A Summer of Change | June Newsletter

The Island View

Monthly Newsletter

June 2020

Dear SML Community,

Greetings from Appledore! It is great to have my feet on the island once again. Five of us SML staff members have moved out to the island in preparation for the start of online courses next week. Although these past few months have presented numerous challenges, our staff and faculty are using an adaptive approach to bring field marine science to our students via live broadcasting and customized online educational resources.

From diving into subtidal kelp beds, deploying plankton nets aboard the R/V Kingsbury , to trekking through the raucous gull colonies on our rocky shores, we’ll be providing students a virtual Appledore experience (minus the salty air and gull poop). Many of our courses will allow students to engage with island resources utilizing the help of newly installed interactive cameras. Whether it be zooming in to view up-close anatomy during a dogfish dissection, or counting seals on Duck Island, they can record data and navigate the scientific process themselves!

If you know a college or high school student interested in gaining college credit this summer, it is not too late to sign up for courses in July. Be sure to check out the Shoals Live Stream webpage, where you can find a schedule of public marine science talks and video/photographic resources to experience the island yourself. I look forward to seeing you virtually!

With deep appreciation and warm wishes,

Jennifer Seavey, Ph.D.

Kingsbury Executive Director

Shoals Marine Laboratory

Join in a Conversation with NH Listens

The UNH School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering together with Shoals Marine Lab have committed to launch a NH Listens community dialogue program in the coming months that will be directed at steps we can take to resolve inequity in marine sciences, and increase our community diversity and inclusion. Through this first step, we will identify actionable items, pathways, and prospective partnerships to make meaningful change. Please see SML's full statement on racial inequality in marine science.

Read SML Statement

Classes Start Next Week!

Meet David Brown, the Videographer Behind the Scenes

Next week marks the start of the first two virtual classes on Appledore Island, Marine Mammal Biology and Coastal Habitat Field Research Methods. In each of the these classes, our expert faculty and staff are bringing SML to each student's home with the help of David Brown, our new Island Videographer. David is a wildlife enthusiast with a passion for capturing the world around him. He will be spending time on Appledore this summer recording crucial footage for our Shoals Live Stream and virtual classrooms. To learn more about David's portfolio or these SML courses, please click the buttons below.

David Brown's Website

Marine Mammal Biology

Coastal Habitat Field Research Methods

Shoals Live Stream Weekly Newsletter

You can now receive weekly updates on SML's virtual offerings this summer! Click the button below to join our "Shoals Live Stream Weekly" email list and receive weekly newsletters throughout the summer with links to upcoming seminars, recorded presentations, and video content from Appledore as the summer gets into full swing.

Subscribe to Shoals Live Stream Weekly emails

Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Ashley Stoehr

Meet Dr. Ashley Stoehr, a devoted SML faculty member teaching two high school courses this summer; Introduction to the Biology of Sharks, Skates, and Rays and Marine Environmental Science. Dr. Stoehr is a professor at Sacred Heart University and specializes in the anatomy, physiology, and ecology of the marine environment. She received her Ph.D. at the UMass Dartmouth studying the physiology of deep diving swordfish and big-eyed thresher sharks. Her expertise in large migratory fish makes her a valuable resource for her students. Although SML courses are not happening in their typical fashion this summer, Dr. Stoehr has devised interactive and innovative plans for her students to learn about all things marine science. Students enrolled in her classes will contribute to an ongoing outreach project that involves planning experiments and dissecting scientific papers. Through at-home learning, Dr. Stoehr plans to impart an enthusiasm for the marine environment to her students that will act as a foundation throughout their educational careers. The most rewarding part of Dr. Stoehr’s profession is witnessing the “the light bulb go off” in her student’s eyes. In the future, she hopes to return to Appledore to continue teaching, researching, and learning about the marine environment - a place that has become her home.

Shoals Marine Laboratory is a joint partnership between

Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire.