Have you ever wondered “what’s that orange thing on the side of the dock?” or “what’s attached to the bottom of my boat?”. Well, now is your time to find out! This September, MVPC will once again be participating in Trails & Sails, a free event series that brings awareness and appreciation for social, cultural and natural resources across Essex County! This is the 23rd year that Essex Heritage has hosted this awesome event series, and this year, the fun has been extended to 16 days (September 14-September 29th).
As part of the series, MVPC will be co-hosting an event with Gloucester Maritime. It’s a Hard Dock Life will be held on Sunday, September 15th at the Harriet Webster Pier. Attendees can choose to join for either the morning (10:30am-12:00pm) or afternoon session (1:00-2:30pm). During the session, we will pull up dock lines and see what marine creatures we can find! Using magnifying glasses, microscopes, and identification cards, we’ll discover as many marine invasive species as we can. Attendees will learn to identify common marine invasive creatures and help to contribute data to a larger regional data set!
After investigating on the Pier, attendees are welcome to explore the Maritime Gloucester Campus, including the Seapocket Aquarium, the Marine Science & Education Center, and Gorton’s Seafood Gallery of Maritime Heritage, all free of charge.
Registration is required, so be sure to sign up! For folks planning to attend, please prepare to be outside on the pier and dock for this event (comfortable clothing and sturdy shoes). Life jackets will be required for participants under 12 while navigating our dock. We will have some on site, but attendees are welcome to bring their own! This program will be cancelled in the event of thunder or lightening and all registrees will be notified via e-mail prior to the event start time.
To learn more about MVPC’s marine invasive species monitoring work, visit our Environmental Program Page. To find out more about the events, visit the Trails & Sails Event Site or download the 2024 Guidebook!