Post by Chloe Tremper (Summer 2014 Science and Education Intern)
Lots of familiar, lots of new. My first impression started at the Hurricane Island Foundation office in Rockland. I opened the door to the office and was immediately greeted by two very happy dogs followed by Cait, and I couldn’t have had a better welcome. Once we pulled up to Hurricane Island itself I was immediately struck with how beautiful the island is. I couldn’t think of a better place to be spending my summer. Every staff member I met throughout the day was really nice and it was pretty apparent they are a tight-knit group of people who love what they do even with the challenges that come along with jobs like theirs.
Chloe on one of the Hurricane Island trails
After getting a chance to walk around the island a bit, everything seemed very familiar. The forested areas on the island made me feel like I was back in the spruce-fir forests that I’m used to seeing on the mountaintops of Vermont. Dark-eyed juncos, golden-crowned kinglets, Swainson’s thrushes, all birds I’m used to hearing in the dead silence of a mountaintop, I’m now hearing with the crash of ocean waves in the background. On top of that, here I am on an island with an elevation of less than 200ft and I’m seeing mountain ash, red spruce, mountain paper birch, and balsam fir--it’s pretty neat!
Overall, my first impression of Hurricane Island was a great one. I’m looking forward to getting to know the island better and being able to navigate myself around the trails. I am also really excited to get started with the ISLE classes and my research project to assess the health of Hurricane Island’s forest stands (more on that later!).
