Having snorkeled the Nahtik Marine Protected Area and having navigated the Enipein Mangrove Reserve, exploration of the Watershed Rainforest Reserve was the last step required to complete my tour of the three conservation sites included in my Ridge-to-Reef management plan for the Woun Kepin Soamwaoi Nature Conservancy. Continue reading
Capitol Hill Ocean Week (June 9-11)– the nations largest, most focused, and highest level of oceans discussions. #CHOW2015 on Twitter
With the start of the 114th Congress, Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) marked a unique opportunity to shape the U.S. marine policy agenda, engage leadership, cultivate new ocean champions, and drive lively conversation about America’s most critical ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes issues. For more than a decade, CHOW has convened Congressional Members and staff, Administration officials, state and local government representatives, business executives, military officials, academic experts, and conservation leaders to explore a wide range of cutting-edge and challenging policy issues relating to our ocean. Continue reading
I wake to the gentle pitter-patter of raindrops on my tin roof, quickly followed by the thunderous drum of rain pouring down from the heavens, as if trying to wash the planet clean (if only it were so easy). Which reminds me that I should probably shower. I sit up slowly as to not wake my bedmates, which are naturally accustomed to the noise of tropical downpours, and sneak outside. The sun is just beginning to peak through the jungle canopy, sending beams of light dancing across the rapidly forming muddy puddles. I grab my shoes and soap and begin my slippery descent down the moss covered, rocky embankment. Continue reading
I moved into my beautiful studio in D.C. three days before I started work at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization (NOAA). The lush greenery of Washington, D.C. has pleasantly surprised me. Walking around this city feels like a mixture of my favorite metropolises- the greenery of Amsterdam, the liveliness of Istanbul, and the historical beauty of Paris. My apartment is located in an incredibly central area that is the perfect combination of city life and nature, including trails leading to Rock Creek National Park. The weekend we flew to D.C. happened to fall on Memorial Day Weekend. It was so much fun to experience the parades and festivities throughout the National Mall all the while honoring our veterans. Continue reading
I love flying. I love the people watching in the airports, the international merging, the shameless snacking and more than anything, the overwhelming sense of being somewhere in between. In between what, of course, is personal for everyone. You will perhaps find yourself in between two places, Point A and Point B, nothing more. Perhaps you will find yourself in between two big life events, where your footsteps become the physical manifestation of your own emotional growth. Perhaps you will find yourself in between the retractable belt barriers in the security checkpoint, looking over your shoulder at what you are leaving behind while being ushered forward towards your next significant something. These in between moments often make me cry. Continue reading
After 27 hours of planes, airports, buses and taxis, I have found myself in the South Pacific on the Island of Pohnpei in the Federated States of Micronesia. The tropical heat and humidity are quite a change from cool and foggy Monterey, but the rainy tropical afternoon thunderstorms offer refuge from the smothering heat. Continue reading
