Gulf of Maine Institute

Middle schooler takes on multiple projects

Eric Majers — Thu, 23 May 2013 18:29:44 +0000

Maddie Conway was approached over the summer by Green Team director Eric Magers with a proposal of trying out a middle school version of the high-school program, Green Scholars. She had previously worked with Simon McIntosh, who is now a freshman in college, to research and compile a TES growing guide, and wanted to start where he left off, in the gardens and connected with the MERSD food staff. Now in the eighth grade, she has Scholars as an exploratory and has taken on three major projects: the cultivation of the garden along with Mrs. Parisien, writing a grant to acquire funding to aid in the expansion of the garden, and tracking the food that comes into the dining hall. Much of her work is done at home because she only meets once or twice a week up with either Mrs. Parisien or Mr. Magers to work on her projects.

McIntosh introduced her to the gardens, and she wanted to continue producing vegetables for the school long after Simon had gone away. In the summertime, she’d go to the gardens once a week to clear up trash, succor the tomatoes, tie them up straight, reroute the runners on the butternut squash so they wouldn’t be trampled, and water the plants. The winter was harsh to the garden, but with the spring looking promising, Maddie and Mrs. Parisien are planning for the growing season in the first year without Simon. This project with the gardens was her very first and was what drove her to take on the next two.

In order to supply the more than 1,500 students that attend the middle-high school with fresh produce daily, the garden must be expanded, and for this to happen, first, a drip irrigation system needs to be put in and new seed needs be purchased. Seeds that are hardier and produce more output are optimal, and a drip irrigation system to constantly supply the crops with water is as well. To get the $500 dollars that the garden needs, Maddie is writing a DoSomething seed grant to acquire the money. These types of grants are judged weekly, and there is no deadline for submission.

Newburyport addresses plastic bag issue

admin — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:02:35 +0000

Students Invite Community Discussion About Plastic Bags

“Nothing that we use for a few minutes should pollute the ocean for hundreds of years,” Lori Ehrich, State Representative.

Residents of Newburyport have been working to address issues of plastic pollution in our coastal city. Following the lead of cities and townships across the country, including Manchester and Brookline in Massachusetts, a local group has formed called Citizens for Sustainable Bagging whose purpose is to move the city toward placing a ban or fee on single-use plastic bags. While not a perfect solution to the problem of all throw-away plastics, the hope is to build a community-pride initiative that places the solutions we need to protect the environment in the hands of all residents as Newburyport continues to work toward becoming a Zero Waste Community.

On Wednesday, May 22 at 7pm at the Newburyport High School, there will be a free public showing of ‘Bag It,” an informative, inspiring and often funny documentary about the real effects of plastics on the natural environment and human health. Following the 45-minute film, a community discussion will be held with Mayor Donna Holaday, State Senator Mary O’Connor Ives and State Representative Lori Ehrlich, who is currently working on plastic bag legislation at the state level. The discussion will focus on addressing public concerns and problem-solving around this issue.

This event has been put together by students of the Newburyport GOMI team and the HS Environmental Club in conjunction with Citizens for Sustainable Bagging and Transition Newburyport. For the students, this important initiative gives them an opportunity to test their civic muscles while working toward positive change on the many future environmental uncertainties they face.

“One of the most powerful tools we possess is that of awareness,” says NHS student Lindsay Ford, “Not only environmental awareness, but the insight to realize that the most productive and fulfilling change is a product of collaboration and unity among interested citizens, businessmen and legislators. “

To learn more about this event, contact Cyrus Woodman at cyruswoodman@gmail.com. Send us some good vibes on the 22nd as we strive to put our GOMI learned civic engagement skills to the test.

Vote for Eric

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:25:19 +0000

HI!
Eric Majers been nominated for the Alliance for Climate Education Climate Educator of the Year and would LOVE YOUR VOTE!!!

http://www.acespace.org/teacher-appreciation-2013

VOTING ENDS TODAY – FRIDAY, MAY 10TH

Thank you SO MUCH!

Green Scholars complete first Sustainability Day

Eric Majers — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:04:23 +0000

Embarking on its first Sustainability Day of the year, the Green Scholars Program traveled to multiple environmental landmarks around the Cape Ann area.

“We try to make the class interesting with days meant to be both educational and fun. These aren’t just normal field trips; we go to several different places to enhance our knowledge of the environment and shifting climates,” Green Team director Eric Magers said.

Director of Facilities Joe Lucido began the day by giving the students a tour of the school’s green aspects, including the roof’s solar panels, the boiler room, and the main electrical room.

Junior Jake Tyler commented on seeing the roof for the first time. “The benefits of taking Green Scholars became clear to me on Sustainability Day. We got to climb up onto the roof to see the solar panels, which no other classes can do,” he said.

After the tour, the group went to Mike Chapman’s residence in Manchester to see his bee farm. Chapman displayed the structure of the artificial hives to the students and provided samples of the natural honey, which he harvested.

According to Magers, Chapman discussed the effects which climate change has on the bees’ behavior, providing the students with environmental literacy, a main goal of the Scholars program.

Scholars Justin and Will taste honey at Mike Chapman’s bee farm in Manchester

Next, they went to the Ipswich wind turbine site to learn the positive impacts of wind energy on the environment.

Also included in the field trip was a walk around the second largest hill in Manchester, which is off of Pine Street, where the group observed the environmental effects of the wildfire of 1957.

The Scholars capped off the day with a visit to the Essex County Green Belt, a local land conservation group, to learn what environmental motives lead to their founding.

“It was nice to join together with all of the separate blocks of Scholars and remember that we’re making the world a better place as a unit, one step at a time,” junior Brittany Smith said.

“The day overall was both fun and informative. I think that seeing the hidden treasures around Cape Ann showed me that there are a lot of towns and people who care about the environment,” Tyler said.

Green Scholars assist in Manchester plastic bag ban

Eric Majers — Thu, 02 May 2013 23:01:37 +0000

This quarter, Manchester banned plastic bags! Green Scholars Anna and Max played an active role in achieving the ban, which will go into effect in the summer of 2013. Manchester is the third Massachusetts community to do this. It will go a long way in helping the environment and people from other towns like Newburyport which have already been influenced by the ban. Hopefully Massachusetts can be the first state to implement a state wide ban of plastic bags, with the help of Lori Ehlrich. People try to say that banning plastic bags promotes the use of paper, but this is not the case. Reusable bags are promoted: all of which have extremely little impacts on the environment. This project is incredible, and hopefully other towns will catch on soon. The site of plastic bags caught in trees, in the ocean and even on the street should one day be a thing of the past.

Green Scholars present at Green Schools Summit

Eric Majers — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:59:33 +0000

On April 11, 2013, Eric Magers, Justin Eichenberger, Brittany Smith, Jacob Tyler, and Samuel Koufman attended the Green Schools Summit at South Eastern Vocational Technical High School. They set up a booth and also had two presentations. The booth consisted of a questionnaire, which asked sustainable questions, and the person that answered the most questions correctly won a prize. Also, Brittany Smith created the first presentation and spoke about how Manchester-Essex was nominated for the Green Ribbon award. The second presentation consisted of Green Scholars Eichenberger, Tyler, and Koufman speaking about Manchester Essex’s Green Scholars program at their school

Green Scholars attend Mass Recycle Conference

Eric Majers — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:57:03 +0000

On April 1, 2013, Will Burgess, Justin Eichenberger, and Mr. Magers went to the Mass Recycle Conference in Boxborough, MA. The conference started at nine in the morning and ended up finishing at about five in the afternoon. It was split up into three different sessions, with a snack break after each session. They were also lucky enough to indulge in the large, lunch buffet the hotel was offering. For the presentation, they were given the task to present on common problems and solutions when developing a Green Team and when putting in Green Aspects at a school. They also presented later in the day about the Green Scholars program running at Manchester Essex High School. Both of the presentations were a huge hit. After the presentation, they received a number of people asking about the Scholars program and how to overcome some of the challenges entailed. All in all the conference was definitely a success!

Green Scholars receive awards at Mass. State House

Eric Majers — Thu, 02 May 2013 22:54:38 +0000

Green scholars Jackie, Justin, Sam, Shelby, Natalie, and Green Team director Eric Magers went to the Massachusetts State House to receive two awards. The Manchester-Essex Green Scholars Program won the Green Schools Commitment to Environmental Education Award. Each Scholar won two awards. The awards were called the Green Schools Ambassador’s Green Difference Award and the Presidential Environmental Youth Award (PEYA). Everyone had a great experience accepting and winning these awards. Also, the Superintendent of the Manchester Essex Regional School District, Pam Beaudoin, made an appearance at the Massachusetts State House which was great for the Green Team and the Green Scholars program; it made them feel like the Green Scholars program is making an impact and that people care what the Green Scholars accomplish.

Digby Neck/Islands team shows its community spirit!

admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:21:28 +0000

GOMI Youth Give Balancing Rock Trail Spring Tune Up.

On April 7th the Digby Neck / Islands GOMI Youth Team went to the Balancing Rock Trail and had a good time accomplishing the following:

1. clearing the vegetation around the parking signs making them more visible to the travelling public; also cleared roadside alders along sight lines to the parking signs.

2. trimming some of the vegetation at the parking lot entrance to improve safety for entering and exiting vehicles.

3. trimming the encroaching vegetation back from the trail with loppers.

4. using a buck saw to clear three dead fall trees from trail. 5. clearing debris from the trail.

6. sweeping the 300 plus steps descending to Balancing Rock.

7. picking up the garbage along the trail (but in all honesty there was very little).

Gordon Wilson, Deputy CAO for the Municipality of Digby, expressed appreciation for GOMI’s continued efforts to support the Balancing Rock Trail and indicated that there are other efforts being considered to make improvements to the trail.

When you visit Nova Scotia, this site is worth a visit!

Click on image for larger view.

Ocean Drifters project introduced to Maritime mini-conferece

admin — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 11:58:35 +0000

John Terry, President of GOMI, introduced the gulf-wide Ocean Drifters project to the Maritime mini-conference held April 12-14, 2013 at the Tantramar Wetland Centre in Sackville, NB.

There is a recognized need for more detailed information related to surface current movements in the Gulf of Maine. The concept for tracking these movements is quite simple. Many low technology tracking units will be released at a number of points in the Gulf. These units will have transmitters that will send their locations and other data to a central collection point sponsored by NOAA. As the units change location they plot the movement of surface currents.

GOMI teams around the Gulf will be raising funds to build and sponsor units which will be launched by fishing boats near their home locations. The students will then be able to link in to the NOAA database to see what is happening with their”drifter” and see what is happening with others. This makes each GOMI team a part of the bigger scientific team doing real research on the Gulf of Maine surface currents.

Click on the image for a larger view.