Posts by Stephanie Murphy
Currents of Curiosity: Students dive into ocean science on Cape Cod
Middle schoolers soak up information like sponges. Introducing them to different subjects and activities feeds their curiosity, helps them discover their interests, and can influence their future career choices. That’s one reason a WHOI Sea Grant-funded research team spent a day in Chatham …
Read MoreKnauss Fellow Profile: James Elekwachi
WHOI Sea Grant recently caught up with 2025 Knauss Fellow James Elekwachi for a short interview. Dive into the Q&A to hear about his life in D.C. and his experience at BOEM.
Read MoreNantucket Hosts Islands Coastal Conference
Did you know that coastal hazards pose risks to three million people in Massachusetts alone, and that the recovery could cost the state $1 billion by the 2050s-2070s? Mass. Office of Coastal Zone Management Director Alison Brizius shared these facts during her keynote at the 2025 Nantucket Coastal …
Read MoreSnap Happy: CoastSnap expands to Brewster & New Bedford
With well-established CoastSnap stations in Sandwich, Oak Bluffs, and Nantucket, this spring WHOI Sea Grant added two more coastal monitoring stations to the CoastSnap family: Brewster and New Bedford. Brewster is known for its wide flats and sandy beaches. In partnership with the Town of Brewster, the CoastSnap at Linnell Landing is helping to keep…
Read MoreWorking Waters Made Clear: New beach signs explain local aquaculture
Visitors to some beaches and town landings around the Cape this fall might encounter a beautiful and informative new sign at their favorite spot. WHOI Sea Grant and Barnstable County’s Cape Cod Cooperative Extension have been working with towns across the Cape to help educate the public about what aquaculture is and how to be…
Read MoreNote from the Director: Support for Sea Grant
Earlier this spring the Massachusetts Sea Grant programs invited residents to add their names to a sign-on letter urging Congress to maintain strong support for Sea Grant. To date, over 600 constituents—from shellfish growers in Wellfleet to science teachers in Worcester—have already answered the call. Their message is clear: our work keeps our coastal towns…
Read MoreSea Grant-funded Research: Sowing seeds of restoration
They’ve been called the nurseries of the coastal waters. Eelgrass meadows are crucial to the health of coastal ecosystems and the planet, providing essential habitat for marine life. In addition, they stabilize shorelines, improve water quality, and even contribute to climate change mitigation by absorbing and storing carbon dioxide. But across the globe, the planet…
Read MoreMeet the Intern: My journey into the world of lobster
By Kiran Johnson I am allergic to lobster. I grew up in Chicago, and deep dish pizza is our pride and joy, not lobster rolls. When I moved to Boston to study journalism and environmental science at Northeastern University, my college-student budget prioritized coffee over seafood dining experiences. And so it was fitting, then, that…
Read MoreKnauss Fellow Profile: Katie Sperry
Hometown: Northampton, Massachusetts Area of research focus/interest: Restoration ecology of coastal habitats What are you doing during your Knauss Fellowship? I’m placed in NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation’s Restoration Center (RC) for my Knauss Fellowship. Here, I get to see how ecosystem restoration is coordinated and funded at a federal level. Critically, the RC’s…
Read MoreCuriosity Unleashed: Falmouth seventh graders come to Woods Hole
Seventh Grade Day in the Village is an ambitious undertaking for WHOI Sea Grant educator Grace Simpkins and her counterpart at NOAA Fisheries. Every year they bring approximately 250 twelve- and thirteen-year-olds from Falmouth’s Lawrence Middle school to Woods Hole to experience the “science behind a sustainable ocean.” This year, the students’ excitement was electrifying…
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