The Wrack

Wells Reserve is expanding fisheries science and conflict management research thanks to two grants from the NERRS Science Collaborative.

The following was published in the Biddeford-Saco Journal Tribune Sunday edition, 7/19/2015.

The Fuligo septica, or dog vomit slime mold, as it is picturesquely known, appeared in our front garden after a particularly humid day last week. The five-inch-wide, bright yellow splatter was impossible to miss on the black mulch. To the touch, it felt like scrambled eggs. My son declared it “ick.” I was delighted.

The Wells Reserve recently hosted coastal communities from Kittery to Scarborough for a workshop titled Tracking Progress - Better Safe than Sorry. The workshop was a combination of presentations and group discussions for participants to discuss how their communities are working to improve their resilience to coastal hazards and extreme weather events in light of climate change. The workshop gave participants the opportunity to identify shared goals and track progress towards these goals.

Interdisciplinary Methods for Stakeholder Engagement and Collaborative Research

Lessons from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System

Overview

How can busy researchers work with even busier managers to facilitate effective application of science to the complex tasks of coastal management, from strategic planning to the design of best management practices and in day-to-day decision-making?

The NERR System is completing 5 years of research nationally around bridging the gulf (boundary spanning) between science and management. These workshops will review boundary spanning projects and work toward developing a primer of best practices for use in coastal management.

Workshop Goal

To build awareness, capacity, and skills to enable coastal management and research communities to use expert interdisciplinary practices to engage stakeholders in developing and implementing collaborative research projects that link science to coastal management and policy.

Project Period

• September 22 & 23, 2014 in Maine
• January 14 & 15, 2015 in Texas