The Maryland Native Plant Society

The Maryland Native Plant Society
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  • Field Trip: Exploring Impacts of Climate Change on Shoreline Property and Habitats

Field Trip: Exploring Impacts of Climate Change on Shoreline Property and Habitats

  • 03/26/2011
  • Kent Island, MD

Sponsoring Organization: Maryland Department of Natural Resources

Leader: Louisa Thompson, Planner Intern, Maryland Department of Natural Resources.

Dates: Saturday, March 26 and/or Sunday, March 27, repeated Saturday and/or Sunday, April 3, 2011.

Time: Repeats several times each day. Let me know your availability.

Duration: 1-2 hours (trail is about a mile and a half, very easy walking).

Help me field-test and improve my "real + virtual" interpretive trail at a new state park on Kent Island. The land trail takes you to shorelines with varying slopes, including a beach, tidal and non-tidal wetlands, and uplands. We'll also talk about the oyster planting area just off-shore and can add other aquatic species of interest to participants. The virtual trail, accessible via smart phone as you walk the land trail, matches each stop with explanatory drawings and text, photos and satellite views, and links to resources. Each trail stop is selected to illustrate how sea level rise and storm surge waves will impact shoreline form and habitats. Several methods of protecting the shoreline or assisting habitats to migrate or adapt are also explored.

One eventual feature of the trails will be access to data on species population size and phenology (life cycle timing) as they change over the years. I hope to collect some baseline data on these two walks. This is a long-time MOS bird count site. There is likely habitat for juvenile diamondback terrapins. We might see the earliest spring ephemeral plants. If you are interested in a particular species likely to be seen at this time of year, please let me know.

I need feedback both from experts (to ensure accuracy of content and to set up data collection) and from potential park visitors (to improve user experience of both the land and virtual trails).

I'll bring an iPhone. If you have a smart phone, please bring it, but don't hesitate to come without one. We'll look at the wetlands from land, but if you want to wade into them or canoe or kayak to them, let me know and I'll try to arrange for permission. (I'll stay on land so you'd have to be experienced.)

Registration is required. Directions will be sent to those who register. Email your name, agency affiliation or society membership (if any) and area of interest, cell phone plus home or work phone, permanent address and preferred date and time of day to lthompson@dnr.state.md.us with the subject line "field trip 1."

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