Summer is officially here, and it brought with it a scorching heat wave that has invoked record high temperatures throughout Oregon. Portland reached 116 degrees F this week, which is hotter than Dallas, New Orleans, or downtown Los Angeles have ever been according to NBC News. The Oregon coast, however, has not been experiencing this heat wave. The high each day in Newport has been a typical 63 degrees F, about 50 degrees cooler than the valley. These cooler coastal temperatures are perfect for field work, which is exactly what our summer interns are doing right now.

Earlier this month I spent a week in Newport getting to know our three summer interns. Two of them are Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholars while one is a Doris Duke Conservation Scholar who has also been adopted by the Summer Scholars Program. You can read more about their personal experiences with fieldwork and living in Newport elsewhere in this blog forum.

It was wonderful to be working in person again rather than through choppy Zoom/Skype calls. The days flew by as we hastily prepared for summer field sampling including disseminating background information, creating codebooks, designing the sample plan, visiting sample sites, etc. It is such a privilege to work with college interns because they have a contagious enthusiasm and eagerness to learn and do the work.

It was also important to me to reconnect with the marine reserves which I am researching. Driving around to the different sampling sites with the interns allowed me to visit Cascade Head Marine Reserve, Otter Rock Marine Reserve, and Cape Perpetua Marine Reserve. The bright blue sky reflected off the ocean making it appear more blue than I remember it being. The birds were chirping, sea lions were barking, people were out surfing and walking their dogs on the beach. Sitting behind a computer looking at data all day can make you forget the bigger picture, but visiting the coast was the perfect way to remember.

Of course, I still found time to recreate in the evening, though the wind did nearly blow me away a couple times. I was lucky enough to be staying at a house just a couple blocks from the beach. The dog and I made it down to the beach every day, sometimes even twice.

Coming into the second week of this internship has made me reflect on the previous week’s work. Although it has only been a week and a few days, it feels as if I’ve been here for months; in the best way of course. This summer I am working with the Haystack Rock Awareness program and I am working on a human dimensions study to further understand the knowledge gap between research communities and the public at large. This project could facilitate a productive two-way dialogue that could help bridge the gap between science and speculation. In order to do this, I will be curating a series of surveys that target research professionals,  the general public, and the staff at HRAP. Using my findings I will propose a plan that maximizes engagement and marine conservation prospects among the general public here at Cannon Beach. In addition to the surveys, I will be making the research from the community science projects, that HRAP is involved in, more accessible through a series of informational pieces. 

My first week consisted of reading many research papers and beach days. While the bulk of my work has to be done in the office, there are a few days within the week that call for me to help HRAP with their interpreter beach program. This allows me to talk to people and collect points of focus for my research. On these days I can engage with the public and educate them on tide pool etiquette, marine life, and conservation. One of my favorite memories so far is from my talk with a little boy and his mom. They had been coming to the beach every day and had been interacting with the interpreters from HRAP every day. The little boy was so knowledgeable by day three and carried an incredible amount of curiosity and excitement despite being there many days prior. This interaction made me become more aware of the way that my summer program project could help with engagement and how everyone deserves to be curious and excited about marine life.

My project has a strong alignment with both Oregon Seagrant’s and Haystack Rock Awareness’s mission statement. Through my work, I hope to promote discovery via education and see this research increase marine and coastal curiosities that lead to overall ecosystem health. 

Hello everyone, 

My name is Lisette Perez and a super-senior at the University of Missouri-Columbia studying Natural Resources. Thanks to the Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholars program, I will be working with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Through their Marine Reserves Division, I will help analyze the socioeconomic impacts marine reserves have on businesses. Additionally, I will be surveying locals and non-locals to obtain their perceptions on the marine reserves. This internship has allowed me to learn about marine reserves, obtain the technical and analytical skills that I can use for future jobs.  With the work done by the scholars, we will be able to expand this project’s database and survey population.  Additionally, this project can promote education, outreach, and awareness on the marine reserves. This project is allowing is preparing us socially, academically, and professionally. It is providing us not only the opportunity to expand our professional sphere, but to gain the critical thinking, technical, and hands-on skills. 

I am very excited and honored to be a part of the prestigious program. Through this program I have been able to gain new friends, professional development opportunities, and the chance to be in a different state and region for the summer. I am originally from Chicago and being in Oregon is like being in a whole new world. This place is beautiful. I look forward to the rest of the summer and can’t wait to see what else is in store. 