It's a wrap!

    

Thought the sun set on my time at Shannon Point I will never forget it.

     What an amazing life affirming experience I had this summer with COSEE at Shannon Point Marine Center.  My only disappointment was that it went by way too fast and I was packing to return home before I knew it.  Luckily I'm not truly finished yet and still have some writing to do and most likely a conference with my adviser, Dr. Dinnel, in the near future. Plus, as I live close, I will return to volunteer on the continuing Olympia oyster restoration project monitoring whenever I can.  I plan to continue helping Denise Crow with any outreach projects that I can as well, which is always so much fun.

     This program reinforced my decision to make a huge life and career change moving from law to science.  Everyone I had the good fortune to interact with this summer was so amazing, friendly, helpful and excited about science.  Not only did COSEE help me become confident and comfortable in my decisions I was lucky enough that Shannon Point Marine Center is part of Western Washington University where I was accepted and will start in the fall.  I feel like I really have a foot in the door and more understanding of my program of study and the opportunities available to me at an undergraduate student.   I also am already planning to apply to be an REU student next summer, something I may not have done without this summers experience.
     When our final numbers were crunched it is evident that the oyster restoration project is  considered successful, a very happy moment for me.  Between this project and the City of Anacortes working to clean up their entire waterfront from historic mill operations the area is, and will continue to, recover ecologically.   Additional sites have shown to be promising as well and oyster seed will be planted this fall or next spring. 
     Thank you COSEE for an unforgettable summer and life affirming experience I will carry this forward with me using all I have learned to be a better scientist.

Crista working her magic with a camera older than herself.

Crista's installation, everyone's pictures and cyanotypes.

The wonderful students I was lucky enough to spend the summer with.

My individual shot. I love it!

The end of one adventure simply signals the beginning of another.

 *I was lazy and this is my final COSEE post.

    

A beautiful end to fieldwork (8/1)

Padilla Bay

      Today marked the end of the fieldwork portion of my summer experience and what a beautiful note to end the experience on.  First Dr. Dinnel and I went to Padilla Bay to scout for a good seed location that was marked by way-points on the GPS and to replace the temperature sensor.  It was a beautiful day to slog about in the mud. 

Still working on the over/unders.

     A non native snail species is present in Padilla Bay.  Battalaria as far as the eye can see, these little guys aren't classified as invasive, meaning they haven't been shown to have a negative impact on the local environment.  They have provided a boon to the local hermit crab housing scene.

Battalaria everywhere.

      After we finished we headed out to Lone Tree Point to chat with a tribal representative biologist about placement of spat on shells next year.  Jen, the Swinomish representative we were talking with then headed out to Kiket Island with us to discuss placement there.  We also replaced the temperature and salinity sensor.  We dropped Jen back off and headed back to SPMC done with out fieldwork for the summer.

One Tree Point Lagoon

Mussels at One Tree Point.

     Mussels growing in the outflows is a good sign the both temperature and salinity in the area are probably good for oysters as well.

Kiket Island lagoon outflow.

     I put the final touches on my data analysis tonight and just need to make my trestle illustration and substrate and oyster density illustration to go along with it.  My time here is coming quickly to an end and I am sad that it went so fast and extremely grateful for the experiences and opportunities I have had here at Shannon Point.

Spectacular failure (9/31)

Heading out from Cap Sante Marina

     Tuesday morning found Dr. Dinnel and myself kayaking out to retrieve a shell bag that wasn't collected in the spring with the rest.  After we rounded the breakwater and started along parallel to the shore I heard a wet breath behind me and found a harbor seal checking us out.  He got less then ten feet from both Dr. Dinnel and myself which Dr. Dinnel said was unusual.  They usually don't get that close but this little guy was super curious.  At one point he dove under me and I stuck my camera in the water in an attempt to catch a photo, I didn't really think I would get anything and was pleasantly surprised when I found the photo below. 

Lucky shot!

Our futile shell bag site.

      The site for the shell bag wasn't to glamorous, the end of a drain in a marina.  We looked and looked, feeling around through thick kelp for about half an hour.  We found this years shell bag but not last years.  We eventually gave up and headed back to the marina.

Feeling watched.

     On our way back to got some more attention from the harbor seals and it soon became apparent why.  Mom and baby were hauled out on a float, a float we actually have a shell bag nailed on.  There was at least one seal in the water keeping an eye on us and mom watched while the baby nursed.  We kept a respectful distance and they seemed fine with us.

Momma nursing baby.

More momma and baby.

      As we approached the marina I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing in the water, as we got closer I realized it was a couple of guys chest deep in the water wandering around with clipboards.  We stopped and chatted with them and they were contracted through the marina to survey how well the out planted eel grass was doing.  It is thriving and that is fantastic!  This is part of the clean up of Cap Sante Marina and the oil tank farm that I discussed last week.
     After we got back to the marina and out of the kayaks we followed the GPS to where it claimed a remaining temperature sensor was supposed to be.  We spent about 20 minutes digging around in the mud but were unable to locate the sensor.  Dr. Dinnel thinks it got covered under more than the 3-4 inches of mud we were digging in.  We gave up and headed to our last task of the day, one we couldn't fail at.

Weaverling Spit, future shell addition point.

     Weaverling Spit is at the west end of the trestle and is slated to receive oyster shell to encourage recruitment of native oysters.  Dr. Dinnel and I took a sampling of the current substrate to have a basis of comparison after the shell is delivered. 
     Though we failed at two of our three tasks it was a really amazing and beautiful day.  Also as it was only of the lowest day tides of the summer everywhere we went we found other people surveying and working on ecological projects.  It was encouraging and nice to see everyone out working to help the environment. 

I'm going to be famous, or something. (9/30)

     Monday morning Dr. Dinnel and I met with a film crew from Western.  They interviewed us on the history of the restoration project and oysters in Washington in general.  It was fun and laid back, I just don't think about that fact that people will see it later.  Apparently our interviews will be edited into a few minute segment for a show through WWU.  Hopefully we get a copy and I can see how goofy I sounded.
    After we were finished with filming Dr. Dinnel and I headed further down the road to Crandall Spit on refinery property.  After we checked in with security and got the go-ahead we headed down to the beach.  We planted a temperature sensor and took a series of quadrat samples to asses suitability as native oyster habitat.  There are plans to place dead oyster shell there to encourage recruitment.

We walked under the oil pipeline to get where we needed to on the beach.

     Dr. Dinnel was not surprised to find the occasional Olympia oyster already where we were doing our quadrat samples.  The one pictures below is an oyster of unusual size, well it is big for an Olympia.

Large Olympia found at Crandall Spit.

The beautiful survey area.

 While I was poking around in the stream running from a lagoon to the open water I found a hermit crab living without a shell.  I felt bad for the little guy but he was being picky, there were quite a few shells around.  I did place him on a rock and as hoping he would unwind and leap off but not while I was looking apparently.  The curly part visible in the picture is his rear, usually hidden in the home.

Naked hermit crab.

We do more than eat, just not much.

     I spotted this guy munching away on my morning stroll to the lab.  Though I shouldn't have been surprised at how quickly he ate knowing what slugs can do to a garden overnight I still was.

Lunch in the library.

      Back when we first arrived at SPMC the staff had a potluck lunch for us.  Friday to show our appreciation for all they do for us we had a potluck lunch for them. It was a lot of fun and a lot of good food.  

Watermelon, feta, basil salad - amazing!

     After lunch the dive crew headed out to see if they could find any Olympia oysters in a channel that runs near the trestle.  Apparently genetic data shows that younger Oysters at the trestle site have some varied genetics from what was planted pointing at other Olympias nearby. 

The entire trestle takes my 180 degree pan function.

Anne, Annie, Dr. Dinnel and Nate Schwack.

     Anne and Annie dove for quite some time searching in the mucky water with very low viability looking for oysters.   Dr. Dinnel also had them collect some shell and bring it back up for us to look for small juvenile on that could be hard to spot underwater.  The ladies brought up a good batch of shells but none of them had any spat on them.  

 

Anne and Annie diving the trestle

The shell collection.

      One fun part of going to the trestle was that we went by Shannon Point on the water and got a new view of our temporary home. 

Shannon Point from another angle.

  

Sunset bike rides and oil slicks.

     Last night and this morning were more data which I think I am nearing the end of and that feels good.  Well except one part where I am creating a site map and layers of illustration representing densities of Olympia oysters, clam shell and oyster shell from each sampled quadrat that we took along the entire site.  That still intimidates me a bit but I have all my data and Crista is helping me with illustrator creating the site maps then Nam will help with my data point plots.  I understand it isn't very exciting to write or read about though. 
     I look for any excuse to ride my bike lately.  Tomorrow we are having a potluck for the staff here at SPMC, like they had for us when we first arrived.  We wanted to show our appreciation and admiration for all they do for us.  We realized we have no more paper pates and since we will be lunching down at the main building we needed some.  Off I went on my bike in to town.  It was beautiful out and I decided to extend my ride and take the Tommy Thompson Trail out across the trestle and back.
     Mount Baker looked just beautiful across Fidalgo Bay in the fading light.

Mt. Baker across Fidalgo Bay.

     Riding across the trestle was nice, hearing the waves gently lapping and feeling the warm evening breeze.  I was surprised when I reached the far end and saw oil in the water.  I just did quick research and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the chemicals of most concern that leech from creosote pilings and they will leech the entire lifetime of the treated wood.  I shouldn't have been surprised after all the oil we released from the mud when we were doing our survey but I still was. 

Yuck!

Still going 100 years later.

      Regardless of the leeching creosote pilings the Tommy Thompson is a beautiful ride and I will keep doing it, probably venturing further each time. I mapped my ride when I got back and it was about 15 miles, not bad at all.

Beautiful view along a gorgeous trail.

     Tomorrow I am hoping to finish the last bit of data stuff, start on my site maps, and enjoy a fun lunch before heading out on the boat with Dr. Dinnel, Annne and Annie.  Annie and Anne will be diving in Padilla Bay seeing of they can find any Olympia oysters, fingers crossed.

Cyanotyping and cake.

Cyanotyping.

     Today Crista and I did a cyanotype of oyster shells as part of her project documenting our projects.   We placed a native Olympia shell in the middle and surrounded it with Pacific oyster shells from my shell bags.  She pre-painted paper with whatever chemical it takes and let it dry.  We designed the oyster shells and then Crista brought out the paper in a black bag.  We carefully pulled the paper out and placed the bag over the top and placed the shells on the paper letting as little light in as possible.

Crista waiting for the exposure to take.

   We then pulled off the bag and let it set for about ten minutes, after which time we pulled off the shells and ran through the building to the lab to douse it in water and stop the exposure.  After a rinse in water and hydrogen peroxide it was ready to hang dry.

Ready to hang dry.

Close up.

     Later in the afternoon Dr. Brian Bingham did a presentation on presentations, do's and don'ts.  Half was on slideshows, graphs and general rules on how to make the best impact and impression of your project utilizing your slideshow.  The second half focused on the actual presentation itself.  Before he began he pulled out a cake and thanked us for sticking around so far.  He then offered us all cake, slicing Shad a piece nicely and putting it on a plate, he then walked over to Umi and offered him some.  When Umi accepted Dr. Bingham stuck his hand in the cake and slopped some onto the table in front of Umi.  Everyone was pretty surprised.  Then he asked what the difference on how he served them both was...presentation.  After the desk was cleaned up we all enjoyed some cake and heard a wonderful presentation.

Shad and Umi with their respective pieces of cake.

Trail Tales

Betty educating the group at the completed water front area.

    This evening Anna and I met up with the group from the Bikespot, my favorite little bike repair shop, and headed out with them on the Trail Tales Interpretive Ride.  It was led by Betty Kuehn and Betty Carteret and they educated the group on the history and cleanup of sites on the Anacortes shoreline.  It was really interesting.
      Anacortes boomed with lumber mills and shipping in a time when environmental impact wasn't even a thought.  Today they are reclaiming their waterfront and cleaning up past generations left behind pollution.  The Department of Ecology leads the project and has taken a bay-wide approach rather than individual sites.  They are focused on cleaning up toxins including, dioxins, furns, PCB's, heavy metals, wood debris, petroleum hydrocarbons and more.
     At the bottom of commercial in an area referred to as Dakota Creek we saw completed restoration and it was beautiful, they have replaced natural habitats long ago destroyed.   We then biked over to Randy's parking lot (a local restaurant) and looked at another cleanup site currently under renovation called the log haul out.

This area by Randy's, the old log haul out, is currently being restored.

      Next we went to Cap Sante Marine and the former Shell Oil tank farm where restoration has been completed.  It is now a beautiful waterfront area with walkways and inviting shoreline.

Betty addresses a captive audience at the Cap Sante and Shell Tank Farm Waterfront park area.

     Next we biked over to the old Custom Plywood Mill site that had served as a sawmill, wood box factory and plywood mill over the years.  It was a worked owned and operated factory over the years and apparently offered some of the best death benefits in the area.  Today is sits abandoned and all former owners are long gone and not liable for cleanup costs. They have already cleaned up an area where a stream meets the shore and created a wetland area.  There are more plans slated to start next summer to take out the decaying creosote dock and piling structures and to open up the wetland to create a larger intertidal area for marine life.

 Custom Plywood Mill site.

Eventually this old dock will all go but for now it looks pretty in the sunset.

        It was a fun evening ride, not too challenging but very informative.  The group of people was a great cross section of people and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  Trail tales is usually a walk along the trail.  There are a few left this summer, hopefully I will have a chance to join future walks.
     The trail that we rode on for our last few spots is the Tommy Thompson Trail, the very same trail that runs over the trestle where our field work has been.  In fact the last stop of the night was at the west end of the trestle and the history of the bay was briefly discussed.
     I keep forgetting to mention that our very first day of field work as we re-grouped at the car we saw a wild weasel.  It was awesome!  I've never seen one before and honestly didn't realize we had them in Washington.

Stalking the biology department

     Monday I got up and headed to WWU to get all the questions I had formed over the weekend answered.  I got there long before the office opened and sat outside with my laptop working on data.  I did indeed get all my questions answered. 
     There was also a chance that there would be an outreach program on campus so I hung out until I got the official cancellation.
     I headed back to Shannon Point and took Chuckanut Drive.  At one point I just pulled over and worked on data for about an hour in my car enjoying the view.  Ah the joys of technology.

The frustrations of a new student.

     Friday I spent the day at Transitions at WWU, this is where all the transfer students get their ID's and registered as well as a wealth of information on college services and clubs.  That is the idea at least.  The first quarter a transfer student spends at WWU they are the last of the student body to register which means you really spend most of the day just trying to find classes that are open, meet your degree requirements, get override codes to be able to register for classes and pulling your hair.  Luckily I had Devin and Ranvir from WCC to help make the day a lot more tolerable.  We worked together, ran all over campus together and eventually each got at least one class that we needed.  Also I like my ID picture which is something.
   Happily I have an amazing partner and I returned home to a yard full of friends, the bbq going and a cold beer. We had a lot of fun and even ended up slip'n'sliding at midnight.  Thank goodness for Eric.
    After a weekend of thinking about it I believe I have a plan for fall quarter and I will waitlist a bunch of classes and I should get at least one of them.  I have a plan and hope.

Final trestle counts from a new direction and bubble making

West end of the trestle and Tommy Thompson Trail.

     Thursday found Dr. Dinnel, Dickson, a few other volunteers and myself at the opposite end of the trestle on the west side of Padilla Bay. 

     The end of the trestle site where we sampled runs along rocks after the end of the pilings, apparently the rocks were actually just placed over the existing pilings so they are still there leachig creosote into the bay.   We sampled both substrate and Olympia oysters as we have been  on the other end of the trestle using the same tools and procedures.  Instead of our usual sample pattern we sampled in the zone between the total mud and the rocky shore.  One group of three sampled either side of the trail from the end of the pilings every twenty feet for approximately 2000 feet.

Our side of the trail for sampling.

The quadrat, pole and bucket of science.

     Because we only took one sample in each location down the length of the trail it went much more quickly.  Also there was often less substrate though in some areas there were living Pacific oysters of amazing size.  Dr. Dinnel said they are probably 12-15 year old.  Just one would make a whole pot of oyster bisque!  I wouldn't eat them from this bay even though on the surface the west end looked less polluted than the east end.  The native Olympia oysters are fighters though, we often found them settled on living Pacific oysters.

Intrepid volunteers.

Dickson said my mom needed a good picture.

     In the evening it was time for discover scuba at the local pool with Nate Schwarck the dive safety officer at Shannon Point, and boat captain and and...... Even those with certification jumped at the chance to dive even if it was at the public pool.  We were pretty evenly split between certified divers and brand new folks who participated in discover scuba.  Those of us who are already certified buddied up and did skill review and had a blast.  I partnered with Umi and it was nice to go back over all those skills that you don't necessarily practice after you get your certification.  e even went as far as to remove all gear on the bottom, swim to the surface at pool side then free swim back down and replace all of our gear.  It was a joy to see all the smiling faces of the new divers, Kalia especially seemed to enjoy herself.   After three hours split between swimming, playing on the awesome water slide and scuba diving we were all exhausted and hit our beds shortly after returning to Shannon Point around 11.  This was the first time I utilized getting my WWU certification to drive the passenger vans and it was good to be able to help.  I was so excited I forgot my camera and am bummed about that, then the other waterproof camera stopped working so there aren't many pictures of the evening.  Anacortes has a really nice public pool by the way.