Research Presentation Information

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UMass Boston’s School for the Environment
Nantucket Semester: LivingLabs
Learn about the on-island science research conducted by the undergraduates during their semester here!

Student Research Poster Session: One-on-one discussions of 16 independent research projects through visual displays
Wednesday, 17 April from 3:00 – 5:00 PM

Student Research Presentation: Five Capstone research presentations ranging across human and natural systems
Thursday, 18 April from  5:00 – 8:00 PM

All free and open to the public at the Great Hall, Atheneum  – – JOIN US !

Contact Sarah Oktay for further information – sarah.oktay@umb.edu

My First Post

Hey there, The Nantucket Living Lab semester 2013 is fantastic. First class Eco-Poetics, taught me a lot about public speaking and using art of poetry to communicate science. For example, this is the first poem I ever wrote:

Sand Dunes

Aeolian landscape inevitable to change

At any moment in time sandstones will grind

Wind erosion, isn’t that a commotion?

Always moving sand particles influences grooving

Like abstract art the surrounding are bizarre

Moving on the angle of repose a sand dune may form I suppose

With constant motion the landscape changes like the ocean

 

Thank you Len for making me realize that writing poems is not a big deal.  Thank you to all the people who made the Nantucket Living Lab semester 2013 possible. Big ups to all the students for participating in the program.

A little bit about EcoPoetics

EcoPoetics has come to an end sadly. It was a great three weeks. We had such an awesome teacher *Len Germinara* and so many interesting speakers that came to talk to us, which we were all so grateful for. All the students are supportive and respectful, and that really helped create a safe environment to read poetry. All the poems I heard were really fantastic! EcoPoetics was helpful in connecting with everything that was going on around us, from the beautiful Nantucket landscape to living with strangers (now friends). Three weeks down and many more to go!

Jetti beach

Swings creaking, moving, dancing

seashells crunch with every step

wind stealing scarfs from peoples necks

birds gossiping into the breeze

waves crashing on to the shore

this is the music of late January.

My favorite picture of Cisco beach so far. Taken 2 weeks before Nemo.

The Real World Nantucket

As the living lab approaches their four week mark of being on island, they’ve come to expect the unexpected. The first week was action packed chaos filled to the brim with activities; students became acquainted with islanders, the landscape, and each other.  We attended a vigil for an abused local and later on read Moby Dick to entertain the community’s ears. As everyone settled down, poetry became the focus for students and beautiful things were written by even the least poetic of people. Beaches, salt marshes, and other natural wonders were explored to inspire and trigger the minds of us EEOS nerds. To cap our third week here, we are snowed in! Six of us (Amelia Atwood, Sophia Bass Werner Jordan, Richard Corrado, Llewyn Froome, Travis Lowery, Jeremy Raynor, and myself) braved the ice storm this afternoon and the streets are flooded, some areas at least three feet deep. It’s impossible to see more than a few feet ahead of yourself. So this is our experience thus far, tune you in later and hope you’re all staying safe!

First Three Weeks.

I can’t believe we’ve already been on Nantucket for three weeks. It started out a little bit hectic but I think we are all settling in finally. The first course we took, eco-poetics, was really an eye-opener. I went into it not knowing how or why poetry could be used to describe environmental issues, but I have a newfound respect for poetry now. I think that eco-poetics was a great way to begin this semester because it opened my eyes to a new form of expression. So far so good! I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us next!

-Amelia

 

Brant Point Lighthouse taken on Wed. 2/6/13 after going for a run with Sarah and Timchi. The lighting was perfect!

Thoughts during a storm

Firstly, I suppose that I should introduce myself. My name is Richie Corrado. I’m in my second semester for my BS in EEOS. We’ve been on island for about two and a half weeks, and the time here has been amazing. We just wrapped up Ecopoetics with Len Germinara, and I have to say it was one of the best English classes I’ve ever had, and believe me I’ve had quite a few. Len gave us an interesting perspective on how to express our thoughts and emotions on nature, the island, and life in general from a different angle, one that I’ve never seen before. I look forward to running into Len and possibly writing some more for the rest of our time on island. Yesterday evening, I attended the Shellfish Advisory Board meeting with Sophia and Ashley. It was a great opportunity to look firsthand at what some of the issues we will be facing are, and really helped to show us specific areas of concern that we might not have thought of otherwise. We have our work cut out for us, but it’s a welcomed challenge, as long as we can get through this storm!

Round two…DING!

I can’t believe we are already done with our first block of class, Eco-poetics.  I have to say that I have a newfound repect for poetry in general.  When I first heard that this was going to be one of our classes I was not happy about it.  It only took one or two classes for me to figure out that it wasn’t what I though it was going to be, and I actually enjoyed writing some poems.  I have to to extend my thanks to Len Germinara for exposing us all to the art of peotry, rather than shove it down our throats.  His emphasis on the fact that poetry does not have to have any form and allowing us the freedom to write about anything we wanted made it impossible not to enjoy what we were doing.  We were lucky to have the many guest speakers, from local author Nathanial Philbrick to Poetry Slam legend Regie Gibson.  So, Thank You Lenny. We crammed a lot of fun, art, island history, public engagment and coming together as a group into these first three weeks.  I couldn’t have imagined this adventure starting out any better and I am excited for whatever is to come.  I also want to thank my fellow students for being who they are and making this experience what it has been and will be when its over, you guys rock!  Lets continue to be tight and help each other when its needed.  Oh yeah……and keep PLAYING LIKE CHAMPIONS!!