Winter Update
Friday, February 19, 2021
Register for a Summer Science Program!
Middle School
Marine Biology:
July 11th - 16th
High School
Marine Biology:
July 25th - 30th
High School
Women of Water:
August 8th - 13th
Education
First National Bank Supports Hurricane Island with $25,000 Contribution for Place-Based Education
Hurricane Island has been working in partnership with University of Maine 4-H Camp & Learning Center at Blueberry Cove to provide place-based programming to all 6th-grade students from St. George School. This collaboration extends St. George's capacity to engage students outdoors in meaningful ways, connecting them to place-based science while addressing social-emotional needs.

We have also been working with individual teachers to transition their classroom lessons to online or outdoor environments to be COVID responsive. In addition, Penobscot Bay students across multiple schools continue to participate in our scallop research, deploying several lines of spat bags in the fall that they will retrieve and collect data on in the spring.

First National Bank's contribution has funded all these efforts, and we are incredibly grateful for their continued support.
Maine Online Opportunities for Sustained Education
Hurricane Island is proud to be helping the Maine Department of Education with its MOOSE Platforrm, providing self-paced, project-based learning modules that cover all of the Maine Learning Results standards, from Pre-K through 12th grade. Our Director of Education and Programs, Dr. Jenn Page, is currently the Module Coach for all high-school module development teams. Modules are open-access and have already been used beyond the State of Maine in countries all over the world.
Image courtesy of MOOSE
Global Partnership Expands on Hurricane Island
Entering the third year of our partnership with United People Global (UPG), we once again look forward to training UPG Sustainability Leaders on Hurricane Island. Of the 500 applicants chosen to be the 2021 class of sustainability leaders, 60 young leaders from around the globe will join us on Hurricane Island this summer (COVID restrictions permitting). Watch Amandinha's testimonial to learn how her time on Hurricane Island as a 2019 UPG Sustainability Leader has helped her further her goals and spread her ideas in the world of sustainability. Click the link below to learn more!
LGBTQ+ Inclusive Youth Programming
OUT Maine has released best practices for LGBTQ+ inclusive youth programming. This free guide provides a roadmap with concrete action steps for ensuring inclusive and welcoming programming for LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning) youth. It also serves as a training resource to increase administration and staff awareness of the current challenges facing LGBTQ+ participants. We are proud to be one of the youth-serving organizations who gave feedback to refine these practices.

Image courtesy of OUT Maine
Bring a group to Hurricane!
If you would like to bring your school group to Hurricane Island for a custom program, we would love to hear from you! To find out more, email our team to start a conversation.
Research
Pursuing a PhD in Environmental DNA
Phoebe Jekielek, our Director of Research, is currently pursuing her PhD with Dr. Heather Leslie from the University of Maine and Dr. Nichole Price from Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences as part of the Maine environmental DNA program. Her work includes development of eDNA tools to monitor reproduction and recruitment processes in aquaculture and wild shellfisheries and evaluation of climate change impacts on these populations. Hurricane is an integral part of her work and most data collection takes place at our aquaculture site, around Hurricane, and on partner farms. If you would like to discuss her research and other Hurricane research efforts, email Phoebe to start a conversation!
The Research Must Go On
Aquaculture and Education Manager, Madison Maier, wrote about her experience on the research team's winter diving adventures. You can read about this chilly experience on our research blog!
Island Life
Small Scale Aquaculture Technology
Facilities Manager, Silas Rogers, adapts equipment to fit our small-scale aquaculture needs. You can read about his process of hands-on fabrication in our island blog!
Welcome new year-round staff and board members!
New Positions as of October 2020:

Tara Elliott - Grants Coordinator
Bob Heath - Program Manager
Madison Maier - Aquaculture and Education Manager
New Board Members as of January 2021:

Andrew Bendheim
Jay Braatz
Chris Carrigan (Welcome back, Chris!)
Des FitzGerald
Scott Gazelle
We begin the new year feeling humble and grateful. Our donors - corporate, grantors, local business partners, and so many individuals- stepped forward with overwhelming generosity to carry us through 2020. Where would we be without our warm, supportive community? Thanks to your generous support, we start this year on solid footing. Thank you!