Waterfront Festival 2012!

Check out this video of the Waterfront festival! Filmed by Brian Palmer and Eric Broussard of Washington College. Students, staff, faculty, and community members turned out on Saturday for a beautiful day of fun on the Chester River. This year featured:
Free boat rides on the Callinectes
Sailing and kayaking on the Chester River
Model Boat Building
Pony Rides
Scales & Tails
the "Fishmobile"
and many more wonderful activities for the whole family!

Of course, the highlight of the day was the Cardboard Boat Regatta. We had many brave competitors this year, but sleek design and excellent construction brought Captain Brian Palmer of "Chessie Racing" the Cape Horn award for first around the course. Our own "Chesapeake Semester" boat Captained by Mike Hardesty, made it around the course for second place. "No Place like Home" followed closely behind for third place. The coveted People's Choice Award also went to "No Place like Home." There was no surprise that the Cutty Sark Award for best design went to "Chessie Racing," and it was also no surprise that "No Place like Home" won Best Theme & Costumes! For their innovative method of swimming their boat around the course and their exceptional team spirit, "Chariots of Fire" took home the Linda Greenlaw Award. The final award of the day went to "Dance to your own Tune" who, in a heart-wrenching display of teamwork, dragged their boat around the course after it sank on the starting line. All of our competitors were wonderful, and we look forward to seeing YOU on the water next year at the 2013 Waterfront Festival and Cardboard Boat Race!

From My Perch

As I drove down High Street to the Custom House this morning, I looked straight ahead to the river.  It was calm.  Flat.  The air was cool, the skies were overcast, and that pretty, cyan green ketch that visits Chestertown every summer from New England was poised on the water as though waiting for its close-up, Mr. DeMille.  Close to the High Street dock was a raft of mallards soaking up the warmth of the pavement.

A day at the Custom House always begins with a view of the river.  Lucky I am.  I try to wrangle all of CES from my desk in the house ... all seven who work in the Custom House and the many others who make vital contributions to our good work from farther afield.  You've heard from most of the others.  I'm here to make their jobs easier.

All in a day's work.


Jenifer is the Coordinator and Office Manager for the Center for Environment & Society and can be contacted here.

Boats, Buoys, and Underwater Robots- Oh My..

“Okay, we’re almost on station. Will, get your team in gear,” I offered as Captain Mike eased back on the throttle of the Research Vessel Callinectes. On this third day of the CES GIS Marine Exploration Camp (June 25-29) the students were already in gear. Grab the GPS, the ponar, the clipboard. The Callinectes sidles up to a point selected by the participant team. The captain moves to the back deck pilot station. Dan opens the transom door. Scott (age 17) arms the spring loaded ponar with the jaws open. Jackie (15) notes and records the GPS position from her handheld device and compares it to the boat gps. Will (age 13) lowers the pressure transducer to the bottom and verifies the 24ft depth noted on the ship’s echosounder. Kelsey (15) writes fervently, recording on paper, all of the goings-on and takes pictures of each sample.

Scott lowers the ponar to the Bay floor. He jerks the line a little and feels the jaws of the sampler close. With help from others he hoists the sampler back to the deck, up and over the transom and into the waiting plastic tray. He pushes down on the contraption, the jaws open, and oodles of sediment and stuff pour out. “Rangia,” he exclaims, “I love these Atlantic Rangia.” Will, Jackie, Kelsey, and Scott drop to their knees. Scott describes: “Sandy silt with frequent disarticulated Rangia shells.” He notes that “disarticulated” means that he sees a whole “half” of a clam. It’s not fragmented. Articulated would mean that he’s got both halves, connected as a whole clam, in hand. Sandy-silt means that there is more silt than sand. The Marine Exploration team completes this dance of bottom sampling ten more times up the Chester River from the mouth all the way to Crumpton.

The results of this mapping exercise, along with other day’s experiences building buoys and underwater robots were shared with the entire GIS camp the Saturday after the week-long experience. “This was the best camp experience I’ll have this summer,” exclaimed Will, the team leader of “Will Power” the Camp’s Marine Exploration Team Leader.

GIS Lab
Callinectes

Doug Levin is the Associate Director of the Center for Environment & Society.