Holiday 2016

EDUCATION TO ACTION

What will the North Carolina coast feel — and look — like in fifteen years? Thirty years? A hundred years? As surely as the sand on our beaches shifts over time, so too will our communities, economies and environment. With change inevitable, North Carolina Sea Grant is working with communities to make plans and choices that will sustain our coastal and ocean resources.

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Linking Education to Understanding and Action

North Carolina’s coast and its inhabitants are a resilient lot. These days, and in the months ahead, many inland and coastal communities will be busy recovering from the impacts of Hurricane Matthew.

CLIMATE CHANGE COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES: Including Kids in Solutions

Our research out of North Carolina State University suggests that we may be able to use these differences to build a brighter future. Since 2010, North Carolina Sea Grant has funded three projects to investigate the potential for younger generations to be part of a solution to influence acceptance of — and action on — climate change.

ENGAGING THE FUTURE: SciREN and the Evolution of Science Outreach

Better known as SciREN, the organization’s framework is straightforward: Recruit scientists to create K-12 lesson plans based on their work. Then the magic happens.

MATTHEW’S LEGACY: WATER FALLING AND RISING

Even though the storm’s center never made landfall in North Carolina, the statewide death toll was 28, claiming more than half of the total storm-related fatalities in the United States. Nearly all of the N.C. deaths were attributed to people being swept away in floodwaters while trying to navigate by car or foot, Gov. Pat McCrory explained at news conferences.

SEA SCIENCE: Growing Oysters at Home in Coastal North Carolina

Gagnon and his wife Korin moved to Emerald Isle from Raleigh. They began by harvesting their own oysters from the wild or buying them from local sources. On a suggestion from Jim Swartzenberg, a former commercial shellfish grower, the couple started growing the bivalves themselves.

SPICING IT UP

In France, mignonette is traditionally made from white wine and shallots. This version is a play on North Carolina’s hot pepper vinegar. Most of our friends have become fans and have not been able to find it anywhere else. It is a staple at our house when we serve oysters grown under our dock.

Making North Carolina Oysters Safer

Froelich, a biologist who studies pathogens in shellfish, seeks samples from commercial aquaculture operations and under-dock oyster gardens to better understand the human-health risks of infection from Vibrio in oysters.

PEOPLE AND PLACES: Eight New Fellows and One New Partnership

Recently, eight students began critical research on topics affecting the state’s coast and communities. The tally includes a new joint fellowship inaugurated this year with North Carolina Space Grant.

MARINER’S MENU: Blue Holiday, Flavor Included

Here we share some recipes from Joyce Taylor, seafood education specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant and the North Carolina State University Seafood Laboratory for more than three decades. The recipes have been adapted for bluefish. These are among more than 150 recipes Taylor developed before she passed away in 2013. North Carolina Sea Grant plans to publish the new recipes in a book.

NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK: Running with the Blues

For more than 60 years, the Hatteras Village Fish Fry has been a community tradition at the Hatteras Village Fire Station on Summer Saturdays. Bluefish, also known as blues, often are the catch of the day. Make that the fresh catch with an island flair.

LAST WORD: Fillin’

I put on my thickest socks, And slide each foot into a knee-high galosh One pair among a half-dozen others waiting at the front door.