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EDUCATION & OUTREACH
Education and outreach to the local communities on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are major components of our Soundkeeper program. Our goal is to educate and inform the citizens, who will in turn become stewards of Nantucket Sound and advocate for its long-term protection.
In partnership with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS - www.wdcs.org), Soundkeeper presented programs on conservation and stewardship of the marine environment as part of the Cape Cod Groundwater Guardian Water Festivals in 2007.The festivals were held at middle schools in the towns of Chatham, Mashpee and Barnstable. Over 500 students learned how their actions on land directly influence the health of the waters and wildlife of Nantucket Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. The interactive presentations involved the use of a large, inflatable North Atlantic right whale to educate students on the importance of marine ecosystems and the influence humans have on the delicate balance of these environs. Nantucket Soundkeeper also piloted a 6-week enrichment program in 2007 entitled “Keepers of the Sound” for elementary schoolchildren at the Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter Public School. The hands-on class introduced students to the concept of watersheds and water quality, explored the Sounds of the world via navigation charts and world maps, and taught the students about fisheries in Nantucket Sound. Nantucket Soundkeeper was again involved in the 6-week enrichment program at the Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter School in 2008.
In 2005 and 2006, Soundkeeper hosted the historic tall ship replica, Spirit of Massachusetts, as part of the Nantucket Sound Community Days at harbors on Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Working with the Ocean Classroom Foundation and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Soundkeeper also sponsored marine science and maritime history programs for teachers and children on multiple-day sails on board the Spirit.
Nantucket Soundkeeper and WDCS collaborated on two lecture series over the past year. During the summer of 2007, we co-sponsored “A Sea Of Change” series of five talks focusing on climate change and the impacts to marine wildlife at the Harwich Community Center. In March and April of 2008, we co-sponsored a five-part series of lectures on oceans, conservation and art held at the Cape Cod Museum of Natural History.
Nantucket Soundkeeper has also been visible at community events throughout southeastern New England, including the Cape Cod Life Boat & Recreation Expo in Hyannis Harbor, the IFAW Whalefest in Hyannis, MA, the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve’s Watershed Block Party in Falmouth, MA, and the Newport International Boat Show in Newport, Rhode Island
