Leaders of partner organizations, town officials and individual stakeholders joined Connecticut Sea Grant on Oct. 5 for an on-the-water workshop aboard the Onrust, a replica of the vessel Dutch explorer Adraien Block sailed into Long Island Sound and the Connecticut River in the early 1600s.
Wesleyan University Prof. Johan Varekamp talks about his research on mercury in Long Island Sound, sea level rise and the history of Dutch explorer Adriaen Block’s voyage into the Sound and the Connecticut River.Long Island Sound Outreach Coordinator Judy Preston, left, talks about the numerous designations given in recognition of lower Connecticut River’s unique ecological and cultural significance.
The ship, kept at the docks of the Connecticut River Museum in Essex for the summer and fall, took the three dozen passengers, speakers and crew members on a two-hour excursion south to Old Lyme and back. Along the way, Connecticut Sea Grant’s staff experts and funded researchers shared their current and past projects with the audience. The event was part of Connecticut Sea Grant’s celebration of its 30th Anniversary year as a Sea Grant College Program, the highest status in the National Sea Grant network.
The Onrust approaches the dock at the Connecticut River Museum after taking a group of local youth for a sail.
Coastal Habitat Specialist Juliana Barrett describes her resiliency projects with coastal towns and the National Estuarine Research Reserve project.
Old Saybrook Town Planner Christine Nelson talks about the Blue Plan, a marine spatial plan for Long Island Sound.
Onrust Captain Dan Thompson steered the ship from Essex to the I-95 highway bridge in Old Lyme.
Research Coordinator Syma Ebbin, also an associate professor in Maritime Studies, talks about diadromous fish in the Connecticut River.
Tom Savoy, CT DEEP fisheries biologist, tells about finding juvenile Atlantic sturgeon, an endangered species, in the river in 2014.
