Catfish cookout along the Rappahannock

On August 2nd, the Rappahannock River Invasion: Catfish Cookout & Watershed Festival took place at the Patawomeck Museum & Cultural Center in Fredericksburg, VA. The Patawomeck Tribe of Virginia, IAN, and the Environmental Justice Journalism Initiative (EJJI) hosted the event. It also featured five regional partners who provided information and resources about their environmental intiatives. IAN's table offered its listening session approach that allowed for attendees to share their perspectives on considerations for improving the health status of the Chesapeake Bay and watershed. The highlight of the event was delicious blue catfish, and coupled with local music and beautiful weather, it made for a successful event. Situated adjacent to the Rappahannock River, the cookout brought awareness about invasive blue catfish and how their consumption can be an effective management initiative.

Monsoon School science communication course

On August 5th, IAN virtually attended the final day of the Monsoon School, in collaboration with partners from Future Earth Coasts, to teach a group of nearly 25 students about the principles of Effective Science Communication. Heath Kelsey, Sidney Anderson, and Roshni Nair-Gonzalez led the presentation. The course began with the evaluation of transdisciplinary projects using metrics to analyze concepts and challenges. A discussion on the art of storytelling and narrative to achieve great science communication followed, which included some exercises. The class concluded with a lesson on color theory and designing science communication in presentations, documents, and papers. The Monsoon School group was very enthusiastic about designing powerful communication products. As a bookend to the course, the group went on an overnight excursion to the Thousand Islands archipelago near Jakarta.

Last month, we added a total of 11 videos to our media library, covering topics such as flooding, wildlife, and Chesapeake Bay landscapes. All of these new videos, with the exception of one, are available in a vertical format for the first time, and having this option will better support social media needs for short-form video content. Our video library features over 100 high-quality videos that are free to download by anybody, and we look forward to continually expanding our offering.

Heath Kelsey attended a meeting to discuss international responses to climate change in coastal communities, at Thinkers Lodge in Pugwash, Nova Scotia in August this year. The meeting was part of Thinkers Lodge’s continuing commitment to support meetings that address science and societal issues. Hosted by Future Earth Coasts and Thinkers Lodge, fifteen scientists, practitioners, managers, and indigenous representatives from Australia, Canada, Mexico, the Mi'kmaw Nation, USA, and the West Indies were invited to share their perspectives on coastal climate adaptation. Over three days of meetings, we identified key issues, challenges, and ways forward, and convened a local meeting to give the Pugwash community a sense of our discussions and to solicit their valuable insights. For a full description of the meeting and the very interesting history of Thinkers Lodge, read the accompanying blog.

Patapsco Heritage Greenway (PHG) has released its third annual Report Card in partnership with the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC) and UMCES IAN. PHG started its water quality monitoring program in 2021 and now monitors 11 locations along the river. The Patapsco River earned a C+ this year, and conductivity continues to score poorly, likely due to years of excessive and inefficient winter salting practices. PHG offers Smart Salter workshops to combat this, where volunteers can learn how to monitor chloride using a Salt Watch kit and how to use salt and alternatives more efficiently on surfaces during winter. Check out the report card and learn more at https://www.patapsco.org/water-quality-monitoring/.

This report card also spotlights the Daniels Dam Feasibility Study. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is considering whether or not to remove the dam. Removal of other dams along the Patapsco has improved ecosystem health and restored access to natural habitats. To learn more and contribute your thoughts, visit https://dnr.maryland.gov/publiclands/Pages/daniels-dam-feasibility-study.aspx.

This summer, the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC), a multi-state effort to standardize water quality monitoring throughout the watershed, redesigned indicator fact sheets. These fact sheets give an overview of each water quality indicator, why it is important to the ecosystem, the tools used to measure the indicator, and what certain types of measurements and scores mean for water health. The new documents can be found on the CMC website and the IAN website.