Growing up on an island full of salty sea dogs and barefoot hippies certainly made for an interesting childhood, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I spent most of my time fishing for the Derby on my dad’s boat, catching squid late at night on the docks of Edgartown, and splashing in the waves during long beach days - the ocean surrounded my home and I took advantage of every available opportunity to be close to it. My love for the sea and for Martha’s Vineyard facilitated my interest in marine biology, a field of study which I still wish to pursue in the future. I’ve been exposed to a unique set of island cultures and to wildlife and ecosystems that are beautiful but also fragile. My appreciation for my home has not only sparked my interest in these fields, it has also inspired me to try to conserve them.
I’ve been a participant in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby for twelve years, and I’ve also worked at the Weigh Station as a volunteer for five years. These have both allowed me to become familiar with the sea life of the Vineyard as well as the unique fishing community. I now know how overfishing and a constantly changing climate is putting these aspects of my home at risk, which is why I feel the need to preserve them.
I embarked on my whelk tagging project because it combines both marine biology and fishery preservation - my goals are to play a part in restoring the channeled whelk populations around the Vineyard and maintain biodiversity, which would in turn help to protect the livelihoods of many local fishermen by preserving the fishery and making it more sustainable.
This is my first time taking part in a project that focuses on both biology and sustainability, but throughout my high school career I have gained a good amount of experience in fields concerning biology and biodiversity. In 2015-16 I conducted my first research project: The Effects of Temperature on Dermo Disease in the Eastern Oyster. It was my first time getting to do hands-on work in a lab and with marine life. I had the opportunity to work with Emma Green-Beach of the Martha’s Vineyard Shellfish Group as my mentor, who is now a colleague of my current mentor, Shelley Edmundson. For the summers of 2017 and 2018 I became an intern at BiodiversityWorks, a local non-profit organization that seeks to maintain the biodiversity of Martha’s Vineyard by protecting and monitoring certain species that are threatened. With BWorks I gained lots of experience in field biology, and took part in projects involving piping plover and other beach bird protecting, monitoring black racer snakes and trapping bats and recording data about them. In the summer of 2018 I also did an internship with the Trustees of Reservations, which exposed me to fields such as shorebird management, environmental education, stewardship, and farm-based education.
I hope this helped you all to get a better sense of my reasons for embarking on my project! If you have any other questions about my past experience or my goals for the future you can: Email me at: [email protected] or Call or text: 508-431-8191
You can learn more about the organizations I've worked with at: https://biodiversityworksmv.org/ http://www.thetrustees.org/places-to-visit/mv/ https://www.mvfishermenspreservationtrust.org/