Everyone who is interested in coastal natural history, or who would like to help keep watch over the Otter Rock Marine Reserve, is invited to the CoastWatch Community Science Day at Otter Rock, coming up Saturday, June 25, from 9 a.m. until approximately 1:30 p.m. The free event mingles fun and shoreline science with an opportunity to learn about citizen science projects taking place in the Otter Rock area, for which new volunteers are always needed. Community Science Day activities will take place in the marine garden area to the north of the community of Otter Rock. Watch for the signs at the public restrooms, pointing you toward the trail. Activities kick off at 9 a.m. Throughout the morning, Athena Crichton, an educator with the Hatfield Marine Science Center, will guide tidepool exploration. Fawn Custer, CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, will demonstrate marine debris monitoring and discuss materials found in beach wrack, 9-10:30 a.m. During the same period, Karen Driscoll, a CoastWatch volunteer, will offer demonstrations of the sea star population survey and discuss the sea star wasting syndrome that swept through our rocky shores in recent years. At 10:30 a.m., Jane Dolliver, former program director for COASST (the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team), and now a graduate student at Oregon State University, will talk about beached birds and discuss techniques for monitoring them. Fawn Custer will give a short talk on the other citizen science projects CoastWatch organizes. Then it will be time hot dogs and s’mores (to be purchased with an item of marine debris). Finally, at about 12:30 p.m., Custer will lead another walk, this one focusing on the natural history of the driftline. CoastWatch, the volunteer program of the Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, organizes seven citizen science projects. They take place throughout the coastal region, but the program places special emphasis on monitoring the shoreline in the vicinities of Oregon’s five marine reserves, hoping to make a contribution to our knowledge of the reserves and how these vital offshore habitats relate to the shoreline, and to increase public awareness of the reserves. While a goal of Community Science Day is to recruit more volunteers to participate in citizen science projects or join CoastWatch and help to monitor the shoreline, everyone (children included) who would like to learn more about the shore is welcome. The June 25 event is also the debut of CoastWatch’s Community Science Team at Otter Rock. The program intends to better integrate its seven citizen science projects by forming a volunteer team to help coordinate them, stage joint events, and work together to build community awareness. On the previous evening, Friday, June 24, CoastWatch is offering a special public talk as a “warm-up” for the Community Science Day activities. John Chapman, a researcher at the Hatfield Marine Science Center, will speak about his studies of tsunami debris and the non-native and potentially invasive species it often ferries across the Pacific. Dr. Chapman’s talk takes place at 6:30 p.m. at the Oregon Coast Community College’s Lincoln City branch (3788 S.E. High School Drive), Room 208. The event is free; a $5 donation is suggested. Monitoring for tsunami debris and invasive species is one of CoastWatch’s citizen science projects. For information about the Community Science Day or about citizen science projects, contact Fawn Custer at (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org. Information can also be found on the CoastWatch website, http://oregonshores.org/coastwatch.php5
