The purpose of “Catch the King” is to measure and map the local effects of the king tides, which the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) defines as <3.5 ft. above mean low low water (MLLW). High tides are seen as <3ft above MLLW. “Catch the King” data collected by participants in coastal Virginia on the app will contribute to the VIMS interactive flood model mapping program.

How Can I Participate?

In early September, a training session was co-hosted at The Mariners’ Museum and Park encouraging local community members to participate. If you missed the various training sessions in the area, there are resources from Wetlands Watch you can explore to help you prepare for the event. 

To participate, community members will need to download the app and follow the instructions provided by Wetlands Watch. This step is recommended before the event! For more details, please visit Wetlands Watch’s website. 

We also want to put Newport News and the Peninsula on the map! Our very own Trail Supervisor, Ioan Yamakov, put out more than 900 pins for the event last year! Let’s see if we can beat his record while getting points for Newport News and the surrounding areas on the Peninsula!

What is So Kingly About a King Tide?  

Let’s take a step back and explore the tides on Earth. Tides are long-period waves rolling around Earth’s oceans. Throughout the seasons on Earth, the Moon and Sun “pull” the waters around Earth, an astronomical water dance, creating those regular tides we’ve all come to know and love. In our area, we experience two high tides and two low tides within 24 hours. Our regional tidal pattern is called semidiurnal where one of the high tides is highest and one of the low tides is lowest.  

The Moon, the closest satellite to Earth, has the greatest influence on our daily tides, even more so than our mighty Sun. Once in a lunar cycle (a cycle is 29.5 days on average), the Moon is in perigee, meaning the Moon is the closest to Earth in its elliptical orbit. This phenomenon can lead to slightly higher tidal ranges because of increased gravitational pull. When the Moon is farthest from Earth, in apogee, this can lead to slightly lower tidal ranges due to lower gravitational forces.  

Spring tides happen twice a lunar cycle during a new or full moon. Spring tides reference not the season, but the idea of “springing forth” and result in higher tides. A neap tide happens seven days after a spring tide, resulting in more moderate high tides and slightly higher low tides. 
Approximately 6-8 times an Earth year, the Moon will be in perigee and there will be a new or full moon, causing a perigean spring tide. If the conditions are right, these perigean spring tides can lead to king tides. In coastal Virginia, we typically see king tides in autumn when the Earth, Moon, and Sun are aligned. These tides can be predicted based on long-term tidal data. The king tides in our area are based on the tidal data from Sewells Point in Norfolk. Not only do we have this astronomical alignment, but in Virginia, as Wetlands Watch explains in a 2017 post, we are contending with increased rainfall, flat rivers, and wind during this time of the year, which can make the tidal flooding from a king tide even greater. These tidal flooding events, not connected to rainfall, are often called sunny day flooding or nuisance flooding.

Does The Mariners’ Museum and Park Deal With Flooding? 

The simple answer is yes. Apart from our James River shoreline, we typically do not deal with tidal flooding in our Park, but there is still quite a bit of flooding happening for other reasons. Along our James River coastline, we are most concerned about erosion. Tides and long-shore drift can transport sediment along the river coastline and lead to erosion on our shores, something we are trying to prevent with different solutions.   

Mariners’ Lake is a man-made freshwater lake and is therefore not subjected to tidal forces. High winds and heavy, frequent rainfall, on the other hand, are issues we do contend with. Think about those “rain bomb” events that produce a lot of water in a very short period of time or hurricanes that come through and bring a lot of rain. Those events overwhelm our stormwater systems for many reasons, including increased impervious surfaces, and can lead to flooding in our local watershed around Mariners’ Lake. The Park staff have a procedure to regulate the Lake levels if there is high rainfall predicted. The earthen dam (Lions Bridge) can overtop if the rainwater is too much in a short period of time, but this happens very rarely. The image below is Lions Bridge flooding from 2012 around a strong storm that produced about 2” per hour of rain for several hours.

The watershed area of Mariners’ Lake is 4.8 mi² (or 3,088 acres). That means, when it rains within our watershed, pollution from City Center to Christopher Newport University comes to our Lake. Mariners’ Lake and Kettle Pond act as stormwater best management practices (BMPs) and part of their purpose is to settle out the local stormwater runoff pollution before heading into the James River. The amazing forest around the Park, along with other native plantings and gardens we’ve created over the years, help to slow the flow of water coming into our Lake. By slowing the flow, the forests are producing many benefits, including reducing erosion of our Lake shoreline.

Why Does This Matter? It’s Just the Tides! 

Water is one of the most powerful forces on Earth. You don’t want to mess with water, especially when it comes to the untold damages of flooding. Maybe you don’t see a ton of flooding personally, or you think there aren’t consequences in your life right now, but in our area, most communities are experiencing the negative effects of flooding. Scientists predict that the king tides we see only a few times a year give us a sneak peek into the future of increased sea level rise, especially in a low-lying coastal area like Hampton Roads. 

So there is more flooding– I’ll just take my boat, you might say. If we are looking at recreation, for example on the James River, then you know that interacting with the water can at times be risky. With high bacteria levels during certain times of the year, it’s not always safe to use these beaches to swim or access the River. 

Where does all of this bacteria come from? Stormwater inflow into our River brings bacteria, debris, and other pollutants, especially with a concentration of impervious surfaces. The bacteria comes from natural and made-made sources. If there is a large amount of rainfall, it could overwhelm the local wastewater systems causing bacteria issues in our waterways.

When you add tidal flooding in the James on top of that, it can only make these issues worse. Flooding from runoff or tidal flooding can carry debris, sediment, and pollutants into waterways. On this note, Alyssa Bucci, a graduate student at Old Dominion University (ODU), is simultaneously leading the efforts this year on a related ongoing community science effort called “Measure the Muck” which determines the nutrients and bacteria entering our waterways around these flooding events.   

Excessive and persistent inundation from a constellation of causes, amplified by climate change, poses major threats to our community’s infrastructure, health, and environmental impacts. The causes of these flooding issues are a combination of sea-level rise, continental sinking, higher high tides, increased impermeable surfaces, and the list goes on. Some of these causes are totally out of our control, but some are well within our hands.

A positive to all this is that the Park team at The Mariners’ has been monitoring the Lake water since 2018. We’ve been tracking important parameters such as temperature, turbidity, nutrients, and e.coli, which has given the team a sense of what is normal and healthy for Mariners’ Lake. 

What are the Solutions?

Nature-based solutions are one way our communities can improve the harsh effects of flooding, among other issues. A nature-based solution can include projects like native rain gardens, living shorelines, and wetland restoration.

Right here at The Mariners’, our Lake Stewards program with local 9th graders hones in on teaching students nature-based solutions and makes them part of the solution by having students install native eelgrass in Mariners’ Lake. Our early childhood programs also encourage kids to plant native seeds, including a lovely flower called Blazing Star!   

Beyond nature-based solutions, there are other meaningful ways you can help in your community!  Anyone can participate in “Catch the King” or other community science events! The Mariners’ has strong connections with groups in the area who lead community science efforts right here in Mariners’ Park, including, but not limited to, Peninsula Master Naturalists, Newport News Master Gardeners, Frog Watch USA (through the VLM), and more! If you don’t want to be part of something as formal, you can always get on apps like iNaturalist, eBird, and Sea Level Rise to enter data on your own time.

The effects of flooding and climate change have an impact all around us– you can help document those changes and help fuel solutions even by simply entering data into a community science app! Every bit helps, and we need your help!  

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Increasing Access and Inclusivity 

One thing The Mariners’ Museum and Park can take pride in is how Museum staff work tirelessly to increase access and ensure a sense of inclusion and belonging when visitors walk through our doors. The same can be said for the Educational Enrichment Programs (EEP) that the Education team leads. For the Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program, many of the students our team interacts with speak many languages, including Spanish and Farsi.

To ensure students feel included and welcomed here, the B-WET team worked with Museum staff and external partners through a unique service, Catchafire, to translate program materials. The materials include classroom presentations, water quality instructions, and even fish species names. By breaking down the language barrier, the B-WET team hopes to show students that no matter what their background is, anyone can become a steward for the environment.

Teacher Professional Development

Year two has been an exciting journey, crafting unique and engaging teacher professional development (PD) for participating educators. Some highlights were at the winter PD in January 2023, where teachers were led through the USS Monitor Center by seasoned docent Brian Nehrbass.

Our B-WET partners had a chance to shine during that PD. Dr. Janet Steven and intern Rebecca Litt from Christopher Newport University led a workshop on collecting seeds of native trees. Intern Ryan La Londe, also from CNU, created a lesson plan for teachers to use post-field trips incorporating Lake data analysis. Museum staff and the James River Association joined forces to “Paint Out Pollution” at the Museum’s Boathouse parking lot. This was an exciting opportunity to show the teachers a fun way to get students aware of storm drains, native animals, and watershed health.  

Field Trip Fun!  

Planting

New experiences can be scary to many people, especially when that experience involves getting into water. At the grass planting station, students are helping the Museum plant native aquatic grass Vallisneria americana (eelgrass). These grasses help with sediment stability, increase oxygen in the water, provide food for migrating waterfowl, and create and sustain habitat for the variety of life in Mariners’ Lake.

To plant the grasses, students must first put on waders to stay dry and free of mud. Most of our program’s students have never seen much less worn waders. Many approach this first step warily. However, once they have donned the waders, they are surprised at how much they like them! The students love taking their pictures and even doing TikTok dances in them! Some have even asked, “Can I keep these to wear to school?”

Between strutting in waders and playing in the water, the planting station is the favorite experience for many students. They have had so much fun tromping around and discovering new things in the water! Students often say, “Can I plant another grass? This is so much fun!”

In addition to having a great time, this hands-on experience has allowed students to gain a deeper understanding of what they are doing and why. Students see firsthand how murky or turbid the Lake is and know their grasses can help reduce that. Seeing grasses planted by previous semesters’ students allows current students to ask how the older grasses are doing and discover if they have helped improve the health of the Lake. 

As the current cohort of students plant their grasses, they will be setting up an even greater scene for future young people to observe and inquire about, prompting them to become environmental stewards of their community.

Mariners’ Lake Water Quality Testing

During the Mariners’ Lake field trips, one of the stations students experience is a water quality assessment of the Lake. This inquiry-based station allows students to discover and explore a variety of water quality tests, from turbidity to pH temperature, and salinity. 

One of the favorite tests is CHEMetrics Dissolved Oxygen (DO), namely because students get to feel like scientists! Under adult supervision, students wear safety goggles and gloves to carefully break a glass ampoule in a water sample vial to reveal the DO of the Lake water sample. Feedback shows that students have enjoyed learning about the parameters of the Lake water to better understand why we need to preserve the water quality. 

Go Fish with NOAA 

One big change based on feedback from the first year of the program for the field trips was the addition of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) station. During this portion of the field trip, students can interact with partners from NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary to learn about ecosystem stability. 

The students learned about the importance of protecting natural habitats and how non-native species can harm existing environments. Adding the element of fun, a fishing game was created to demonstrate to students exactly what can happen when new species are introduced to an environment. Many of the students that participated had mentioned that they have been fishing many times before and became very excited to play the game. Through this activity, students could make a personal connection with the field trip while learning valuable lessons about maintaining a healthy environment. 

Final Classroom Visits

Following the field trips, the Education team heads back to the classrooms to visit with the B-WET students one last time for the semester. This visit aims to tie a bow on the students’ experiences. While in the classroom, students engage in interactive activities such as analyzing and graphing data on Mariners’ Lake and taking a VR dive to USS Monitor’s shipwreck in the Graveyard of the Atlantic! 

The VR headsets and cell phones were purchased through a special grant from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. The VR headsets offer a unique and immersive teaching tool for our students and get them thinking about possible career pathways such as remotely operated vehicle (ROV) pilot, oceanographer, or underwater archaeologist.  

With the grasses from year one planted in the Lake, students and educators work on analyzing real life data to assess the progress the grasses have made to improve Mariners’ Lake. As more grasses are planted each semester, the Lake will continue to improve, all thanks to the efforts of our youth  and Museum partners and supporters.  

Forward Facing 

Though the last year of the grant is fast approaching, it is not the end, but the beginning of this special Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (MWEE) in Hampton Roads. In the final year, the B-WET team plans to continue to make meaningful changes to the program by listening and reflecting upon insightful feedback from our partners. 

Dr. Joanna Garner from The Center for Educational Partnerships at Old Dominion University is leading the B-WET program assessments. Among the program’s goals was encouraging a sense of belonging with the students. Based on data analyzed thus far, Dr. Garner has found that students feel a stronger sense of belonging to the project and believe they can make a difference with the activities they have engaged in. 

Looking to the future of sustainability, the Museum plans to offer different levels of the program to other local Virginia schools to expand the reach and inspire more environmental stewards for the next generation.

The post We don’t wait around in waders: A look back at the second year of B-WET appeared first on The Mariners' Museum and Park.

What would happen if a new story was told instead of one that instills hopelessness and fear? One that talked about the problems but also offered ways that help mitigate the issues. Stories like these, which provide a glimmer of hope, could empower enough people to want to take action to improve their outdoor environment. Through the B-WET program, Newport News High School biology and environmental science teachers work with their students to encourage that narrative. 

In January, The Mariners’ Museum and Park hosted 31 high school science teachers from Newport News Public High Schools to participate in the winter portion of the B-WET teacher professional development. As part of the B-WET program, teachers work with the Museum and local partners to participate in various outdoor and environmental activities. 

Through these activities, the Mariners’ B-WET team aims to give teachers ideas to get their students involved with action projects. The idea behind action projects is to have the students develop a project that gives back to their community. That can be as simple as planting native plants in a school garden or as involved as writing a letter to a member of Congress requesting a law be changed. Whatever project the students decide on, the hope is that they not only give back to their community but also help make a positive impact on the environment.

Planting the Future

During the professional development session, one of the environmental topics discussed was native and non-native plants. Native plants, meaning plants that are originally from the region in which they are found, are vital to the health and wellbeing of the environment. They support wildlife in numerous ways. However, many native plants are threatened from things like deforestation and habitat competition. 

While working with partners and interns from Christopher Newport University, teachers learned about certain native plants and why they are so vital to this region of Virginia. The teachers also learned how to identify native plants, sustainably collect their seeds, and properly plant the seeds to grow new plants.

Although planting seeds might seem like a minor task, it has the potential impact to grow into something beautiful that can further support other wildlife in the Park, such as insects, birds, and mammals. This simple example of planting seeds gives the teachers and  students a tangible way to take ownership of the health of their community.

Painting the Way to a Healthier Bay

While being immersed in the outdoors might sound amazing to some, there are others that do not enjoy being hands-deep in dirt. For the teachers and students that do not want to plant or play in dirt, the B-WET team wanted to provide them with another way to give back to their community. This time, the focus was shifted to the water.

The Mariners’ Museum owns 550 acres of parkland, in the middle of which sits Mariners’ Lake. This 167-acre lake is an oasis for migrating birds, fish, deer, and other creatures. It also exchanges water with the James River. Knowing this, the Museum has a large responsibility to ensure that the water in the Lake is healthy so that its impact on the James and the  Chesapeake Bay is positive.

Unfortunately, this is not an easy task. Mariners’ Lake receives storm runoff from the surrounding areas of Newport News via storm drains and direct runoff from the roadways. Much of the water that enters the Lake from runoff can contain various types of pollution ranging from trash to oil from vehicles. 

To bring awareness to this issue, partners from James River Association and the Mariners’ B-WET team offered another action project idea to help reduce the amount of pollution entering the watershed. Surprisingly, it involves stencils and spray paint.

Through an activity called “Paint Out Pollution,” teachers were able to put their artistic skills to the test and create artwork near storm drains depicting various animals and insects that rely on the health of the Bay for survival. With phrases such as “Your river starts here. Only rain down the drain.”, on-lookers can see first-hand what kinds of critters are affected by polluted waters.

Many of the teachers were surprised and thrilled to participate in such a unique and fun experience. Some even expressed great interest in providing this experience to their classes. With the help of their students, we can work toward providing a healthier Lake and Bay for all types of wildlife.

All That is Yet to Come

As the next semester begins, the B-WET team is excited to welcome a new group of environmental stewards to the program. Through the numerous interactions with the Museum and partners, the goal is to show students that they have the power to make a difference in their community. With the dedication, hard work, and inspiration of the students and their teachers, the health of Mariners’ Lake and the city Newport News are in good hands.

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In 2021, The Mariners’ was awarded a three-year Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) grant from the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office. This project focuses on offering Newport News Public School ninth-graders hands-on learning. Students in this program grow native eelgrass in their classrooms, plant the grass in Mariners’ Lake as part of a restoration project, and lead an action project at school or in the area. Through the B-WET program, students are at the center of nature-based solutions in this community, learning to be environmental stewards.

The Mariners’ Museum and Park has the opportunity to interact with students in Biology and Environmental Science classes for this program. Each semester will bring new students forming new connections. In the fall, the Education team has been busy interacting with the biology students and preparing them to become the next generation of environmental stewards! While the initial classroom visits have come and gone, this post will highlight the other experiences that the students have had throughout the semester.

Field trips 

In October, The Mariners Museum and Park hosted ninth-graders from seven public high schools across Newport News to participate in a MWEE with students engaging in a hands-on, place-based experience. For this second of three total interactions, students are rotating through three stations; planting aquatic grasses in Mariners’ Lake, water quality testing, and learning about habitat stability with NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. 

Getting “wet” with B-WET

At the grass planting station, students are helping the Museum improve the health of Mariners’ Lake by planting native aquatic grass called Vallisneria americana, or eelgrass. These grasses help with sediment stability, increase oxygen in the water, and provide food for migrating waterfowl. 

Students put on waders to stay dry and free of mud while they help plant the grasses. For many participants, waders are something they have never seen before. Many approach this first step with skeptical, wary looks. But once they have donned the waders, they are surprised by how much they like them! The students have loved taking their pictures and even doing TikTok dances in them! Some have even asked, “Can I keep these so I can wear them to school?”

With the waders on, then it is time to plant! If anyone has witnessed the planting portion of the outdoor trips, it is clear this is the favorite part of the students’ experience. They have had so much fun tromping around, discovering new things in the water! It is impressive to watch them stumble upon a shell and ask all sorts of questions about what it is they have found. Students often say, “Can I plant another grass? This is so much fun!”

Testing the waters

For the second station of the field trips, students are testing the water quality of Mariners’ Lake to obtain data on the Lake’s overall health. Students measure parameters such as dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH to help determine the Lake’s current state and assess whether it is a good planting spot for their grasses. At this station, students learn how to use scientific equipment and form conclusions based on the data they collect.

This part of the experience is an opportunity for students to reinforce their knowledge of water quality. Many of the students previously participated in another MWEE in sixth grade that involved learning about water quality. Through this portion of the visits, the students can increase their understanding of environmental parameters that can help determine the future health of Mariners’ Lake.

Casting a line with NOAA

Although fishing on land and the Jenga game might appear a bit odd on the visits, they serve a larger purpose! For the third station for the trips, students work with representatives from NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary to learn about ecosystem stability. 

While fishing on land, students get to learn how introducing non-native species to a new environment can very quickly take a turn for the worse, throwing off the entire ecosystem. During Jenga, students see how long an ecosystem can last when vital species are removed.  Both experiences teach students the importance and value of maintaining a healthy environment. 

November visits

Following the field trips, the Education team has been busy going back into the classrooms to visit with the B-WET students one last time for the semester. This visit aims to tie a bow on the students’ experience. While in the classroom, students engage in interactive activities such as analyzing and graphing data on Mariners’ Lake and taking a VR dive to USS Monitor’s  shipwreck! 

The Mariners’ hopes these activities inspire students to take further action in their community and develop a project to help improve the environment’s health. In the past, students have worked on various projects ranging from planting native plants in recycled items to bringing awareness to pollution that enters storm drains. Through these efforts, the Chesapeake Bay can be a healthier place.

Halfway Mark 

As we reach the halfway point of the project’s second year, the Education team is excited to share some classroom updates! For the fall semester, the B-WET team interacted and connected with 1,466 students and 23 teachers across the seven public high schools in Newport News. We look forward to serving even more students in the spring with  students in environmental science classes. Each interaction we have with our students is a chance to help them feel connected to their community. The hope is that this program breaks down barriers, provides career ideas, and shows students they are valued in the community.  

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If you’ve been hiking or picnicking around Mariners’ Park, you may have noticed it’s sweltering! While walking around Lions Bridge, you may have also noticed a sign that points out a planting site at the shores of Mariners’ Lake.

As a recent blog from our Environmental Educator Shantelle Landry explains, we just finished our first exciting year of the NOAA-funded B-WET (Bay Watershed Education and Training) program. The B-WET program is building up to be a district-wide MWEE (meaningful watershed educational experience) for our local Newport News 9th graders. We also work with many community partners including Old Dominion University, Christopher Newport University, James River Association, and NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.

The goal of the B-WET program is to have students grow native grasses (Vallisneria americana) in the classroom and plant those grasses in Mariners’ Lake to help sustain the health of the Lake. During the year, students also learn about local Chesapeake Bay environmental issues and solutions, eventually leading to the creation of a hands-on action project to address a problem in our community. It’s our hope that through this experience, our students will feel empowered to be the next generation of environmental stewards.

I mention this, in honor of World Environment Day (June 5), to alert readers of the fact that our students, in the B-WET program and beyond, will not only be our next generation of stewards, but will also be inheriting our one and only home–earth. As we know, our planet has been in a global warming trend for a while now. Earth and its ecosystems are fragile, and every year we test that fragility. We need to ask ourselves, what kind of world are we passing on to the future generations?

It’s no surprise that man-made climate change and environmental injustice are some of the biggest issues we will need to solve in our lifetimes. The first step to solving this wicked problem is to invite our youth to be engaged in current nature-based solutions. B-WET is just one example of how we are involving our local youth in nature-based solution.

Oceans, exploration, and ROVs

The oceans are yet another large piece of our climate change puzzle. In honor of World Oceans Day (June 8), we wanted to share another program we offer seasonally called Underwater Robotics. The robotics program along with many other ocean and watershed themed programs at The Mariners’ challenge our students to think about ocean health, past, present, and future.

The robotics program over the years has morphed and changed, but has always been centered around the exploration of our oceans and figuring out unique solutions to pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.

The newly revamped robotics program allows students to explore remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) through physically building and testing different ROVs. At the last World Oceans Day celebration, we had numerous activities that focused on ocean ROVs and exploration. We had our pool in our courtyard setup for visitors to test-drive an ROV. It was a hit with our younger crowd! We also displayed a ROV from NOAA that we often feature in our Underwater Robotics program.

Through these STEM lessons, students explore how ROVs work, why they might use underwater robotics to solve problems like pollution, and even how we can utilize technology to explore the deep layers of our mysterious ocean.

Whether we interact with our B-WET students, Underwater Robotics students, or any of the other environmental themed programs we offer, we always want students to gain new experiences and perspectives. Ultimately, we hope they will remember those moments and help to carry on the torch of environmental stewardship that starts in Hampton Roads.

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Those who enjoy the company of nature know that being “alone” is not necessarily lonely and that solitude is far from isolation. Because, even in the stillness of nature you can close your eyes and hear the hum of the earth as it moves around you. The rustle of wind in trees, the ripple and drop of water, the drone of insects, and the calls of creatures.

Their existence adds to the delicate symphony of nature.

Setting the Scene

You sit in a kayak, drifting in the water listening to the sounds around you. You look up into the gradient of the hazy blue sky. Two large wooden pilings stretch upwards, towering over you.

You note that at the top there’s a beacon and a small white box and this structure is emblazoned with a green plaque. This is Chesapeake Bay Channel Marker 1. But there’s something else nestled into this man made structure – an Osprey nest.

The Osprey has made its home atop this platform – above the water with a perfect view for fishing and away from predators. As you squint upwards you can see there are signs of life, but only barely.

Seeking the Truth

This heaviness stuck with me and I had to explore that deeper. I spoke with experts in the field and learned that 1969, the year that this work was painted, was perhaps the lowest point of the Osprey population ever. Over the 25 years prior, the toxic pesticide, DDT, was widely used both in-home and commercially.

It ran off into the waterways, working its way up through the food chain, before being ingested by the osprey whose diets are almost entirely fish. The result was eggs laid with shells so thin that they would break before the chicks could ever hatch and see the beauty of the Bay.

The Multi-faceted Artist

Barclay Sheaks was many things – artist, teacher, local celebrity – and an outdoorsman. Many of his works reflect the natural beauty of the Chesapeake Bay through the eyes of someone who has hummed along to that symphony of the earth. Someone who would pull over to the side of the road to take a picture of dew drops on grass that caught the light just right.

So is this just a coincidence? A painting of an empty osprey nest painted by a nature loving artist who lived on the Bay and at a time to perfectly coincide with this massive loss of life. I don’t think so.

Looking Deeper

The title of this work, “Marine Totem with Osprey Nest”, carries a reverence. The idea of a totem invokes a spirituality, rooted in the indigenous belief of humankind’s kinship with nature. More secularly, this concept describes something that acts as a respected symbol.

Because of this, the title actually adds a level of question and complexity to this work. One could make the point that the artist is referring to the channel marker as the totem and the nest as a sort of aside. But I believe he is describing them as one unit – marker and nest joined as a totem of the interconnectedness of man and nature.

A symbol of our relationship with these birds in our own community on the bay. But further – a symbol of our innate, spiritual kinship with the earth – a dance of give and take. Perhaps this work is also an uncomfortable nudge to suggest that this dance has fallen out of step – more take than give. The effects of this beginning to show – and what will be next?

A Call to Action

In 1972, three years after this work was painted, DDT was banned and with the constant efforts of many, the osprey population began to make a resurgence, one that is still fragile today because of the continued impact of humans on their habitat.

The elements that Sheaks used in this work carry a solemnity and the composition reflects this intersection of man and nature – the nest built between the beacon and box is a very literal representation of this.

But he’s also placed us in this scene through his use of perspective, in a kayak at the base of this marker and said “look, do you see what I see?” And it’s important, there’s not even a cloud in the sky to distract us from the subject, he wants us to look deeper, feel what he feels. As we get close to this work, we can’t see a single brushstroke, as if it’s free from human touch. But we know, as well as the artist, that neither the work nor the subject matter were without the interaction of humans.

Singularity

By presenting the marker alone in an unobscured sky, we get a feeling of singularity like we are alone with this subject, this isolation echoed in the accurate but symbolic “1” on the plaque. But we are not alone – we are one. Humans and nature joined together through this inherent totemic bond. We might not always feel or see it but that symphony of life says “you have a part to play”.

We are part of the same community, the same ecosystem, and we depend on one another. And I find that powerfully challenging and beautifully hopeful.

A Reflection of Our World

Art can serve as a reflection of what is happening in the world and I believe this is Barclay Sheaks’ way of recognizing this and saying “something needs to be done.” And he has immortalized it on canvas, not only for his generation, but for us, and for those in the future.

In its subtlety, it implores us to make a change so that there can be hope. And that hope is reflected in this work too- it’s not dark and ominous. The sky fades from a hazy gray to a vibrant blue and the sun brilliantly shines on this totem as if to say that this is not the end.

This work challenges us to protect and celebrate this bond so that future generations can know what it feels like to be entwined with nature, hearing the chirp of a baby osprey in its nest alongside our own melody creating a harmony in this beautiful symphony of solitude.

Be sure to watch the full episode here and stay tuned for new episodes the first Friday of each month!

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Those who enjoy the company of nature know that being “alone” is not necessarily lonely and that solitude is far from isolation. Because, even in the stillness of nature you can close your eyes and hear the hum of the Earth as it moves around you.

Art can serve as a reflection of the world and in this episode of Beyond the Frame, we examine a work by outdoorsman artist Barclay Sheaks and explore the concept of reflecting upon the natural world and the issues affecting it as well as humankind’s inherent bond with nature. Through this work, the artist celebrates this bond and challenges us to enact change for the future.

This series is made possible by the generous support of the Newport News Arts Commission and the York County Arts Commission.

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I am sure that it would come as no surprise to hear that The Mariners’ Museum and Park cares deeply about the Chesapeake Bay. The fact that our 550-acre urban oasis abuts the James River means that we have a large responsibility to keep the Park and Mariners’ Lake clean and healthy.

Our amazing Park team works day in and day out to make sure that the Park remains in the incredible condition that it is in so that all can come to enjoy its beauty. The team also monitors the health of the Lake and Kettle Pond to ensure that the water is safe for the wildlife that rely on it and call it home.

Maintaining the health of this large body of water is no small challenge. Occasionally, this responsibility requires us to ask our community for assistance. Fortunately for us, we have had quite a few people step-up to the challenge.

It started with a grant

In 2021, The Mariners’ Museum and Park was awarded a grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to conduct a three-year restoration project on Mariners’ Lake. This particular bay watershed education and training grant, known as B-WET, is an environmental program for K-12 students that is focused on hands-on, place-based watershed learning. Our program works with 9th-grade high schoolers in the Newport News Public Schools.

The students who participate in this program learn about local environmental issues and contribute to community solutions. By doing so, the students are actively engaging in a meaningful watershed educational experience (MWEE). MWEEs are valuable experiences that can strengthen a student’s connection to their community and the environment around them. With their help, we can improve the water quality of Mariners’ Lake and help positively impact the Chesapeake Bay as a whole.

Restoring Mariners’ Lake

So, what exactly is this restoration project?

Over the next three years, students will plant aquatic plants called Vallisneria americana, or eelgrass. Eelgrasses can stabilize the ground with their roots which makes the sediment of the Lake more stable. As a result, less dirt or sediment will be kicked up in the water. The planting of the eelgrass will improve the water quality of Mariners’ Lake by making the water clearer, allowing for other aquatic plants and animals to thrive.

Challenges and classroom visits

For the pilot year of B-WET, we recruited seven biology, environmental science, and AP environmental science teachers from Warwick and Menchville High Schools to participate. Our Education and Park teams knew we’d have to work together through trial and error to determine the best ways to carry out the grant requirements. Going into the school year, our Museum team knew that there would be two significant challenges we would face: navigating classroom visits through a global pandemic and keeping the grasses alive.

We knew that COVID would not allow us to visit with the students in person.

Thankfully, we were able to meet with the students virtually to connect with them and introduce them to the project that they would be helping us with this year.

As the year progressed and vaccines became readily available, we were able to go into the classrooms to interact with the students face-to-face.

The grasses, however, were another challenge entirely. One of the major parts of the program was to have the students grow the grasses in their classrooms so they could take ownership of the restoration project. The plan was for the Museum to provide the equipment and grasses; the students’ job was to keep the plants alive.

We quickly realized how much of a challenge this was going to be.

Within the first few weeks to months, many of the teachers began to express concern over the health of their grasses which had begun to turn brown and slimy. As it turns out, eelgrass can experience a die-back, called melting, when they are shocked or moved from one environment to another. We had no idea the melting would cause us so much trouble.

Between the die-back, algae problems, and the power getting turned off for school breaks, we had our work cut out for us! With the help of a few dedicated teachers, we were able to have some growing success and learned a lot about how to best keep the grasses. Unfortunately, not all of the grasses made it. However, the ones that survived were planted in Mariners’ Lake!

The field visits

The grasses were planted in Mariners’ Lake throughout April. The students who attended the field trip took part in three different activities: grass planting, measuring and comparing the water quality of Mariners’ Lake and the James River, and working through dichotomous keys to identify different tree species within the Park.

Before getting into the water, the students had to put on waders to help keep them dry. Initially, many students were hesitant about sporting waders. After all, they certainly are not the most fashionable things to wear. However, once they had them on, many became very excited to plant, and some even showed interest in wearing a pair to school!

Of the 543 students that we visited at the beginning of the school year, 397 came on the field trip to the Museum. Each student that attended was able to plant one grass with some planting two or three! It’s estimated that 450 grasses were planted in Mariners’ Lake this year. We hope that these grasses will continue to grow and put out new grasses to help stabilize the ground.

Lessons for the coming years

What are some big takeaways that we have learned from this year? We need to figure out the best way to grow the eelgrasses, for starters! Fortunately, Keaira Montgomery, one of our graduate interns from Christopher Newport University, will be helping us with this! She will be conducting different experiments to give us better insight into the best way to grow the eelgrasses and keep them alive.

Secondly, we will need to find a new planting site for future years. For our year-one planting, we were able to plant the grasses right by Lions Bridge off of the Noland Trail. But in the coming years, the dam at the bridge will be under construction, meaning that we will not have access to the planting site. The challenge for us will be finding a spot along Mariners’ Lake that is shallow and accessible for all students’ physical abilities.

Lastly, we have to figure out how to scale this program up to cover every one of the 9th graders in the Newport News Public High Schools! Our focus was on two schools, seven teachers, and 542 students for our first year. However, for years two and three of this grant, we will be covering six high schools, about 25 teachers, and roughly 2,000 students each year.

No matter how many challenges we might face, the Mariners’ is committed to the success of this program which aligns with the Museum’s mission of connecting people to the world’s waters – because through the waters — through our shared maritime heritage – we are connected to one another. And with the help of local high school students, we will be able to improve the water quality of Mariners’ Lake so that it can sustain wildlife for years to come.

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Meg connects to audiences across what she calls the “K through Gray” spectrum, meaning just about everyone. “CanopyMeg,” a biologist, botanist, and conservationist, is also the world’s first global arbornaut (i.e., treetop explorer). More than 30 years ago, she first climbed tropical trees using ropes and a slingshot and planned one of the world’s first walkways. Meg’s mantra is, “No child left indoors!”

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Election results

Well, as I said, the residents have cast their votes! Bonnie Gross of the Florida Rambler reports that all those ballot questions passed by about 60% in favor of the changes. That means that, if the changes are allowed to stand, the City of Key West will limit the total carrying capacity of ships to 1,300 people.

They will limit the number of cruise ship visitors permitted to debark in any one day to 1,500 people. And they will not allow into port ships that have not met certain health, safety and cleanliness guidelines. The change also permits the city to favor ships with better cleanliness records over those with poor records. See the full story here.

What does this mean for the future of cruising?

The Florida Rambler notes that almost without doubt, opponents will challenge these changes to the city charter in court. Whatever the outcome of the court case may be, one can perceive a general sentiment among the residents of Key West. Cruise ships are still welcome, but the cruise industry must improve the experience for both passengers and ports!

I believe that shipbuilding industry is up to that challenge! Shipbuilders can build great ships that are even more intimate, more luxurious and more comfortable. At the same time, they can certainly improve the sanitation systems, engine cleanliness, and general hygiene. Whether or not the specific restrictions imposed by Key West are the right ones, they reflect the residents’ general sentiment. That is, that with some changes, ship and town can still do business. People seem to love the cruising experience and will continue to cruise so long as great passenger ships exist! We should let them! Because as we have said and will continue to say, through the water, through our relationship to the waters of the world, we are all connected to one another. And that’s the whole point of it!

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