Website Updated February 16, 2021
Part of monitoring restoration and recovery is keeping our office open and staffed! The pandemic has brought changes that can be seen in the masks we wear, the social distancing we maintain, and the surfaces we are constantly cleaning. Over the last several months, we have been battling another force of nature - the cold of winter.
Our current source of heat is an entourage of electrical heaters that are slightly temperamental and like to tease the breakers. When you walk into the lab and book room downstairs, you are somehow reminded of a walk-in refrigerator. What little heat we do produce passes through the single-pane windows that line three of the four upstairs walls. In fact, a bird broke one window last summer, and it remains covered with plastic.
While winter temperatures and wetness are predicted to be close to normal this year, the coldest periods are just now upon us, and our spring looks to be cooler than usual. That being said, paying rising electric bills is sure to continue into next winter unless something changes. We have researched our options in regard to heating and determined that a pellet stove would be the most cost effective and provide the best performance in heating both floors of the Tree House. We are asking for your help in raising $4,000 to cover the cost, installation, and fuel for a pellet stove for the Tree House.
Click to visit our Winter Warming Fund Page...
Our current source of heat is an entourage of electrical heaters that are slightly temperamental and like to tease the breakers. When you walk into the lab and book room downstairs, you are somehow reminded of a walk-in refrigerator. What little heat we do produce passes through the single-pane windows that line three of the four upstairs walls. In fact, a bird broke one window last summer, and it remains covered with plastic.
While winter temperatures and wetness are predicted to be close to normal this year, the coldest periods are just now upon us, and our spring looks to be cooler than usual. That being said, paying rising electric bills is sure to continue into next winter unless something changes. We have researched our options in regard to heating and determined that a pellet stove would be the most cost effective and provide the best performance in heating both floors of the Tree House. We are asking for your help in raising $4,000 to cover the cost, installation, and fuel for a pellet stove for the Tree House.
Click to visit our Winter Warming Fund Page...
Sitka Spruce Planting is Under Way!
On February 6th, volunteers and staff planted seedling Sitka spruce along the edge of the Kingston Salt Marsh on the north side of the W. Kingston Bridge. With shovels and spades in hand, socially distant teams planted a total of 83 seedlings, with 37 still to plant due to last weekend's snow. Special thanks to volunteers Kate Joncas, David Traylor, Kim Greenhill, Dano Pereida, and Ann Rivers for the making the afternoon a success. Click to read more...
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Beach Profiling
Changes in cove beaches and the channel Carpenter Creek drains into have been found since the culvert removals. The main channel has moved from just off Arness Beach north and now running along the beach on the north side of the cove, before turning to the center of the cove. A new sand spit has extended from the north end of Arness Beach. Details of our findings were discussed by our Program Director, Melissa Fleming, during our 2020 fall webinar event and silent auction. More information to be posted here soon.
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The photos above show in part the process for collecting data during Beach Profiling. Pictured are volunteer Betsy Cooper and Program Director Melissa Fleming. Photos Courtesy of Ann Rivers.
New Stillwaters Blog
Thank you to
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A grant renewal from Conservation, Research and Education Opportunities International (CREOi) supports our research documenting how changes in hydrology since the culvert removals (which restored natural tidal exchange and creek flow to the estuary) are affecting native and invasive plant communities in the salt marsh
on Carpenter Creek.
on Carpenter Creek.
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