Association to Preserve Cape Cod |
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Cape Cod Waters and APCC in the News... |
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Scientific American - FEBRUARY 12, 2024 - a short documentary Cape Cod Faces a Rising 'Yellow Tide' - Tourism is big business on the Cape, but a growing environmental issue could disrupt the lives of tourists and residents, alike. |
APCC recently submitted written comments to the state’s environmental secretary regarding a proposed expansion project at Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis. Read APCC’s comments here. |
Cape Cod leads in number of volunteer river herring count programs! |
Cape Cod has the largest number of volunteer herring count programs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts – that was one takeaway from a recent workshop on herring count methods hosted by the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). According to DMF, as of 2023, the state had a total of 48 herring count sites, including 30 sites where volunteer herring counts are done and 18 sites where counts are done using other methods, such as electronic counters and video camera. Of the 30 volunteer count sites, 18 are located on Cape Cod, amounting to more than half of the state’s volunteer herring count sites.
The workshop was attended by invited participants from New England fisheries agencies, scientists, and organizations that manage regional herring count programs (e.g.) APCC, MassBays, Mystic River Watershed Association, and Buzzards Bay Coalition. Dr. Jo Ann Muramoto, APCC’s director of science programs and MassBays regional coordinator for Cape Cod, provided an overview of Cape Cod’s volunteer herring count program involving an estimated 300+ volunteers, 12 towns, and more than a dozen organizations.
River herring continue to suffer from low populations and the 2005 ban on herring catch continues. Herring counts are important for collecting information on herring populations and abundance, migration, and condition of fish runs. The workshop focused on comparing results from different counting methods: volunteer counts (aka visual counts), electronic counters, video camera, acoustic sonar, and research on using artificial intelligence (AI) to count herring from video and acoustic data. Every method so far involves significant effort, cost, and pros and cons. Research and development of better and faster methods is needed.
Despite the allure of automated counting systems, volunteer herring counts—conducted by people, not machines—serve an important public purpose: maintaining public interest in protecting and restoring river herring and their habitat. Cape Cod appears to be a leader in this important effort. For more information and to see the latest summary of Cape Cod herring run sizes, visit our website. |
APCC staff participated in the Youth Climate Action Summit and "Green Career Fair" |
APCC staff
, Eliza Fitzgerald, Lynn Francis, Dee Marsh, and JT Percy, participated in the 2024 MA Audubon Youth Climate Action Summit “Green Career Fair.” This year’s keynote speaker was APCC’s executive director, Andrew Gottlieb. Over 100 high school students visited APCC’s table where they learned about careers in ecosystems restoration and freshwater pond monitoring. Youth Climate Summits
are hosted by Mass Audubon wildlife sanctuaries. High school students participate in an all-day climate summit, and in partnership with staff, local experts, and mentors tackle the question, "how can we act on climate in our communities?" Participants collaborate with each other to begin imagining what community-level climate action could look like and brainstorm the subjects of their climate action projects.
The Youth Climate Summit is a part of Mass Audubon's Youth Climate Leadership Program (YCLP), a youth-led, action-oriented climate action immersion program aimed at creating a space for learning, conversation, networking, and youth-led climate solutions.
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APCC staff invited to judge local school science and engineering fair. |
APCC ecologist, Lynn Francis, and assistant education and outreach coordinator, Dorria Marsh, joined twenty-three Cape professionals as judges for the St. John Paul II High School Science & Engineering Fair. With an array of topics from velocity to toxicity, there were 33 project entries, where students had first-hand experience with experimental design, peer review, and independent research.
Lynn said, "I had the pleasure of judging five exceptional environmental science experiments, and the students did fantastic work. The majority of the experiments tested known pollutants (like common pesticides, fertilizer, and road salt) to either plants, aquatic plants, or macro invertebrates. They were all enthusiastic about their work and took pride in their findings. None were surprised on the negative effects of these pollutants. I hope to be able to judge again next year, to see the next crop of budding scientists and engineers!"
The top projects will be eligible to participate at the Southeast Regional Science and Engineering Fair at Bridgewater State University in March, and students who place at the regional level may qualify to attend the MA State Science and Engineering Fair at Gillette Stadium in April.
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Now accepting applications for these positions: |
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| Eco-landscape Audit Program Manager - April through November
APCC is seeking a qualified individual who is passionate about native plants and ecological landscapes to be the team leader of APCC’s Eco-landscape Audit Program. It will be the second year for the program designed to offer ecological landscape consultations for homeowners. The program team will consist of one or two summer interns and the manager will be the team leader. Read more... |
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| Ecological Land Care Intern(s) - May through August The ecological land care summer intern will be part of a team with APCC’s Eco-Audit Program that conducts property assessments for homeowners who want to know more about how they can make their properties nature friendly. Intern will also help with maintaining the native landscape at APCC’s headquarters, and other related projects. Read more... |
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| Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program Intern(s) |
APCC is seeking interns to help monitor cyanobacteria in Cape Cod’s freshwater ponds as part of APCC’s Cyanobacteria Monitoring Program. Candidate must be at least 18 years of age, have a high school diploma and one to three years of relevant field experience (e.g., limnology, biology, ecology, chemistry, and/or other science related to aquatic systems). Position starts mid-May. Read more... |
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| Restoration Intern - June through September
As part of APCC's efforts to restore retired cranberry bogs, remove fish passage barriers, remediate stormwater runoff, improve water quality, and enhance salt marsh integrity, the restoration intern will assist with site assessment, monitor various aquatic habitats, assist with training volunteers in monitoring and survey protocols, and assist with education and outreach programming. Read more... |
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| Restoration Coordinator - Full-time, year-round position
Responsibilities include managing restoration projects; managing and developing project and consultant engineer scope of work and budgets; working effectively with multiple partners and constituents to plan, initiate, manage and complete multi-year restoration projects, and assisting with seasonal field survey work as needed. Read more...
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The 2023 State of the Waters: Cape Cod report content can be viewed on this dedicated website: CapeCodWaters.org |
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Guidelines for Cape-friendly Landscapes - an APCC publication |
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The Guidelines
gives homeowners steps they can take in the design and maintenance of their properties that will support pollinators and birds, manage stormwater, conserve water, and protect the Cape's water quality. This 40-page booklet is beautifully illustrated by Marcy Ford with content that is easily digestible and supported by numerous resources for additional learning. |
Thank you for this important book! Hopefully everyone of us with a yard will read it and put it to use! - Vicky Titcomb of Titcomb Bookshop |
We've enjoyed creating it and hope it will help you with ideas to help you steward your piece of Cape Cod and maybe foster an environmental ethic in the decisions we all make in our own managed landscapes. Get your copy here—and maybe one for a friend? |
We are grateful for the several retail shops that are partnering with us to make this publication more widely available: Brewster Book Store, Birdwatchers General Store
, Crocker Nurseries, Wellfleet Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary,
Cape Abilities Farm, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, the Cape Cod Lavender Farm, Heritage Museums and Gardens, Titcomb's Bookshop, and Sea Howl Bookshop, Soares Flower Garden Nursery.
If you are a retailer and would like to sell this publication at your store, contact Kristin at [email protected]. |
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The Pollinator Pathway Cape Cod is a group of organizations promoting native plants and pollinator-friendly land care practices to create a boat load of safe oases for our native bees, butterflies and a whole host of other pollinators that are crucial to the health of our ecosystems. Join us! It's easy. There are no fees. You just need to pledge to ADD native plants, SUBTRACT a little lawn, AVOID yard chemicals, especially pesticides, and LEAVE the leaves. And, help us spread the word. Please get on the map to show your support of pollinators on Cape Cod! |
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| | APCC Caps are available for purchase! $25 includes shipping & handling Click here for more information and to order. This is one great way to show your support for APCC's work. |
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A Cape Cod Native Plant-selector ~ to help you choose the perfect native plants for your garden. |
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Cinnamon Fern Osmundastrum cinnamomeum |
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| APCC Enewsletters. Our weekly newsletters are archived on our website and easily shared.
You can find past newsletters and share with your friends to sign up for future enewsletters HERE. |
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Are you thinking of going solar? We hope so! In partnership with E2 SOLAR in Dennis, APCC receives $500 for every solar installation when APCC is named as referral.
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| Thank you to the homeowners who just contracted to install solar panels through E2 Solar. May the sun always shine for you! |
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Expressions Gallery, 578 Main Street, Chatham
CLICK HERE |
Expressions Gallery donates 20 percent of its profits to APCC's work.
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Thank you to our business sponsors |
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APCC is rated four stars by Charity Navigator and 2023 Platinum by Candid (formerly Guidestar). |
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