Chris

I have been working in Ipswich for the summer at QLF on The Sounds Conservancy 15th anniversary publication, as well as the Interns & Volunteers program. I helped edit the publication (which will be out in the fall) and found images and illustrations that match the grantees’ projects and fields of study. Working in Ipswich is great. All of the interns here are a lot of fun and work hard. When one of us needs help on a project, there’s always someone there.

During the first week of work, Beth took us out on a canoe trip down the Ipswich River. We got to know each other beyond work. So we paddled and ate sandwiches for three hours- not a bad day’s work!

Late July, Henry picked me up at 7 and we headed down to the Cape with Meagan to meet with two of TSC’s grantees for 2009. We met with Allison Andrews who is doing research on diamondback terrapins on Cape Cod (Wellfleet) and monitoring their nests during nesting season which just recently ended. We learned that they mate based on temperature. Higher temperatures mean more mating. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any terrapins, but were fortunate to have a warm and sunny day, which are hard to come by it seems. We left Wellfleet for P’town to see Owen Nichols who is doing research on squid in the Cape Cod Bay. He showed us a PowerPoint presentation and then showed us the lab where new squid hatched about two weeks ago. He works closely with local fishermen to study the way environmental factors affect migration and nesting.

On July 23, many interns, Larry, and Beth went to TSC grantee luncheon at the University of Connecticut, Avery Point. We met about 15 grantees, past and present, showed up to update QLF and others about how they have used the grant money to fund their projects. Before the presentations, staff members of the university gave us a tour of the labs and activities that go on during the summer, especially for kids in the community who are less fortunate. Many of the grantees are in the middle of tests and gathering results from their projects. They were all gracious for the support they received from QLF and The Sounds Conservancy.

Until mid-August when I leave, I will be involved in a few more site visits in the Sounds region and working on other various projects. I have had a great opportunity to work with QLF again this summer!