever wondered about the antenna rising up from the sands at South Cape Beach in Mashpee? Researchers from UMASS Amherst are tracking the movements of Common Terns, Roseate Terns, and Piping Plovers in Southern New England by using light-weight transmitters which track the birds around the clock. Knowledge of offshore flight paths of birds is essential to inform effective conservation decisions in marine planning such as how to minimize impacts of offshore wind energy facilities on key bird populations. Hear about the work at South Cape Beach in Mashpee and how it connects to work in southern New England which is coordinated with automated radio telemetry stations throughout the Western Hemisphere.  To learn more about wildlife tracking, visit www.motus-wts.org.
Pamela Loring, PhD candidate, Dept. of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
> Download Presentation PDF

Winter Flounder & Waquoit Bay

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has conducted research on winter flounder for over 50 years in Massachusetts waters.  In recent years, historically low populations of winter flounder were recorded in the region.  We will look at the data collected and discuss what we have done and learned about this important species. (video link)
Vincent Manfredi has worked at sea collecting fisheries data since 2001 onresearch surveys for the States of Maine & Massachusetts.  He is currently a Survey Biologist for Massachusetts’ MarineFisheries Agency in New Bedford, MA.
> Download Presentation PDF

What’s Next for Blue Crabs?

For centuries, Cape Cod has been the northern range boundary for blue crabs, an ecologically and economically important predator in Atlantic coastal estuaries. In recent years however, people have begun to see blue crabs in waters north of Cape Cod. As conditions continue to warm, will we see blue crabs expand their populations into the Gulf of Maine? What will this mean for the salt marshes and invasive green crabs if a new predator comes to town? (video link) 
Tanya Rogers is a PhD student at the Northeastern University Marine Science Center. She is studying crab populations in Waquoit Bay and in many other estuaries north and south of Cape Cod.
> Download Presentation PDF

Habitats

What’s happening in the Mud at the Bottom of the Bay?

Ms. Foster has been collecting cores from the bottom of Waquoit Bay to study the impacts of low oxygen on the micro-organisms that live there and the ecosystem processes at work. She’ll share results of her experiments and attendees will get a close look at the dynamic microbial world that exists at the bottom of the bay.
Sarah Foster, PhD Candidate, Earth and Environment Dept., Boston University
> Download Presentation PDF

The Subterranean Estuary: An Unseen and Overlooked Boundary Between the Land and the Sea

This presentation will explore the Waquoit Bay subterranean estuary. This unique mixing zone between fresh and salty groundwater has been used over the past 25 years as a natural laboratory for understanding groundwater’s effects on marine chemistry and biology. (video link)
Matt Charette is a Senior Scientist in the Department of Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry and Director of the Coastal Ocean Institute at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
> Download Presentation PDF

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131 Waquoit Highway
Waquoit, MA 02536

508.457.0495
waquoit.bay@mass.gov

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