You can also spend the same weekend \u201cCelebrating the Night Sky.\u201d The 2023 North Carolina Science Festival\u2019s Statewide Star Party will provide free sky-watching events at 35 sites along the coast and across the state. Locations include state and local parks, colleges and universities, planetariums, science centers, nature centers, and libraries. About 3,500 visitors are expected to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NC Space Grant perennially supports the Statewide Star Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014<\/em> Sascha Medina<\/p>\n\n\n\n NOAA\u2019s National Sea Grant College Program and the U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP) are backing new work to protect North Carolina\u2019s shorelines. A North Carolina Sea Grant collaboration with East Carolina University and Carteret Community College will develop a framework for coastal protection design and siting, as well as living shoreline training courses and a certification program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Frank L\u00f3pez, extension director for North Carolina Sea Grant and one of the project leads, says the team will survey community members to capture their views on different options for coastal adaptation. At ECU\u2019s Coastal Studies Institute, Rachel Gittman will build on her previous research for USCRP on living shorelines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNew data will help enhance the effectiveness of different substrates and designs for living shorelines,\u201d L\u00f3pez explains. \u201cThe team will develop strategies that will help shoreline property owners, permit issuing agencies, and contractors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n L\u00f3pez says the collaboration will inform improvements in coastal protection training and outreach programs, including an expanded pilot course that covers advanced design tracks for waterfront property owners, as well as a design certification program through Carteret Community College.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis project will help keep our state at the forefront of coastal resilience planning and adaptation,\u201d says Susan White, executive director of North Carolina Sea Grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The collaboration is one of 10 to receive support through the NOAA\u2019s National Sea Grant College Program\u2019s work with the USCRP to enhance resilience in coastal communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThrough this partnership with the U.S. Coastal Research Program, Sea Grant is able to effectively leverage its nationwide network to help coastal and Great Lakes communities tackle some of the most pressing issues that they face,\u201d says Jonathan Pennock, director of NOAA\u2019s National Sea Grant College Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sea Grant programs across the nation also are receiving additional NOAA Sea Grant support to increase local capacity, engagement, research, and implementation to address resilience challenges. As a result, North Carolina Sea Grant will continue its Coastal Resilience Team Competition fellowships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These fellowships provide up to $20,000 for one or more student teams to conduct two- year projects that will lead to more resilient ecosystems and communities. Each team will include two to four members, including at least one graduate student who will serve as the project lead, and at least one undergraduate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Dave Shaw<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coastwatch<\/em> on resilience<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s Hook, Line & Science<\/em> recently turned four years old. Stories on flounder identification, changes in shrimp abundance, and fish tagging have been the most popular on the site, which has published nearly 200 entries since December 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott Baker and Sara Mirabilio, North Carolina Sea Grant scientists who specialize in marine fisheries, established the weekly series to provide saltwater anglers and a broader audience easy access to research-based information and news.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To date, Hook, Line & Science<\/em> has reached tens of thousands of readers online and found additional audiences on radio programs, in newspapers, and in Coastwatch<\/em>. Stories have appeared in video formats, as well, for visitors at Jennette\u2019s Pier in Nags Head. Along the way, the series also picked up a national APEX Grand Award for Publication Excellence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These are the most popular stories from the first four years of Hook, Line & Science<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Catch. Cut. Report. And then collect your reward.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It turns out, most anglers can\u2019t. Luckily, we have some tips.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n New research suggests the extinct species could have been nearly 60 feet long.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Are we catching more shrimp offshore during the winter and spring?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n New research suggests anglers should think twice about keeping fish that are close to the minimum size limit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n At Wrightsville Beach, 84 different fishes use the surf zone.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Satellite-tagged mahi mahi spend about 40% of their time near the surface and 95% of their day in water 77 to 84\u00b0F.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n These habitats are vital for N.C.\u2019s important species and for migrating fish.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Research shows warming temperatures cause loggerheads to give birth mostly to female offspring.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Effects on lionfish prey could be bad news for reef diversity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n more:<\/strong> HookLineScience.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The 2023 Sea Grant John A. Knauss Policy Fellows began serving in federal offices in February. Six are graduate students from North Carolina: Carden Barkley, Anastasia Dulskiy, Claire Huang, Margaret Morrison, Rebecca Van Hoeck, and Zoe Wong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is the biggest class of Knauss Fellows that North Carolina has ever had in any one year,\u201d says John Fear, deputy director of North Carolina Sea Grant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barkley says she plans to \u201cuse the experiences and connections afforded by the Knauss Fellowship to establish a long career in traceability policy, sustainable fisheries management, and bipartisan collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She serves in NOAA\u2019s Fisheries Office of the Assistant Administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Knauss Fellowship will allow me to extend my passion for ecology to the policy realm,\u201d Dulskiy says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She serves in the Community Infrastructure Resilience Branch of the FEMA\/CSO Hazard Mitigation Assistance Division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Knauss Fellowship will empower me to pursue advanced scientific leadership roles in marine species conservation and fisheries management,\u201d Huang says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She serves with the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am excited by the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the federal policy design and implementation processes,\u201d Morrison says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She serves the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Van Hoeck says her experience will help her to support \u201cthe work of the federal government to achieve sustainable marine ecosystems and economies.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Morrison, Van Hoeck serves the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Knauss Fellowship is the best opportunity for me to gain first-hand insight into our systems of lawmaking and policy implementation,\u201d says Wong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She serves in the Office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Carrie Clower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n more about the new Knauss Fellows<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Two NC State University Ph.D. students have founded Field Inclusive, a new nonprofit they designed to support marginalized and historically excluded researchers who professionally work outdoors. Lauren D. Pharr and Murry Burgess lead the nonprofit and plan to offer tangible and actionable improvements nationally for researchers who are targeted based on their race or ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, and\/or religion while working in or enjoying the outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Black researchers who participate in field work as part of the Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation program at NC State, both Pharr and Burgess have faced social field safety issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFrom our own experiences, as well as hearing from others, we both decided that there needs to be an organization that amplifies this aspect of minorities and historically excluded individuals\u2019 safety in the outdoors,\u201d Pharr says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Sea Grant is among the nonprofit\u2019s supporters. \u201cField Inclusive has a vision to increase field research representation that aligns with North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s commitment \u2014 and the new organization is well positioned to grow and expand their engagement and impact,\u201d says Susan White, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s executive director. \u201cWe are pleased to partner together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Field Inclusive<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Each year, North Carolina Sea Grant offers opportunities for undergraduate students to join experts across the state in exploring issues that affect local communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs part of National Sea Grant\u2019s Community-Engaged Internship program, they gain hands-on experience with coastal, marine, or Great Lakes issues of environmental, economic, and or social importance,\u201d says Jane Harrison, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s coastal economics specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Harrison mentors North Carolina interns and was among the founders of the national program to provide early career experience for students in underserved communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Michaela Abraham<\/strong><\/em> has served as the mariculture tourism intern, focusing on communications and outreach for the NC Oyster Trail, which included creating social media posts for the Trail\u2019s Facebook and Instagram pages to highlight businesses and restaurants. Abraham, a sophomore at NC State University in fisheries, wildlife, and conservation biology, wrote the cover story on North Carolina\u2019s oysters for the Autumn 2022 Coastwatch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Corie Griebel<\/strong><\/em> and Manny Valbuena<\/strong><\/em> served as North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s inaugural climate justice interns. Griebel and Valbuena also worked with Harrison, as well as with Cayla Cothron, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s coastal planning specialist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Griebel, a senior in environmental science with a minor in sociology at NC State, focused on the intersection of parks and open space with environmental justice, while Valbuena, a junior at NC State studying environmental engineering, opted to look at urban revitalization and renewal. Both took a particular interest in how the City of Raleigh uses equity frameworks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They each assessed to what extent Raleigh is addressing ongoing strengths, challenges, and opportunities. They also looked at barriers to achieving environmental justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nykira Gibson<\/strong><\/em> served as this summer\u2019s Lumber River watershed science education intern, a joint internship with North Carolina Sea Grant and NC Space Grant. Gibson spent the summer working with Erika Young, North Carolina Sea Grant\u2019s coastal and marine education specialist, as well as Jobi Cook, NC Space Grant\u2019s associate director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of Gibson\u2019s initial projects involved teaching freshwater ecology at Fayetteville\u2019s Clark Park Nature Center\u2019s summer camps. Gibson, a first-generation college student and native of Robeson County, also partnered with the Unite camp and the NASA Precollege Summer Institute, both at Fayetteville State University, where she is a senior studying biology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gibson also worked with UNC Pembroke\u2019s Project 3C, an opportunity for Native American high school students in Hoke, Cumberland, Scotland, and Robeson counties to partake in STEM-focused programming, as well as professional development opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Carrie Clower<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sea Grant\u2019s Community-Engaged Internships<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n January marked the entry of Point Marina\/Marine Craft into the North Carolina Clean Marina Program, making the Pamlico County marina the 50th to join. North Carolina\u2019s program is part of a nationwide effort designed to provide cleaner waterways for recreational boaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Located in the Broad Creek area, Point Marina is only a 5-mile sail from the Intercoastal Waterway. Its newly acquired Clean Marina status provides Point Marina boaters a safe and clean harbor for fishing or for adventuring onto the Atlantic. The Clean Marina flag flies above the harbor, a privilege members of the program enjoy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNorth Carolina Sea Grant is a proud supporter of the NC Clean Marina Program,\u201d says Gloria Putnam, coastal resources and communities specialist at North Carolina Sea Grant. \u201cWe are forever grateful for the clean waters Point Marina provides our anglers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n North Carolina Sea Grant collaborates on the Clean Marina Program with the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, the Albemarle- Pamlico National Estuary Partnership, the U.S. Power Squadron, and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The NC Clean Marina Program<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Coastwatch<\/em> on boating, fishing, and other fun<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>New Projects Advance Shoreline Protection and Coastal Resilience <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>Hook, Line & Science Turns Four<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>2023 Knauss Fellows Begin Service<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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\u201cField Inclusive\u201d Launches for a Safer Outdoors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a>Community-Engaged Interns Serve Across NC<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n50th Marina Joins NC\u2019s Clean Marina Program January marked the entry of Point Program<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n