Over the past 10 years, the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative has grown into a network of volunteers, organizations, and partners working together to improve our understanding of the Chesapeake Bay. Together, we’ve collected over 1.1 million water quality data points, built tools like the CMC Data Explorer, and ensured community science plays a role in Bay restoration and management decisions. Thank you to everyone who made all these milestones possible. Here’s to the next decade of collaboration and impact!

The 2nd International Coastal Resilience Symposium was hosted by the National Coastal Resilience Laboratory in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, from September 2–5, 2025. Conor Keitzer shared how we are communicating the results of our recent resilience work in two communities in Annapolis, MD and Cambridge, MD to non-scientific audiences. In addition to learning about new research and approaches to coastal resilience while eating great food, a highlight of the trip was visiting a restored mangrove wetland near the coastal community of Sisal. This restored wetland is a powerful example of how ecological restoration helps build costal resiliency by shielding the coast from storms, supporting biodiversity, and providing jobs to the local community through ecotourism.

New paper alert! "Closing the parachute and opening the umbrella: Strategies for inclusivity and representation in producing impactful coastal ecosystem research." This paper was written in collaboration with several international friends and colleagues. Thanks for all your hard work!

Parachute science is the problematic and extractive practice of non-local researchers taking data, knowledge and information from communities of which they are not members. This practice fails to engage the local community and local scientists, marginalizing them in most aspects of the research to the benefit of the non-local researchers. Parachute science is perpetuated by colonialism and unequal access to resources like funding, education and data. It is harmful to local scientists and undervalues the contributions of the community as a whole.

Here, we offer our perspectives on parachute science and suggestions on how to avoid it, based on our collective experiences conducting research internationally with diverse scientists and communities. Instead of a parachute, we suggest opening the scientific "umbrella" to incorporate diverse perspectives and local contributions to generate relevant and impactful science.

Meet the Scientist: Sidney Anderson

Hi, everyone! My name is Sidney Anderson, and I am a Science Communicator at the UMCES Integration and Application Network. I started at IAN in 2021, about one week after I defended my Master’s thesis. My background began in research science, studying reptiles and amphibians in Maine and Florida, but I always enjoyed running outreach programs and getting to interact with the community while out doing fieldwork. Combine this with my background in drawing and painting, and the science communication work I’ve found at IAN encompasses all of these passions in the best way.

While at IAN, I’ve been able to travel to some incredible places and collaborate with a vast array of people, helping to develop and run stakeholder engagement events across the globe. It is a rare place that enables people with traditional scientific training to foster their creativity to apply that knowledge in unique ways. In my spare time, I enjoy birdwatching, reading, and playing soccer.

Science as Art

IAN science communicators Roshni Nair-Gonzalez and Ann Foo (pictured) will be showcasing artwork in the STEM to Studio Exhibition, which will be held at Gallery Reimagined located at 311 S Exeter Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. This event, put together by IMET and Gallery Reimagined, showcases art that focuses on the connections between art and science and the contribution of art integration into the STEM disciplines. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, November 1st, from 11am–2pm. Snacks and refreshments will be provided for all who attend, and there will also be artist talks where participating artists will talk about their artwork. All the artwork will remain in the gallery till the closing reception on December 12. The gallery’s hours of operation are as follows: Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 4pm–7pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11am–2pm, excluding holidays. Come out and support our science communicators at Gallery Reimagined! More information on the event is coming soon.