2024
Coming October 24th – Friends of the Field Webinar, with David Porter and Allison Snow.
Sponsor – Blue Hill Heritage Trust and Island Heritage Trust.
Past 2024
Title: Conservation of Maine’s Seaweed Forests: Great Progress, Great Challenges!
Robin Hadlock Seeley, PhD, Executive Director of the Maine Rockweed Coalition (501c3)
The Importance of Seaweed – event at Holbrook Island Sanctuary State Park
Description – Susan Hand Shetterly (author of Seaweed Chronicles, Notes on the Landscape of Home, and other titles) and Jessica Muhlin, Professor of Marine Biology and Chair, Corning School of Ocean Studies, MMA, will offer an in-depth discussion on the vital roles of seaweed followed by a visit to the shoreline.
Field Trip to Explore Intertidal Seaweeds with David Porter
Title: Dispatches from the Intertidal Ribbon of Rockweed
Hannah Webber, PhD, Marine Ecology Director at Schoodic Institute, Winter Harbor
Title: Life and Strife in the Intertidal: Toward the Conservation of Rockweed
David Porter, PhD, Professor emeritus, University of Georgia
Sponsor – Brooklin Garden Club, Public Event
When – Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at 2:00 PM
Where – Bagaduce Music (49 South St., Blue Hill)
Description – An illustrated presentation by David Porter. Rockweed is so common along our rocky coast that we sometimes tend to ignore it. But this seaweed is foundational to the intertidal ecosystem. It is shelter, nutrient, and stability for hundreds of marine creatures both small and large, and is sometimes called the rockweed forest, as a comparison to the shoreline forest of spruce and fir that harbors and nurtures so many birds and other animals. The terrestrial forest is obvious, but we tend not to see the intertidal forest in the same light.
This presentation will introduce attendees to the diversity of seaweeds that are common along our rocky coast; it will cover the unusual biology of rockweed, its adaptations to the harsh, wave-pounded shore; and the ecosystem that is supported by this keystone species. Also, the conservation efforts for the rockweed forest that are needed in the face of poorly regulated harvesting by a Canadian company and others that sell rockweed for fertilizer and other commercial products.
Rockweed Field Workshop and Optional Kayaking with Allison Snow
Sponsor – Blue Hill Peninsula Rockweed Forum, https://rockweedforest.org/
When – Saturday, August 17, 2024 (rain date is August 18), at 2:30-3:30 PM
Where – Brooksville Town Landing picnic area, Town Landing Rd, Brooksville
How to register – Send an email to info@rockweedforest.org to reserve a place (limit of 20 people). Questions? Contact us at info@rockweedforest.org.
Description – At the water’s edge on Smith Cove, Allison Snow will lead an informal workshop about the ecology of rockweed. We will talk about the unique characteristics of rockweed vs. other types of seaweed, and why it is important to protect this commercially sought-after seaweed from overharvesting. In 2021, rockweed beds around Smith Cove and Holbrook Island Sanctuary were the focus of machine-harvesting by a company based in Canada.
Optional kayak tour – After the workshop, we will launch our kayaks (bring your own) as the tide rises. We will paddle to nearby ledges where machine harvesting took place in 2021, while looking for remaining canopies of undisturbed rockweed.
Past 2023
Rockweed Forest Field Trip with David Porter
Sponsor – Island Heritage Trust
When – September 7, 2023, 11:00am – 12:30pm
Where – Barred Island Preserve parking, Goose Cove Rd, Deer Isle, ME
Description – Come enjoy a rocky shore low tide exploration of what we call The Rockweed Forest. David Porter will guide a hands-on experience with this dominant and ecologically critical ecosystem that acts as a nursery and feeding zone for so many of our commercial fish and shellfish. Learn the differences between the slow growing perennial Rockweed and the rapid growth of annual kelps and other subtidal seaweeds. We will also discuss commercial rockweed harvesting and the legal protections that landowners have to control unpermitted cutting of the rockweed.
Seaweed: Science, Culture, and Sustainability – with Susan Hand Shetterly, Jessica Muhlin, and Micah Woodcock
Sponsor – Stonington Public Library Seaside Series
When – August 9, 2023, 12:00-1:00 pm
Where – Small Park Cove, 6 Atlantic Avenue, Stonington
Description – Susan Hand Shetterly, the author of Seaweed Chronicles, writes about wildlife and wild lands. Jessica Muhlin is an Associate Professor of Marine Biology in the Corning School of Ocean Studies at Maine Maritime Academy. Micah Woodcock is the owner of Atlantic Holdfast Seaweed Company, sustainably hand-harvesting high quality sea vegetables from Penobscot Bay. They join up to offer three distinct views on seaweed in one event.