Circle of Trust Retreat

“I think people need to reconnect with nature up close and personal if they are going to become stewards and help protect our environment, so this type of program that does just that is incredibly needed, meaningful and empowering”

— Dave Oaks

The Center for Ecological Living and Learning in cooperation with the Center for Courage and Renewal welcomed 8 participants and facilitators Dave Oakes and Holly Wilkinson for a two-day Circle of Trust Retreat on Hurricane Island. The goal of the retreat was to give participants the space to reconnect with nature and experience a sense of renewal by immersing themselves in the natural beauty of Hurricane Island. Music, poetry, communal time, and solo experiences allowed participants to experience inner healing, celebrate the outdoors, and reflect on how to be better environmental stewards and continue to protect the environment.

The signature event of the retreat was a chance for participants to spend sustained time reflecting in nature and connecting to their inner and outer landscapes with an overnight solo experience. After dinner on Saturday night, participants dispersed around the island for a solo and returned to the main campus to share a silent group fire.

We were thrilled to be able to include Circle of Trust participants in a dinner that was foraged and prepared by our Island Ecology students who were also out on the island learning about the natural history and ecology of Hurricane's terrestrial landscape.

We look forward to welcoming Dave and Holly and another Circle of Trust group back to Hurricane next year!

View fullsize

Island Ecology 2015

Post by Program Instructors Chloe Tremper and Olivia Lukacic

Five high school students, a little unsure of what to expect, assembled on foggy Hurricane Island for the first day of our week-long Island Ecology program. What followed was an incredible week filled with laughter, plants, creatures, and adventures of all kinds. The students joined our community from all over New England (plus Philadelphia), and each brought their own interests, excitement, and personalities.

After everyone settled into the bunkhouse, Chloe and Olivia showed students the ropes of the main campus, went over Hurricane's sustainability systems, and shared pieces about the history of the island. We finished the day with sit spots, which are a part of the program routine. These 30-60 minute long sit spots give students time to reflect on what they learned that day, observe the world around them, and enjoy the peace and quiet that the island has to offer.

About to head out insect collecting (click through for a full slide show of photos from the week)

The rest of the week flew by quickly: each morning was filled with nature explorations and science adventures, and afternoons focused on sailing and rock climbing challenges.  Kevin Keegan, a PhD student at the University of Connecticut started off the students' first full day on the island exploring a group of creatures that strike fear in the hearts of many: bugs! The students were introduced to the four main orders of pollinating insects (Diptera, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, and Hymenoptera) before heading out on an insect hunt. Kevin taught the students how to catch insects using nets and a beat sheet as well as how to properly preserve, mount, and label specimen.  Our favorite thing he taught us, however, was the art of "zenning for insects," which consists of closely examining a small area of shrub for signs of insects like curled or chewed leaves. This led us to discover a huge pile of caterpillar frass with a caterpillar hiding inside! While some high school students may have been unenthused with the idea of touching bugs, everyone had a blast catching insects of all shapes and sizes. 

Planning the layout of the pollinator garden

The island ecology students left two positive, permanent marks on Hurricane.  They contributed specimens to Hurricane's new permanent insect reference collection and they also designed and planted a beautiful new pollinator garden on the south end of the island.  The garden is filled with echinaceae, flox, nepita, and more and was planted near our new hive of honeybees to benefit them and the native pollinators of Hurricane.

The students also spent a morning exploring the intertidal, learning about all of the different creatures that can be found there, followed by a perimeter hike to explore the transition from sea to land.  Another morning, the students completed a clue-based plant hunt with Ben Lemmond, a UVM masters student, to understand species distribution and diversity on the island. 

Foraged Dinner

Later in the week we came back to botany to learn about the diversity of flowers, trees, shrubs, and ferns on the island. This knowledge was crucial for our edible feast on the last day full day of the program. We spent all morning walking the island collecting edibles including a variety of berries, seaside edibles like sea rocket and orach, and edible flowers like red clovers, elderflowers, wild rose, and nasturtiums. After gathering wild edibles, students spent the afternoon working with our amazing chef Micah to harvest veggies from our garden and to prepare and cook all the food.  The students worked as a great team and pulled off a fantastic evening - cooking an amazing meal, developing menus, setting and decorating the main hall for more than thirty people! Some of our favorite menu items included a beach rose and clover simple syrup, elderflower fritters, and a huge garden and foraged salad.

The group got their adventure on during afternoons rock climbing and sailing. We led up to our on-the-water activities with help from Sam learning about nautical charts, navigation, and some important knot tying skills. During our full afternoon sail we were able to circumnavigate Greens Island and anchored at one of the beaches to explore the idea of island biogeography and see the differences between islands in Penobscot Bay. The adventuring continued with two sessions of rock climbing. Everyone pushed their limits in climbing and belaying, and one of the students was able to complete a route blindfolded! Students also got the awesome experience of repelling down the main face over the quarry.

Throughout the week we bonded over evening volleyball games, amazing sunsets (once the fog cleared), swimming in the Atlantic ocean, raucous games of UNO, and camp fires on the south end. The week flew by and we hope the students had as much fun as we did!

Strengthening Coastal Partnerships

It has been a busy time for collaborative meetings!  In the spirit of being super efficient, Alice and I managed to fit in three major meetings over the course of four epic days off the island last week.  The first two days were spent at the Island Institute in Rockland meeting first with Education Director Yvonne Thomas about our joint efforts to develop aquaculture curriculum and secondly with Yvonne and a host of other movers and shakers with the Eastern Maine Skippers Program.  Hurricane recently received a grant from EPSCoR’s Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network (SEANET) program to develop three aquaculture sites on the island: first for sugar kelp and later for oysters and scallops.  More specifically, we have money for students to set up these sites.  The goal of the program is to work with local schools and other local partners, such as the Island Institute and Herring Gut Learning Center, to bring aquaculture education and real life management of aquaculture sites into the hands of middle and high school students.  We are ramping up to develop and pilot our curriculum this upcoming school year with a plan to get students to put their own sugar kelp aquaculture site in the water in the spring.  These will be sites that students can monitor and modify for years to come, enabling students to not only cultivate these areas, but also collect data that can be widely distributed to any students, fishermen, or researchers who have an interest.

View fullsize

Students during the 2014  Eastern Maine Skippers kickoff event spent time in Hurricane's intertidal doing green crab research.

After some great conversations with Yvonne, we launched into a full day meeting at the Institute with a variety of educators and other stakeholders associated with the Eastern Maine Skippers Program (EMSP). This program an amazing effort to bring project based learning into local high schools to help strengthen student engagement, specifically around topics and training critical to Maine’s coastal economy. Penobscot East Resource Center (PERC) based out of Stonington is spearheading the effort and Deer Isle-Stonington High School (DISHS) is one of the high schools pioneering the curriculum with a full in-school program.  Many other high schools up and down the coast of Maine in fishing Zone C (North Haven to Eastport) participate as part of an extended regional program and adapt the curriculum as it fits within their own school structure. Some schools implement the program as an after-school component, some as a full class, and some integrate material into existing classes, but all students associated with EMSP get an opportunity to learn broader skills and knowledge associated with the fishing industry. The program has a three pronged approach, giving students the skills they need to operate on the water, at the table with other stakeholders, and in the office as they manage their own assets. This comprehensive view of what it takes to be a successful fisherman or to understand the complexities of the fishing industry in general is one of the greatest assets of the program and what makes it so appealing to students as well as community partners looking to develop and support coastal youth as true stakeholders in their futures.

Hurricane Island will host the second kickoff event (read about last years event here) for EMSP students and teachers at the beginning of the school year, allowing all participants to meet and get to know each other in addition to laying the foundation for the year long project that they are about to embark on.  Last year the project tackled the invasive green crab problem, this year the project looks at the lobster industry specifically asking the students: Who or what eats/buys lobster? What impact can we/I have?  The first question allows a lot of freedom for students to choose to look at lobsters from an ecological perspective or from a more purely economical perspective. The question about ‘what impact they can have’ is similarly open to student interpretation, allowing a variety of options for students to really dig into the material from a standpoint that is relevant and interesting to them.  It will be great to see what the students come up with this year for their individual projects when they come to the retreat at the beginning of October.  Check back here for updates!

View fullsize

Students share the marine debris art sculptures they created during the 2014 Pathways 101 program on Hurricane

Our final two days of meetings were hosted by Deer Isle-Stonington High School (DISHS) itself and we got a chance to meet with the teachers and other community partners associated with their Pathway program.  Pathways started out as a Marine Studies track for students who wanted to specialize their education in preparation for any post-secondary option dealing with marine related issues.  DISHS has also blended Pathways with EMSP using EMSP as an “honors” track that more specifically gears marine studies for students intending to pursue a commercial fishing license.  This year the Pathways program is expanding to include an Arts Pathway in addition to the Marine Studies and the goal is to add a Healthcare related track in the future.  It was amazing to hear about some of the cool classes associated with each of the tracks!  Most of the Pathways classes are team taught allowing options like Chemistry through Art or Marine Studies Health and Phys Ed., combinations that really demonstrate the relevancy of the topics to students.

I got to spend most of my time with Seth Laplant who is adapting a Biology class to the Marine Studies track and has a lot of programming planned that takes advantage of local resources.  Monitoring bacterial colonies on the shoreline, looking at green crab genetics, blood worm osmosis, and performing marine organism necropsies make this class not only super relevant but also super fun!  It was great seeing all the people who were invested in making these programs work. Island Heritage Trust, Rural Aspirations, Bowdoin College, Opera House Arts of Stonington, Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, and PERC were just some of the people and organizations that were represented over the course of the two days.

Even though it was an exhausting session of meetings, we left with a much better picture of all of the wonderful collaborations going on up and down the coast and we are extremely excited to be part of them.  Over the next couple months we will be solidifying aquaculture curriculum and planning for the EMSP and Pathways kickoffs on Hurricane.  Updates on everything will show up here so keep an eye out to learn more! 

Archaeology on Hurricane

Post by Juliette Bendheim, Program Participant

View fullsize

Documenting artifacts found along Sand Beach

This week was spent digging in the ground, finding treasure, and learning about the fascinating past of this historical island. Hurricane’s first archeology program was quite the success. After a tour of the island and an intro to Hurricane’s history, we commenced the excavation process. The digging started along the path on the North end of the island next to the Sand Beach with six plots of half meter squares were set up in a line. We were hoping to find artifacts from before the quarry area such as Native American stone scrapers or arrowheads. We did find some of those artifacts, as well as coal, nails, and pottery shards from the quarry era. In addition, most of the plots had similar sized stones lined up along the eastern side, so we surmised that they may have been placed there to form a road or a boundary.

View fullsize

Dig site along Main Street

In addition to the outdoor work, we completed some indoor research. We used census records from 1880, 1900, and 1910 to research topics of our interest such as how many families stayed on Hurricane for extended periods of time to how many boarders were in each household. We also compared old photographs to current foundations in order to match them together.

In order to obtain a larger perspective of the history of island, we decided to walk around the foundations. We were able to match several of the foundations with a map from 1910 and ended up walking behind one to an overturned tree. Something shiny caught our eye so we started to pick through the roots. From that one tree we were able to find half a bottle, a crowbar, an ice skate blade, some plate fragments, and even more artifacts. Hurricane is teeming with treasures to be found!

View fullsize

Assorted artifacts found on Hurricane

On the final day, we excavated plots along the northern side of the historic Main Street. These plots were 30 inch squares since we hoped to find more artifacts in a larger space. While it was not the treasure trove we had expected, we did find some old nails, assorted pieces of metal, glass, pottery shards, and more.

A lot was found in a week, but there is so much more of the island to be explored. We hope that the archeological process can be continued and more research can be done so that the secrets of Hurricane can be shared with all. 

Waynflete Sustainable Ocean Studies

View fullsize

One of the settlement plates

Last week students from the Sustainable Ocean Studies program run in partnership by Waynflete School and Chewonki, joined us on days 16-19 of their 24-day program exploring ocean sustainability along coastal Maine. 

Students arrived on Vinalhaven via the ferry after traveling up from Deer Isle where they had spent an earlier portion of their trip sea kayaking. Everyone finally made it to Hurricane late on July 10th just in time for dinner and to settle down for the evening.

The next day started a two-and-a-half-day marathon of science including everything from intertidal exploration to data collection to designing a marine research project focused on green crabs. 

Back in early May we installed several settlement plates on the end of our docks which have been submerged through a busy spring season of plankton settlement events. One of the first projects students tackled was to pull the settlement plates out and take a look at the marine communities that had colonized. After bringing the settlement plates into the lab, students took a closer look at them under dissecting scopes and collected data on the species found on each plate.

View fullsize

Taking a closer look at the settlement plates under a dissecting scope

Settlement plates are one tool marine researchers use to detect the presence of non-native marine species, and to also gain a broader understanding of the distribution and abundance of marine organisms. By hauling the plates periodically over the summer season it is also possible to gain a better understanding of the timing of different settlement events as well as the growth rates of newly settled organisms. We look forward to continuing to deploy settlement plates off Hurricane, and also to potentially deploy plates off Vinalhaven so we can compare organisms found at each site.

Other dock-side activities included collecting plankton to see what organisms are currently floating in Hurricane Sound, capturing nearby floating jellies to take a closer look, and jumping into the icy water to scrape organisms off a portion of one of the pilings to see if they differed from the organisms found on the nearby settlement plates.

View fullsize

Intertidal scavenger hunt team

After a busy morning on the dock, we switched gears and headed over to the intertidal area on the South end of Hurricane which connects to Two Bush Island at low tide. Once settled, students split into two teams for an intertidal scavenger hunt to see who could find the most creatures--everything from algae, molluscs, echinoderms, crustaceans, and other invertebrates. We flipped rocks like crazy and were able to find over 40 different species--some of the most exciting discoveries included some juvenile lobsters, a rock gunnel, and nudibranchs.

View fullsize

Lobster fishing with Jason Day

Afterwards students hopped straight onto Vinalhaven lobsterman Jason Day's lobster boat for an afternoon of fishing. We caught a few lobsters which had recently molted and were in the process of regenerating new limbs, and students enjoyed spearing West Coast rockfish fillets through the eyes to bait the traps. We also briefly towed the plankton net off Jason's boat for some more data to compare to our dock-side sampling.

After a jam-packed day, we took a break in the heat of the afternoon for some well-deserved free time and most everyone jumped in the ocean to cool off. One final night time plankton tow gave us enough information to get a snapshot of the organisms that make up the base of the food chain in Hurricane Sound right now. Students kept up their energy into the night and identified tons of organisms including larval sea cucumbers, larval crabs, and barnacle molts.

View fullsize

Tethered green crabs awaiting deployment

The following morning we were joined by HIF science advisor Noah Oppenheim who talked with students about his trajectory to becoming a marine scientist, and then helped students design a marine tethering experiment to see if green crabs faced higher predation rates based on size, sex, or time of day. Students designed a tethering line, and deployed 20 green crabs tied to the line with monofilament. The crabs were first measured, sexed, and assessed for their claw condition. The experiment was deployed in Valley Cove in the afternoon, hauled after 6 hours, re-baited and then re-deployed for a nighttime treatment. A small but stalwart team assembled at 3am to retrieve the nighttime deployment.

It was a treat to have such an enthusiastic group of young marine scientists out on Hurricane, and I am sure we will hear about their accomplishments in years to come as leaders of the marine science and conservation movement. Hopefully we will also see these students again as researchers out on the island for a summer field season! 

View fullsize

Bird Banding on Hurricane Island

Post By Chloe Tremper, Science Educator

View fullsize

Determining the appropriate band size for this female American Redstart

This past week, Hurricane Island was host to an Institute for Bird Populations (IBP) beginner bird banding class.  The IBP is a nonprofit corporation that studies the causes of bird population declines.  In addition to development of initiatives like Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS), a collaborative network of independent banding stations across the U.S. and Canada, IBP also works to train future avian conservationists.  Their hands-on training courses teach skills such as operating mist-nets, bird-handling skills, bird aging and sexing techniques, and data recording using MAPS protocols and forms.  The week consisted of hands-on banding in the mornings followed by afternoon lectures and discussions about avian life histories, banding ethics, the bird banding permitting process, and the role of banding in research and monitoring.

View fullsize

Setting up the mist nets

View fullsize

Male Common Yellowthroat

For anyone unfamiliar with bird banding, it involves setting up mist-nets (finely woven large nets about 10 ft. tall strung between two poles about 25 ft. apart) and checking the nets at regular intervals for entangled birds.  During this class on Hurricane, participants set up the nets, opened them each morning at sunrise (~5:00am), and checked the nets every 40 minutes until around noon.  If entangled birds were found during net checks, they were safely extracted and brought to the lab for processing.  Back at the lab, each bird was identified by species, sexed, aged, weighed, its body condition was checked, and then a small metal band with an identifying number was placed on the bird’s leg.

View fullsize

Female Song Sparrow

The numbered band allows individual birds to be identified if they are recaptured.  For example, if an American Redstart banded on Hurricane is recaptured in Belize, the person who caught it in Belize will know that it migrated all the way from Maine, how old it was when it was first banded, and other important information about that individual bird.  Bird banding data is used for research and management projects across the globe because it allows people to track the migratory patterns, ranges, longevity, and behaviors of individual birds.

Each morning on Hurricane, the banders were up before the crack of dawn so that they were ready to open up the first nets just after sunrise, when birds are most active.  Some of the species banded on Hurricane this week include: Black-throated Green Warbler, American Redstart, Black-and-white Warbler, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Gray Catbird, Song Sparrow, American Robin, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-eyed Vireo, Northern Parula, Winter Wren, Cedar Waxwing, Common Yellowthroat, and more! 

Most mornings the banders caught and processed around 15 birds, however on their second to last day they caught 27 individuals! We had a great time hosting the IBP beginner bird banding class and hope to host more in the future! We are also looking forward to learning where the birds banded on Hurricane end up in the world.

View fullsize

Infrastructure Update

Post by Silas Rogers, Sustainability & Infrastructure Intern

View fullsize

Installing new windows and re-shingling the boathouse

Hurricane Island is a very busy place, and the summer season is in full swing. Not everyone on the island is involved in programs, however. It is essential to keep the island infrastructure in good shape, and Harbor Builders, of Rockport, Maine, have been commuting by boat to the island to carry out improvements to some of Hurricane’s existing buildings. They are installing new windows in the Boathouse, and re-shingling the exterior. The crew is dedicated, and accepts the challenges of working on the island. Working from an off-grid power source, scheduling commutes around weather conditions, working around programs, and getting materials to the island are a few of the complications the job entails.

Jim “Jimbo” Bernardo and his crew have not only made improvements to the Boathouse, but they have replaced the pier planking with new hemlock, are re-shingling a few of the cabins, and most recently they installed a new double door and screen at the north end of the Galley.

View fullsize

Installing the new inverter

Electricians from Rideout Electric worked July 7th to update and improve the solar electric system by installing a new Outback Power Systems 48 volt inverter to power the main buildings. The new system replaced the two 24 volt inverters of the old system, and twenty new AGM batteries replaced the old battery bank, allowing the system to operate at its full capacity of eight kilowatts. One benefit of the Outback inverter is that it can wirelessly controlled from a laptop, tablet, or smart phone, and data can be recorded very accurately.

The island also recently acquired a large wood chipper, on loan from Chip Bauer, a long time supporter of Hurricane Island and co-owner of Harbor Builders. The chipper, powered by a six-cylinder Ford engine, is a very effective way to break down brush, which is then spread on roads and trails.

Island improvements are well on track, and the buildings and grounds are improving little by little, with the help of these friendly people!

View fullsize

Harbor Builder Crew L-R: Ben "BP" Pomeroy, Ben "Okie" Oaks,  Jim "Jimbow" Bernardo, Mark "Putsky" Bowden

Teaching Leave No Trace (LNT) on Hurricane

Post by Jacque Rosa, Education Intern

“
A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

— Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

I read this quote to a group of middle school students as we sat atop the High Cliffs, overlooking the open ocean. Leopold’s words perfectly summed up the past few days we spent learning about and practicing Leave No Trace (LNT), a program that promotes the sustainable use of the natural world through a set of environmental ethics and guidelines. These students were participating in a two-week coastal Maine trip led by Overland, an organization that runs expedition based summer trips for 4th- 12th graders. Their coastal Maine trip includes backpacking in the White Mountains, hiking Mt. Katahdin, sea kayaking, and spending three days on Hurricane Island. During their time here, we explored all seven principles of LNT that aim to guide individuals to leave as little impact as possible in the wilderness. The Leave No Trace educational program began in the early 1990’s, through a collaboration of the U.S Forest Service, the National Outdoor Leadership Service (NOLS), and the Bureau of Land Management.

View fullsize

Thumbs up for outhouses!

Today, the LNT program is taught around the world with the following core principles:

1. Plan Ahead and Prepare
2. Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
3. Dispose of Waste Properly
4. Leave What You Find
5. Minimize Campfire Impacts
6. Respect Wildlife
7. Be Considerate of Others

These principles can be applied to any outdoor activity, from rock climbing and kayaking, to hunting and fishing. If you are planning a visit to Hurricane, or are already enrolled in one of our programs, here are ways you can practice LNT on the island:

1.    Be Prepared For a Day on the Island: Check the weather report before coming out to Hurricane and dress appropriately. Bring layers, water, and food if you are planning to be on the island all day. Talk to a staff member or let someone know where you are hiking on the island and when you will be back, as cell service does not reach beyond our main building.

2.     Stay on the Marked Trails: While our trails can often be muddy, it is crucial to stay on existing trails and trek through any puddles or mud. Creating social trails (trails that are convenient or avoid muddy areas) can erode existing vegetation.

View fullsize

Overlander’s organize a search line to pick up micro-trash at their campsite on departure day. 

3.     Avoid micro-trash: Keep track of all tiny pieces of trash (like the corners of wrappers) and secure them in your pockets or pack. Help keep Hurricane Island beautiful by picking up any trash (including marine debris), even if it is not yours.

4.     Preserve the Past: Artifacts from the quarry are scattered around the island, offering a glimpse into Hurricane’s rich history as a booming quarry town from 1845-1914. Feel free to observe and take pictures of artifacts, but leave any objects you see as you found them in order to preserve the past and the stories they tell.

5.     Keep Our Water Source Safe: Because the quarry acts as our fresh water source, please refrain from swimming in or polluting the quarry. Utilize our composting toilets that are placed around the island to do your business, instead of using the “facili-trees.”

6.     Observe Wildlife From a Distance: Hurricane Island is home to a variety of wildlife including birds, snakes, frogs, deer, raccoon, and meadow voles. Seals and other marine invertebrates can also be spotted along our coastlines. Bring binoculars on your hike to get a closer look, while still keeping a safe distance. Bring drawing or painting materials to record things you see without taking them with you. Please don’t feed any wildlife, as animals will start to rely on human food and become habituated to human presence.

7.     Sharing is Caring: During your time here, please be mindful of other visitors and respect their outdoor experience. Let the sounds of nature prevail as you explore the island and practice trail etiquette, such as stepping aside to let someone pass and keeping pets on a leash.

We encourage everyone to practice these principles on Hurricane Island, and wherever your travels take you. For more information about Leave No Trace, visit their website here.