2019 Citizen Science Program
Observing the Estuary
Be a part of the science crowd! At KELT, we’re excited to learn more about the Kennebec Estuary region, and we love working with local students and our members to help answer questions about the area. Our citizen science projects help us to support the habitats, fish, wildlife, and people in our region.
Here are some of the highlights from KELT’s citizen science programs in 2019.
Birding with KELT
KELT collaborated with Maine Audubon to monitor the bird population at Sewall Woods Preserve as a part of the Forestry for Maine Birds program. Monitoring took place in areas where timber was sustainability harvested in 2017 and in unharvested areas. Using song meters and point counts for eight weeks in the spring, we worked together to find out what birds are living and nesting in different parts of the woods.
Nequasset Alewife COunt
90 volunteers helped us to count 5,073 fish at the Nequasset fish ladder for the annual alewife count in 2019. Based on these numbers, we are able to estimate that about 65,000 fish made it into the lake to spawn.
Water Quality Sampling
KELT’s volunteer water sampling program entered its 7th year in 2019. An experienced set of 15 volunteers analyzed a total of 228 samples. Our summer Bowdoin intern, Ely Spencer, and an all-star volunteer, Ellen Winchester, have been working to get that information into a website so that everyone can see and map the measurements we have made at the 19 sites in the estuary.
Green Crab Monitoring
KELT also worked with students and teachers at Bath Middle School to carry out our 6th year of green crab trapping. The students documented the number of crabs trapped at two sites in Georgetown and one site in Phippsburg, and they compared information about the size, sex, color, and number of crabs between sites and across years.
Tracking Phytoplankton
Once a week for 25 weeks between May and October, KELT’s phytoplankton volunteers collected samples and counted the number of harmful plankton in the assigned sample area.
2019 Volunteer Water Samplers and Phytoplankton Monitors
We want to thank the dedicated individuals below, who graciously gave their time to KELT’s water sampling and phytoplankton monitoring citizen science programs in 2019. No small commitment!
Led by Project Coordinator, Ruth Indrick, these committed volunteers visited sites in Georgetown and Phippsburg, analyzed water samples, counted minuscule phytoplankton, and more. We are incredibly grateful to have these enthusiastic folks as a part of our citizen science team!
Water Samplers
Roger Bogart
Craig Chapin
Gregg Clemens
Martha Feehan
Chris Fox
Dave Graven
Kathy Gravino
Dorsey Harrison
Jay Holt
Lee Johnson
Elna Joseph
Carolyn Kauffunger
Dot Kelly
Jim Peavey
Elizabeth Sky-McIlvain
Joyce Smith
Kate Toner
Ellen Winchester
Ted Wolfe
Phytoplankton Monitors
Roger Bogart
Craig Chapin
Beth Connors
Carolyn Kauffunger
Ted Wolfe