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P A R T N E R S H I P S F O R S U S T A I N A B I L I T YW I N T E R 2 0 1 4 M A N O M E T Can the Agriculture of Today Feed the World of Tomorrow PLUS Litmus Test How were changing the chemistry of our oceans Climate Lab Connecting Science and Students to their Communities C O N T E N T S 12 14 7 Design and Production Jason Fairchild The Truesdale Group Partnerships for Sustainability is published by Manomet Inc. www.manomet.org Correspondence may be sent to Editor Partnerships for Sustainability P.O. Box 1770 Manomet MA 02345. 508-224-6521 Maine Ofce 14 Maine Street Suite 305 Brunswick ME 04011 207-721-9040 2014 Manomet Inc. All rights reserved. Printed in USA using soy-based inks on SFI-certied recycled paper containing post-consumer ber. P A R T N E R S H I P S F O R S U S T A I N A B I L I T Y MANOMET CENTER FOR CONSERVATION SCIENCES is dedicated to helping humans live in harmony with natural resources. We have led the way in bringing together stakeholderscommunities individuals universities government agencies and businessesto develop cooperative science-based policies and management strategies that work in the real world. Our programs focus on enabling people communities and businesses to measure manage and sustain natural systems and the wildlife and people dependent on them. We strive to develop new solutions for climate change and natural capital protection and to create conservation strategies for wildlife working landscapes and wetlands. For more information visit www.manomet.org. 3 I am Manomet Im inspired by the wonderment in my students eyes when they hold a bird for the first time a powerful moment that underscores the significant impact of their actions on the natural world. Manomet has enriched my entire curriculum for several decades by making science come alive for my students. Deb Harrison Biology TeacherNoble and Greenough School What do you care about www.manomet.org PHOTO BY KIM NEAL Can the Agriculture of Today Feed the World of Tomorrow By Bridget Alexander Do small scale dairies in New England and up-state New York have an answer The world population is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. The current population is over seven billion right now. That is a 35 increase in population. However the expected demand on agriculture will require a doubling of food production. Developing countries like China and India will have the more dramatic population increases but its not just a numbers game. Increased individual wealth urbanization and westernization of diet in developing countries will contribute to the doubling in food demandspecically a diet with more meat and more dairy. All these new dairy cows beef cows pigs and chickens need to eat too. Grain crops which could be fed directly to humans will be grown as animal feed to match the worlds changing dinner plates. This is one of two reasons agricultural production will have to increase at a rate much faster than popu- lation growth. The second reason the world may need to double agricultural production is the ever-increasing use of food crops for biofuelsethanol made from corn or sugarcanebiodiesel made from palm oil just to name a few examples. Unlike fossil fuels ethanol crops are renewable. However a lot happens in between. It would be great if we could just cram a few corncobs in our gas tanks. Unfortunately a lot of energy pesticides and fertilizer go into converting the plants into usable fuels and it is a legitimate scientic and social ques- tion as to whether using corn for fuel is a net gain for the environment and climate or for the well-being of disadvantaged and underserved people. Many people view the life-cycle assessment of ethanol as worse than fossil fuels for the atmosphere. Crops that get diverted to fuel can cause forestland to be cleared elsewhere around the globe to make up for the food shortfallalso referred to as indirect WINTER 2014 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS 3 land use change. In this scenario overall greenhouse gas emissions have increased. The other issue is that ethanol does not replace gasoline gallon for gallonit takes more than a gallon of ethanol to yield a gasoline gallons worth of mileage. Scaling up agricultural production to meet the demand of nine billion people by 2050 has many implications and challenges including land use consumption and pollu- tion of natural resources and energy use all in the face of climate change which can make crop yields per acre even lower. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes IPCC report from April 2014 grow- ing food in a warming climate subject to droughts and extreme weather is going to make farming more expen- sive with higher energy usageresulting in crop damage and lower yields. The IPCC went on to name crops and farm products that will serve as leaders in this trend. Milk is included in the top ve. Cows produce more milk in cooler climates between 25F to 65F. All these extra cows for milking and meat production mean more manure. Manure produces methane gas the second leading greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. Depending on how manure is disposed of or repurposed more manure often means less clean water and a certain aroma in the airand that isnt good for agri-tourism a 704 million dollar industry in the U.S.1. Feeding these animals will require more grain produc- tion which will require clearing the land for row crops especially in developing countries. This will impact forests which impact the animals who live there and so on aecting biodiversity. Conventional growing methods apply chemicals in the form of pesticides and fertilizers some of which stay in the soil and nd their way into drinking water through runo. Organic methods often employ fungicides and approved pesticides too. Both methods can utilize techniques such as integrated pest management. Conventional versus organic is not black and white. The question is not whether well feed nine billion people in 2050 but how. How can we build the worlds capacity to grow more food minimize if not eliminate poverty and malnutrition yet also conserve natural resources on which both humans and other species dependresources we want preserved for ourselves and future generations Capacity and eciency go hand-in-hand. Take your freezer for instance. It has a maximum capacity of a cer- tain number of cubic feet. If you ll it haphazardly with items askew and randomly piled you will end-up with wasted spacewasted capacity. However if you orderly place items according to size and shape a la Tetris you have optimized your freezers capacity. On the other hand overlling the freezer maximiz- ing the space will lead to negatives like food falling out onto the oor every time the door is opened. You have to strike the balance to get the most out of what youve got. According to the USDAs 2012 Census of Agriculture there are 36.4 million acres of cropland that are idle or used for cover crops or soil-improvement but not har- vested and not pastured or grazed. Another 12.8 million acres are categorized as other pasture and grazing land that could have been used for crops without additional improvement. So in the U.S. we are not even growing on all available farmland. However it should be noted that these USDA designations include farmland in the federal Conservation Reserve Program2 a program that promotes conversion of ag land into wildlife habitat. SOMETIMES ITS NOT JUST LAND USE... but farm management and practices true eciency measures that optimize agricultural production. A bet- ter managed more ecient farm will produce more foodfeed more peoplewith fewer negative impacts to the countryside on which it exists and improved eco- nomic benets for the farmers. This is very applicable to dairy farms. Small scale dairies in New England and upstate New York which make up the Agri-Mark dairy cooperative and own the coveted Cabot Creamery and McCadam cheese brands are piloting a sustainability toolkit created with Manomet. Feeding a growing population while safeguarding natural resources for the future doesnt have to come down to regulation or large-scale versus small. At Cabot sometimes it has a lot to do with karma. Figure 1 Livestock feed requires on average 7 kilocalories input for each kilocalorie generated. The range extends from 16 for beef production to 3 for broiler chickens with milk somewhere in between Bender 1992. 1 United Stated Department of Agriculture 2012 Census of Agriculture Table 7 a jump of nearly 20. httpwww.agcensus.usda.govPublications2012Full_ReportVolume_1_Chapter_1_USst99_1_006_007.pdf 2 The Conservation Reserve Program CRP is a land conservation program administered by the Farm Service Agency FSA. In exchange for a yearly rental payment farmers enrolled in the program agree to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production and plant species that will improve environmental health and quality. httpwww.fsa.usda.govFSAwebappareahomesubjectcoprtopiccrp 20 15 10 Broiler Chickens Kilocalories input for each Kilocalorie generated Milk Beef 5 0 Livestock Feed 4 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS WINTER 2014 Its interesting how much karma and sustainable development have in common in their denitions. Karma is dened as the sum of a persons actions in this and previous states of existence viewed as deciding their fate in future existences. Sustainable development is dened as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Both terms view our actions now as dictating the future. While Cabot farms have been operating under this understanding for generations it took a special meeting in 2007 to take the company to the next level. Cabot was used to elding the question of whether the cooperative was sustainable but when the Vice President of Sales relayed a customer question What is your sustainability plan the team took pause and exchanged a couple glances. This was an entirely dier- ent question and they knew that they did not yet have language for an answer. Within the year sustainability became an important focus. Cabot began work in 2007 with Manomet and others to develop a more specic sustainability program. In 2008 Agri-Mark created the new position of Director of Sustainability and lled it with Cabot veteran Jed Davis. Davis led the company to new partners including Manomet to develop Agri-Marks sustainability plan. Agri-Mark was attracted to Manomets breadth of workespecially with foresters and forest companies on sustainability. As Davis says In the Northern Forest nd a forester and more often than not youve found a dairy farmer too. By 2009 Agri-Mark Manomet and the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy had created a comprehensive national-level toolthe Vital Capital Index VCI and Toolkit for Dairy Agriculture that measures the econom- ic social and environmental sustainability of farmsthe so-called triple bottom line. Agri-Mark had an initial goal of 75 of the 1200 member farms completing VCI Level 1Awareness which gauges the level of under- standing and willingness to engage on sustainability top- ics. Well they far exceeded that goal with 96 or 1158 farms participating today. There are a total of four Levels in the VCI with the remaining three being Practicesmaking changes to be more sustainable Performancemeasuring the impact and eciency of those changes and Sustainability ensuring these changes can be successful in the long- term and meet the triple bottom line test. Being successful in meeting the triple bottom line means that the farm is an economically thriving viable business the social wellbeing of farm workers and the community is high with healthy work conditions livable wages and the community enjoying the farms presence and the environment around the farm is stable with clean water air and healthy soils. WHY START WITH AWARENESS SHOULDNT THEY BE MEASURING GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS Before the end vision can be realized there must be a strong start. As Davis put it You cant have the starting point be outcome measures with farms being expected to dive right into performance you have to start with awareness and engagement because you get further in the long-term by building understanding and commitment upfront. Davis went on to explain that this is where Manomet really shined by showing us they understood how to meet farmers where they are and creating a sus- tainability tool tailored for us as their partner. Its been ve years since the launch of the pilot and the project is about to enter Level 2Practices. However VCI is in its third overall version 3.0. With the imple- mentation of 2.0 the project added on-line participation. Agri-Mark outtted each of its 20 eld sta with iPads to take to the 75-100 individual farms each serves. A little bit of technical assistance goes a long way informed Andy Whitman of Manomet. In version 3.0 farms can now participate incremen- tally giving them the ability to adapt the VCI toolkit for where they are in their sustainability journey. This is a long-term process and this is a tool that can spark con- tinuous improvement remarked Davis. The VCI covers 12 topics that are globally relevant. As the project moves into Level 2Practices the par- Mark Duffy at Great Brook Farm State Park WINTER 2014 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS 5 ticipating farms will begin implementing such changes as creating a succession plan for passing the farm down to the next generation soil health water and air qual- ity pest management waste management and ethical animal careto name just a few. On Great Brook Farm State Park GBF in Carlisle Massachusetts Mark Duy a rst generation farmer has been farming with his family for 27 years. This farm is unique in many ways one of which is that its a Department of Conservation and Recreation property that the Duys lease. Leasing farmland is becoming more mainstream especially with the cost of farmland in a state like Massachusetts. Duy and his farm also represent what is possible with VCI. With 170 dairy animals Duy runs a very ecient farm with many cutting edge components. As Duy puts it Dairy farms are grounded in science and that is some- thing we want to educate people on. GBF milks its cows one at a time with a robot made by a Swedish Company DeLaval. Labor and time saved from hands-on milking goes right back to the cows. The Deval system tracks the cows through collars which also acts as a pedometer keeping track of the cows walking. The cows also sleep on special beds made in Germany which not only keeps them comfortable but cuts down on the need for straw and sawdust. His cows eat a special diet too. In fact a nutrition- ist creates a very exact combination of grasses corn and other grains. Cows are athletes Duy says and they need a balanced diet to achieve top performance. GBF addresses the outcome of a good diet as wellseparating solid and liquid manure with a second automated system. The alley scraper similar to a track with little shovels moves the waste out of the barn and into a system that works with gravity and empties into a unique tank. The tank is glass fused to steel. The manure self-seals over a bit of time mitigating odor. The farm sells the solids for use as natural fertilizer and uses the liquid manure for fertilizer for its feed crops. Duy is also a member of Agri-Marks Board of Directors representing farmers in Massachusetts New Hampshire and Rhode Island. The VCI Awareness Level is crucial because we need to be able to speak to the big picture and share how farm families are part of their communities Duy shared. Big picture issues include cli- mate change. Duy knows that dairy cows like it on the cool side and describes the challenge as follows Cows are athletes wearing fur coats that dont sweat. His state- of-the-art barn has collaps- ible air-lled plastic walls that are adjustable by three layers and go up and down. Solar is what hes interested in next. While Duy is out in front with his eciency measures he touts the Awareness Level of the VCI with informing the next generation of farm- ers and views Manomet as an objective third-party verier in Agri-Marks sustainabil- ity work. Both Duys daughter and two sons are intent on farming and Duy and his wife couldnt be happier about that. HOW IS THIS PROJECT RELEVANT TO FEEDING THE WORLDS 9 BILLION IN 2050 As the world scales up food production which it must agriculture will have to proactively seek ways to become more sustainable. More sustainable farm businesses run more eciently by using fewer resources and bringing a high nancial return to its operators. Existing farms that are run more eciently will serve to conscientiously develop and maintain our working landscapes. We can increase the nutrient density of existing crops and take advantage of season extending methods. The world is pushing forward into a new era of agri- cultural production especially in developing countries and it is more important than ever that farmers grow food sustainably and implement sustainability measures as early as possible. Agriculture is not something that is forced or is imposed. People need to eat and aptly put by Wendell Berry Eating is an agricultural act. Agriculture is a partnership between the land and people. Agri-Mark dairy farmers are taking the lead in trying to create a measurably more sustainable world. These farmers and their landswith help from Manometare providing leadership for a future of healthy diets and stewardship of natural resources for generations to come. What we do now writes the story of our futureand then we let karma do its job At Cabot sometimes it has a lot to do with karma. 6 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS WINTER 2014 LITMUS TEST Look at the ocean today. It probably looks the same as it did when you were a kid but as the old adage warns looks can be deceiving. You start to get some clues from our shorelines with evidence of erosion from higher tides. However it is beneath the surface within the shells of shellfish that a different story is unfolding ocean acidification. Since the industrial revolution the oceans pH has decreased from 8.2 to 8.1. The number 8.1 doesnt seem much dierent from 8.2. Not on a linear scale. But the dierence between a pH of 8.2 and a pH of 8.1 is quite signicant. pH a measure of the acidity of a liquid is measured on a log scale ranging from 0 acidic to 14 alkaline. Through a century of combusting fossil fuels we have managed to raise our oceans acidity by 26. Although ocean acidication has only become an important research topic in the last 20 years the basic chemistry to illustrate the phenomenon was well estab- lished over a century ago. When the concentration of CO2 the primary greenhouse gas from burning fossil fuels increases in the atmosphere CO2 is absorbed by the ocean at a predictable rate. Since the dawn of the industrial age oceans have absorbed about one-third of the CO2 that humans have emitted into the atmosphere. Climate change would be happening much faster without this help from the oceans. That the oceans provide this ecosystem service might be a good thing for humans but not for marine organ- isms. When carbon dioxide CO2 is absorbed by the ocean it reacts with water H2O to form carbonic acid H2CO3. Carbonic acid then breaks down and forms bicarbonate HCO3 - and hydrogen ion H . The addi- tion of hydrogen ions is what makes something more acidic. So putting more CO2 into the atmosphere leads to a higher concentration of H in the ocean and thus a lower pH score and a more acidic ocean. For marine organisms with shells or structures made of calcite e.g. clams mussels crabs lobsters corals this is a troubling chemical equation. Figure 1 Three photos of a clam taken after differing exposures to acidic mud. The first photo was taken while the clam was being reared in a controlled hatchery the second photo was after the clam spent one week in an acidic mud flat and the last photo was taken after the clam spent two weeks in the acidic mud flat. All of the photos were taken under the same magnifi- cation. Clam shows growth and obvious corrosion. Photos from Mike Doan Research Associate Friends of Casco Bay. Pre-deployment One week deployment Two week deployment HOW WERE CHANGING THE CHEMISTRY OF OUR OCEANS by John Hagan and Liza LePage WINTER 2014 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS 7 These animals depend on combining calcium Ca which is abundant in seawater with carbonate CO3 - to make calcite calcium carbonate CaCO3 the hard crys- talline material that makes up their shells. Increasing the CO2 in seawater leaves less carbonate for sea creatures to combine with calcium to make shells. The hydrogen ions produced in the chemical equation result in lower pH but its really the theft of that carbonate molecule by the hydrogen atoms that causes the problem for shell-making organisms. See Figure 1. In the last century humans have increased the con- centration of CO2 in the atmosphere by about 44. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has not been this high in the last 800000 years. The same is true for ocean acidity. The rate of change in acidity may be greater now than at any time in the last 300 million years. How is changing the pH of the oceans relevant to humans We wouldnt know or feel the dierence in seawater of pH 8.2 and 8.1 or even 6.0 because our skeletons arent in contact with seawater unlike shellsh which experience the change in acidity in their bones. The real concern for humans is how ocean acidi- cation will aect the marine ecosystems we rely on. Worldwide sheries supply 15 of the animal protein consumed by humans provide employment for 200 mil- lion people and contribute 230 billion to the global economy. Fish and sheries are a big deal for both our economy and our dinner tables. A recent study by United Nation experts estimated that by 2100 ocean acidication will cost the global economy over a trillion dollars.1 This gure only reects the potential economic loss linked to coral reefs which are considered to be the most vulnerable species to ocean acidication. Coral reefs provide diverse ecosystem ser- vices such as shoreline protection food services for mil- lions of people tourism revenue for many countries and raw materials for a diverse array of other industries such as the pharmaceutical industry. If coral reefs dissolve humans across the globe will feel the impact. Science is ramping up fast to test marine animals abil- ity to cope with increasing acidity. Dierent species have dierent resiliencies to acidication that are still poorly understood. Most studies show that juvenile shellsh are especially vulnerable showing higher mortality in more acidic water. Mark Green a marine scientist from Saint Josephs College in Maine has been researching the eects of ocean acidication on juvenile soft shell clams for over a decade. His research shows that juvenile clam growth begins to be compromised at a pH of 7.8 and that below 6.8 clam spat and baby clams simply dissolve.2 However results can be variable. One study showed that the shell mass of several crustaceans including lob- sters actually increased with acidity. But the net eect CO2 INCREASES CO2 Dissolved carbon dioxide H2 O Water H2 CO3 Carbonic acid HCO3 - Bicarbonate ion Bicarbonate ion HCO3 - Hydrogen ion H Carbonate ion CO3 2- Figure 1. CO2 enters the ocean at a predefined rate depending on how much CO2 is in the atmosphere and the temperature of the water. When CO2 enters the ocean it reacts with water to form a weak acid carbonic acid. Since the acid is weak it easily breaks down into bicarbonate and hydrogen ions. The increase of hydrogen ions decreases the amount of available carbonate ions which shellfish need to construct their shells. 1 Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. 2014. An Updated Synthesis of the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine Biodiversity. Available online at httpwww.cbd.intdocpublicationscbd-ts-75-en.pdf 2 Green M. et al. 2009. Death by dissolution Sediment saturation state as a mortality factor for juvenile bivalves. Limnology and Oceanography. 10371047 pp. Available online httpwww.aslo.orglotocvol_54issue_41037.pdf 8 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS WINTER 2014 is unknown shell-making requires energy and that energy could be diverted from other life functions such as growth and reproduction.3 Zooming in to the local level While atmospheric CO2 increases at an even rate across the world increasing ocean acidity is not globally uni- form. Many marine scientists dierentiate ocean acidi- cation from coastal acidication because the way inshore waters become more acidic goes beyond atmospheric deposition. Due to its cold fresher nutrient rich waters the Gulf of Maine is considered to be an ocean acidication hotspot. A study led by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute found that the Gulf of Maine has the lowest acid buering capacity4 of any region on the eastern seaboard. Cold water can absorb more gas than warm water. So cold water absorbs more CO2 which makes colder water more acidic. Moreover Maines 60 freshwater rivers makes the inshore waters more acidic because freshwa- ter is naturally more acidic. In Maines more populated areas like Casco Bay high nutrient run o from fertilizer and waste water treatment plants as well as deposition of airborne pollutants exacerbates local acidity in semi- enclosed bays by triggering algal blooms which decrease oxygen and further increases CO2. Although Maine is often idealized as a pristine area the coastal ecosystem and the people who depend on it are vulnerable due to the natural and human induced reasons stated above. Maines real risk does not come directly from its cold acidic water but from the regions economic reliance on the very species that are projected to be aected by it. The Gulf of Maine once supported a diverse ecosystem but now as a result of overharvesting of sh stocks it is crustacean dominated. The lobster industry in Maine has been booming in the last decade and is home to the highest lobster density in the world. In 2013 78 368 million of all sheries revenue in Maine came from lob- stering. See Figure 2. The Downeast Fisheries Partnership DFP which Manomet formed in 2012 with the Penobscot East Resource Center and the Downeast Salmon Federation is trying to restore diversity to the Downeast Maine aquatic ecosystem so that communities will be able to sh for- ever. Dependence on a single shell-bearing specieslob- sterin the face of warming waters and acidifying waters presents a risky and vulnerable future for rural coastal communities. Our approach to locally driven management will help Maines sheries to adapt to a series of threats including acidication said DFP Coordinator Anne Hayden. Local stakeholders have the most intimate knowledge of how their ecosystems are aected by coastal acidity. Rebuilding diversity in river and coastal ecosystems and engaging shermen and others in their stewardship will make rural communities more resilient to unforeseen changes. Ocean acidication is already disrupting some Maine ecosystems. Maine clammers have noticed that ats which were once productive are no longer economically harvestable. A study by Friends of Casco Bay found that in a comparison of productive and unproductive ats nearly all unproductive ats in the Casco Bay had mud with low pH while all productive ats had higher pH5. We know from research that acidic mud negatively aects clams and we know that we have low pH mud in our coastal ats explained Casco Baykeeper Joe Payne. However its hard for us to talk about this issue when clammers are faced with problems that they can see like invasive green crabs Carcinus maenas. There are a lot of ats that are no longer productive but if coastal acidica- tion is the lead culprit this is something we can manage. Luckily for Maine ocials have begun to take action to address this issue. In May the State Legislature formed the groundbreaking Maine Ocean Acidication Study Commission to assess the threat of ocean acidication on the States commercially harvestable species. The Commission the rst of its kind on the east coast will American Lobster American Eel Atlantic Herring Pollock Bloodworms Softshell Clam Eastern Oyster Sea Scallop Sea Urchin Everything Else American Lobster American Eel Atlantic Herring Pollock Bloodworms Softshell Clam Eastern Oyster Sea Scallop Sea Urchin Everything Else Figure 2. NOAAs 2013 Annual Commercial Landing Statistics show lobsters contributed 78 of Maines 475 million dollar fishing revenue while 89 of the fishing economy came from shellfish. This huge reliance on shell building organisms makes the potential effects of ocean acidification important to Maine. 3 Ries J.B. Marine calcifiers exhibit mixed responses to CO2-induced ocean acidification. Geology. 1131-1134 pp. Available online httpintl-geology.geoscienceworld.orgcontent37121131.full.pdfhtml 4 Gulf of Maine has the lowest alkalinity to dissolved inorganic carbon ratio of any region on the eastern seaboard. Wang Z.A. 2013. The marine inorganic carbon system along the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coasts of the United States Insights from a transregional coastal carbon study. Limnology and Oceanography. 325-342 pp. Available online httpwww.aslo.orglotocvol_58issue_10325.pdf 5 Friends of Casco Bay. 2013. The Mystery of the Disappearing Clams. Available online httpwww.cascobay.orgthe-mystery-of-the-disappearing-clams Breakdown of Maines Fishing Economy 2013 9 provide the government with a report on December 5 which will hopefully open the door for action in Maine and throughout New England. Maines economic future rests on the fragile shoul- ders of the lobster industry and we have no idea how this resource will fare remarked Green one of the leading scientists on the Commission. One of the major recom- mendations coming out of the Commissions report will be to address this unknown and other knowledge gaps that exist. We need to expand our ability to monitor pH along the coast so we have a better idea of how condi- tions are changing. The Commissions report will also address actions that local communities and stakeholder groups can do to pro- tect their coastal ecosystems from rising acidity. One of the most eective actions communities can take is to limit nutrient runo in coastal waters. Wastewater treatment plants can be a big source of nutrients to coastal waters which decreases acidity. Plants across the state are ill-equipped to handle large storm events and often untreated water is discharged into the ocean when the system is overloaded. By upgrading these systems we could greatly minimize nutrient inputs to coastal waters. Nutrient run o can also be mitigated by improving local land-use practices. By limiting the amount of fer- tilizer and reducing the amount of impervious surfaces found in neighborhoods agricultural lands and public recreational areas we can lower nutrient output and slow down coastal acidication. Actions can be taken directly to vulnerable coastal waters to reduce acidity. Mark Green discovered that clam ats were two to ve times more productive after crushed up shells were added to the mud. Although it was once illegal to add shells to coastal waters because of the chance of disease it is now a regulated practice. Green hopes to continue to research the eect of this method on large scale projects and make the practice more available to coastal stakeholders. Seaweed aquaculture is another new tool against local acidication. Ocean Approved a Portland based aquacul- ture company that grows kelp grass is providing a local solution while generating a new economic income for the state. As kelp grows it absorbs CO2. Ocean Approved takes the product out of the water to be harvested before any decomposition occurs creating a temporary carbon sink to local ecosystems. A major part of combating coastal acidication is get- ting people to understand what is at risk and how they can help explained Payne. These problems dont just aect shellsh harvesters as the economic benet of each bushel of clams penetrates through the entire economy. When you consider the value that gets added to a bushel of clams as it moves down the production line from landing to retail sales and the indirect boost it brings to tourism it becomes clear that healthy and productive marine ecosystems are important to the entire com- munity. From this macro perspective shellsheries and aquaculture are valued in excess of a billion dollars annu- ally to Mainean income the state cannot aord to lose. Zooming back out While coastal acidication can be managed through local action there is only one solution to ocean acidica- tionreducing human emissions of greenhouse gases. If humans continue to stay on a business-as-usual CO2 emissions pathway average ocean pH will drop to about 7.7 by 2100 a 150 increase in acidity over the pre- industrial ocean and a level proven to be detrimental to some marine organisms and coastal economies. Ocean acidication might seem like a big deal and it is but it is just a small piece of the climate story. Everything we care abouteconomic social and envi- ronmentalwill be impacted by our carbon emissions. Thats why Manomet is working so hard with the business sector on climate change mitigation. There is hope for a resilient future but we need everyone to be involved. By bringing more people together to join the eort to address climate change we will ensure a vibrant safe and healthy future for generations to come. Clam flats like the one pictured here in Georgetown Maine are highly vulnerable to invasive green crabs and acidic conditions. Manomet is working with shellfish harvesters to help manage these systems. 10 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS WINTER 2014 Samuel Davenport Sam Davenport is a litigation member of Mintz Levins Boston ofce. He focuses on representing clean technology life sciences energy IT and other high technology companies. An avid outdoorsman Sam lives in Duxbury Massachusetts with his wife and three boys and is involved in a variety of local land conservation coastal watershed protection and historical preservation efforts W. Andrew Mims Andy Mims joined Loring Wolcott Coolidges Sustainability Group as a trustee in 2013. Prior to joining the rm Andy was the founder of the strategy-consulting rm Goosewing Partners and Vice President of Sustainability for Gaylord Entertainment. As Gaylords rst sustainability ofcer he created an award-winning program that focused on operational efciency capital investments and stakeholder engagement. William Osborn Willy Osborn manages Commons Capital LP a venture fund focusing on energy healthcare and environment investments. He is also the Founding Partner of the Massachusetts Green Energy Fund which focuses on clean energy start-ups. Willy alsohas served as a special partner withArete Corporation which manages 135 mil- lion in utility industry investments. Manomet Welcomes New Trustees Manomet scientists pushed me to look beyond my binoculars to see the bigger issues. As a small business owner committed to a sustainable future I am honored to serve as Chair of Manomets Board of Directors. What do you care about www.manomet.org I am ManometI am Manomet What do you care about www.manomet.org Manomet scientists pushed me to look beyond my binoculars to see the bigger issues. As a small business owner committed to a sustainable future I am honored to serve as Chair of Manomets Board of Directors. Dean Steeger Board Chair WINTER 2014 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS 11 Connecting Science and Students to their Communities C L M and TERC an education research organization and Wildlands Trust a land conservation organization. TERC is developing the programs curriculum while Manomet is providing scientic expertise and training to educators. Wildlands Trust is providing access to sev- eral land parcels. This August Manomet and TERC were awarded a 450000 Discovery Research K-12 Grant from the National Science Foundation NSF to be used over three years to design and implement the Climate Lab research project on a larger scale. Trevor Lloyd-Evans is the Director of Manomets Landbird Program and has led the Landbird Banding Lab since 1972. He is spearheading this innovative education research project which is designed for middle school children. Through Climate Lab educators teach their students how to collect data on biological indicators of climate change in their own communities. Lloyd-Evans explains that We created Climate Lab as a way to bring children outdoors to experience natu- ral habitats. Were introducing students to the scientic method. They learn how to collect record and interpret scientic data. The amazing range of electronic media sources available has certainly informed young people that most scientists believe the climate is warming ever more rapidly. However its important for children to learn that this is not just a problem in the Arcticit is happening everywhere in each of our own back yards woods and marshes. The students learn about how to take biological mea- surements that can be linked over time to a changing climate such as average percent of tree canopy shrub and herb cover timing of leafout tree height and DBH diam- eter breast height. Students will identify plants inverte- brates and birds to understand rsthand the connections between habitat weather food and vegetation cover. This information will then be electronically led by Manomet to create a database of local climate change impacts that will be accessible to all of the participating schools. Students will have access to Manomet data for by Cheryl Botieri CLIMATE LAB AN EXPLORATORY STUDY 12 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS WINTER 2014 spring arrival dates of common bird species and will be able to use their own data to make connections between timing of leafout insect hatching and when bird species are arriving back to the northeast in spring. Over time the data collected from standard locations near the schools combined with Manomets 40-plus years of migratory bird data will likely demonstrate dierences due to sea- sonal and local weather along with underlying responses to the long-term climate. Eventually a Climate Lab web- site will be developed to host the data along with teacher and student resources. To launch the project Manomet and TERC scientists held workshops for middle school math and science educators where they learned how to teach their stu- dents to measure climate change indicators. The teach- ers used this information to set up their own research transects Climate Labs on school grounds or nearby properties. Middle school teachers from three Southeastern Massachusetts school districtsDuxbury Sandwich and Warehamas well as the Rising Tide Charter School in Plymouth were the participants in the Climate Lab program during the 20132014 school year. Thirteen educators received training and over 500 students par- ticipated. For the 20142015 school year the Weymouth MA school district was added increasing the total participants to more than 600 stu- dents and 15 teachers. Manomet and TERC have been working out techniques analyzing preliminary data hold- ing teacher workshops and developing curriculum mate- rials said Lloyd-Evans. TERCs expertise in curriculum development has allowed our vision to take shape and complement the emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching. Brian Drayton the lead ecologist for the TERC Climate Lab team shares The importance of integrating science practice in science learning has long been emphasized in science education. The framework for the Next Generation Science Standards NGSS now re-emphasizes the importance of infusing science learning with the practices of scientic inquiry. This exploratory study will develop and research a novel climate change education partnership among climate change scientists education researchers and middle school practitioners that will engage teachers and students in authentic science. Beth Brazil Manomets Foundation Manager stated that the three-year NSF grant is a huge accomplishment for the Climate Lab project. It will enable Manomet to continue work- ing with the cur- rent schools and then allow us to add more school dis- tricts over the three year grant. In addi- tion two scientic research centers will join the project the Baltimore Long- term Ecological Research LTER and Point Blue Center for Conservation Science Petaluma CA which will help us to engage with many more educa- tors. We believe this will result in even more students connecting with sci- ence and learning more about climate change in their own communities. Looking ahead the ultimate goal for Climate Lab is to build a sustainable model that can be implemented on a national scale. Manomet and TERC are committed to working with educators community organizations and funders to make this dream a reality. Trevor Lloyd-Evans helps students measure leaf growth. As temperatures warm earlier leaves other vegetation and invertebrate larvae emerge earlier. Through Climate Lab students measure leaf growth in spring and in summer after the leaves are fully grown. Over time students will track changes in leaf growth and compare invertebrate larval emergence and the migration timing of birds that eat the larvae. WINTER 2014 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS 13 Summerfest 14 July 9 2014 Summerfest is a chance for our most dedicated supporters to spend quality time with Manomets program staff and each other. It is the time when we all feel like were truly part of the same familystaff board supportersall doing our part to make the world a measurably more sustainable place. We feel we are in this together at Summerfest. This year Manomet trustee and globally renowned meteorologist Dr. Kerry Emanuel asked and answered the question What do we know about climate change Dr. Emanuel explained that weve understood the basic physics of climate change since the late 1800s even though there are many aspects of climate science we still do not understand such as the positive and negative feedbacks of a changing climate. The issue boils down to how much risk you as an individual are willing to accept given what we know and what we still dont know about climate science. Are you willing to risk crossing a tipping point where going back is simply not an option Being a dedicated supporter of Manomet means that you get to think alongside bright scientists about the most important questions of our time. The questions are serious but the good news is that every day more and more people across the globe are embracing climate smart solutions including the solutions created by Manomet. Together we are making a measurable difference. From Top to Bottom 1. Trustee Kerry Emanuel gives keynote presentation. 2. Vanessa Verkade Pat Wil Sheehan of Duxbury 3. Rick Kathy Kosinski of Cambridge 4. Dan Bailey and Trustee Nancy Dempze of Westwood Jan Friedrich of Homes Farm and Edible Yard. 14 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS WINTER 2014 Member FDIC Whatever we all give we get back more. Rockland Trust is dedicated to giving back to the communities we serve. Thats why were happy to support the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences Summerfest. We know that by taking action and lending a hand to our neighbors were strengthening the same communities in which we live and work. And thats something we can all get behind. To learn more about Rockland Trust visit any branch or www.RocklandTrust.com. 800.222.2299 Actions. Not words. ROGERS GRAY INSURANCE is pleased to support... Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences 800.553.1801 RogersGray.com Thank you to our sponsors WINTER 2014 MANOMET PARTNERSHIPS 15 Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage P A I D Permit No. 72 Holliston MA P.O. Box 1770 Manomet Massachusetts 02345 USA Address Service Requested E Printed on recycled paper When you have finished reading this magazine please pass it along to a friend. Accept the Manomet Trustee Challenge DOUBLE YOUR IMPACT Our Trustees Have Donated 50000 Extra this Year to RAISE an ADDITIONAL 50000 by Matching Your 1000 Donation Dollar-for-Dollar A TOTAL OF 100000 IN NEW SUPPORT Donate Now manomet.orgchallenge manomet.orgchallenge Climate Change Connecting to Nature Sustainable Economies Shorebird Recovery Leader of Today Leaders of Tomorrow