The National Marine Life Center » Joanne Nicholson

Welcome to the Summer Interns!

Joanne Nicholson — Sun, 30 May 2010 19:30:31 +0000

The National Marine Life Center put out a call for summer interns in March. After a competitive process we have brought five amazing interns on for the summer. The summer interns will be in charge of all public education programs, being the face of the National Marine Life Center at fairs and festivals and supporting the full time and seasonal staff. We are very excited to have them join us! They will also all be working on a project that will be presented to the staff and public later on this summer. Please help me in welcoming them to the National Marine Life Center!

Corissa Bubenick is a Junior at Sturgis Charter Public School in Hyannis!

Dorothy "Dory" Estrada is a sophmore marine science, biology major at the University of Tampa. In this photo she is releasing one of the 111 Red Bellied Cooters released on May 28, 2010!

Amanda Gallerani is a senior, Aquaculture and Aquarium Science major at the University of New England. In this photo she is also releasing one of the 111 Red Bellied Cooters to be released on May 28, 2010.

Lianna Montgomery is a junior Psychobiology major at the University of New England.

Frank Reske is a Captive and Wildlife Care and Education Major at Unity College in Maine. Frank is also releasing one of the 111 Red Bellied Cooters!

New Volunteer Orientation

Joanne Nicholson — Sun, 30 May 2010 18:37:00 +0000

The National Marine Life Center functions with a great deal of support from our amazing volunteers. Whether it is helping to file paperwork in the office, answering phones when they ring, educating the public about marine animals and rehabilitation, or working with the rehabilitation patients themselves, our volunteers are there! If you are contemplating becoming a volunteer with the National Marine Life Center, please come to a volunteer orientation. We will be having three orientations throughout the summer. Orientations are a great time to meet the staff, seasoned volunteers and potential new volunteers. All orientations will be at National Marine Life Center and light refreshments will be served. RSVP to Joanne Nicholson, jnicholson@nmlc.org or (508)743-9888 X 302.

National Marine Life Center Volunteers and Summer Interns at the 2010 Red Bellied Cooter Release!

June New Volunteer Orientation

Wednesday June 23, 2010, 6 pm – 8 pm

July New Volunteer Orientation

Wednesday July 28, 2010, 6 pm- 8 pm

August New Volunteer Orientation

Wednesday August 25, 2010, 6 pm – 8 pm

Volunteer Requirements: Volunteers must be 14 years old to work in Administration, Education and with the Headstart animals. Volunteers must be 18 years old to work with the rehabilitation animals. Volunteers maybe 12 years old if they are accompanied by a parent; there will be no direct contact with animals for anyone under 14 years old.

Without our volunteers we would never be able to educate the public, give amazing care to our rehabilitation animals, or be part of the community! Thank you to our current volunteers and we look forward to working with you!

Sealing up the Hospital

Joanne Nicholson — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 17:09:13 +0000

The final panels in the west wall of our Marine Animal Hospital were placed yesterday April 7, 2010. Workers from H & S Construction put the last few bolts in around 1:30pm yesterday. The crew still needs to come back and finish up a couple of things in side the hospital. Please enjoy the photos below the the completion of the outside wall!!!

West Wall of the Hospital Prior to April 7, 2010

The crew from H & S Construction placing some of the last panels on the west wall of the Hospital

ONE MORE PANEL TO GO!!

Putting in the last couple bolts!

THANK YOU H & S Construction!

National Marine Life Center is seeking four summer interns to help with education!

Joanne Nicholson — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:39:00 +0000

The National Marine Life Center is seeking four summer interns to help with education. Applications including cover letter, resume and one letter of reference are due March 31, 2010 at 5pm. Applications can be emailed, faxed or dropped off.

Click here for pdf internship announcement

We had two wonderful interns for the summer of 2009. Our two interns were Amanda Chilson currently a sophomore at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island and Chelsea Scudder currently a senior at St. Mary’s College in Maryland. Over the three months with the National Marine Life Center Amanda and Chelsea became like staff. We were able to rely on them to oversee volunteers, run education programs and also take care of the patients we had. Amanda and Chelsea both designed projects for our summer Discovery Center and Education Programs.

Chelsea remarked about her internship, “As for the internship it was an awesome way to spend my summer. I learned so much about taking care of the animals and maintaining water quality. Everyone at NMLC was incredibly nice and knowing I was contributing to helping the animals make it back to the wild was a highly rewarding feeling.”

Below are pictures of Amanda during an education program and Chelsea’s project from Summer 2009. Thank you ladies!

Amanda reading to a group of captivated children during Whale Week 2009

Chelsea designed, painted and constructed this board! Many children and adults have become a sea turtle, seal or whale! Thanks Chelsea!

Education Internship

The National Marine Life Center (NMLC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the rehabilitation and release of stranded sea turtles, seals, dolphins, porpoises, and small whales, and to advance scientific knowledge and education in marine wildlife health and conservation.

Responsibilities

Education interns will assist with environmental education programs, including on-site programs, off-site programs, fairs, and festivals. Interns will assist in giving public presentations to guests of NMLC to educate them on marine animals, conservation, and NMLC. Interns will be in charge of maintaining a coastal critter tank, including maintaining water quality, collecting and identifying the coastal animals. Other duties include, but are not limited to, assisting in the gift shop, assist with various office projects, creating displays for the exhibit center, and helping to create lesson plans and activities that are aligned with the Massachusetts State Frameworks. Each intern will work on a project; at the end of the internship the intern will present the project to the staff, volunteers and public members, this project will be aligned with the Massachusetts State Frameworks. There maybe an opportunity for hands on work with the patients of National Marine Life Center, but is not promised. Positions are unpaid.

Qualifications

The internship is open to students who are currently enrolled in or recently graduated from an accredited college or university.
Preference will be given to students or recent graduates working towards biology, environmental studies, education, or other related fields.
Intern should demonstrate good communication skills, both verbal and written.
Students that are adaptable, responsible, hard working, willing to learn, and have an attention to detail are encouraged to apply.
Must be able to work independently and as part of a team.
Interns must be able to commit to at least three months, start and end dates are flexible due to school schedules. Summer interns should be available around May 25th – around September 1^st.
Interns must work a minimum of 20-40 hours per week.
Must have own transportation. Housing is not provided, but NMLC will offer suggestions.

To Apply:

Please send a cover letter, resume, and a letter of recommendation by March 31, 2010 to:

Joanne Nicholson
Executive Assistant & Outreach Coordinator
National Marine Life Center
120 Main Street, P.O. Box 269
Buzzards Bay, MA 02532
jnicholson@nmlc.org
phone: (508) 743-9888
fax: (508) 759-5477
www.nmlc.org

Eight new Red Bellied Cooters Arrive!

Joanne Nicholson — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 20:55:08 +0000

Eight 1 1/2 week old Northern Red Bellied Cooters (Pseudemys rubiventris) arrived at NMLC today around 2pm. Volunteer Linda Jackson and I drove to the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species offices in Westborough and picked up 8 cooters for our facility and 20 cooters that will be disbursed among other groups in Cape Cod, south shore and southeastern Massachusetts. The red bellied cooters are listed as endangered species in Massachusetts, and the Commonwealth started a headstart program in 1983 to help restore the cooter population. To read more about the Northern Red Bellied Cooter program visit Masswildlife’s Red Bellied Cooter Website. The goal of the headstart program is to put 4 to 5 years of growth on the cooters in nine months. At this size (around 85 mm or 3.6 inches), the hatchlings are larger than a “munchable” size for predators and therefore will have a better chance of survival once they are released back into the wild. Please enjoy the photos of the newest members of the NMLC family!

The eight Northern Red Bellied Cooters waiting for their entrance exams! They are so tiny!

Volunteer Linda Jackson showing just how small they are!

Animal Care Coordinator Brian Moore measures one of our new cooters!

Animal Care Coordinator Brian Moore adding the cooters to their new home!

Exploring their haul out!

Playing in the bubbles from the filter!

They look so small in their new home!

Last Red Bellied Cooter of the 2008-2009 Head start class released!

Joanne Nicholson — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 18:53:52 +0000

It was an overcast day as the three of us ascended upon Great Quitticas Pond on the Lakeville/Middleboro line to release the last of the Red Bellied Cooters from the head start class 2008-2009. There were three people and a dog there fishing and enjoying the area. Lori and Tim Benson have taken care of #198 on Friday afternoons since he/she arrived at NMLC in early June. Lori and Tim together placed him/her on the sand and off #198 went. #198 went into the water and swam away so fast that we were hardly able to keep up with taking pictures. #198 is the last of the six turtles that NMLC received through the headstart program run by the state, because they unfortunately were not big enough to be released with the rest of the headstart turtles on June 1st, 2009. Please enjoy the pictures of #198 being released! Thank you to all of the staff, volunteers and donors who have put countless hours into taking care of #198! Good luck #198! Have fun in your much bigger playground.

Volunteers Lori and Tim Benson Holding 198 before returning him to the wild

Cooter #198 just before release!

Lori and Tim setting #198 on the sand!

And before we knew it #198 was off! Can you find #198?

National Marine Life Center Participates in Coastsweep 2009

Joanne Nicholson — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 20:48:48 +0000

On Saturday September 19, 2009 a group of 17 volunteers set out to the Cape Cod Canal to clean the coastline between the Train Bridge and Bourne Bridge on the Buzzards Bay side. After 2 and 1/2 hours we came back with 149 lbs of trash and cover 1.25 miles of rocks and coastline. Of that 149lbs of trash 17lbs was monofilament fishing line and in 2 and 1/2 hours our group also picked up over 1100 cigarette butts. Thank you to all of the dedicated volunteers who came out and gave up a Saturday morning to help clean up our earth and oceans.

5 Endangered Northern Red Bellied Cooters Released

Joanne Nicholson — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:55:00 +0000

The National Marine Life Center released five endangered Northern Red Bellied Cooters today at Great Quittacas Pond in Middleborough, MA. These five turtles were ones that had gone through the headstart program run by the state, and unfortunately were not big enough to be released with the rest of the headstart turtles on June 1st, 2009. After two and half months at the National Marine Life Center they were ready to be released. We currently still have one turtle(#198) from this batch still in rehabilitation, check back here for updates on him/her! Please enjoy the pictures of the other five being released! Thank you to all of the staff, volunteers and donors who have put countless hours into these little guys!

Education Intern Amanda gets ready to release one of the endangered Red Bellied Cooters

From left to right: Development Officer Julie with Cooter #197, Volunteer Lori Benson with Cooter #192, Education Intern Amanda with Cooter #204, Volunteer Juan Bacigalupi with Cooter #196 and Outreach and Retail Team Member Jackie Niles with Cooter #203!

The cooters making a dash for their watery home!

Goodbye and Good Luck!!!

Diamondback Terrapin Release!!

Joanne Nicholson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 00:24:46 +0000

The National Marine Life Center released four headstart Diamondback Terrapins at Turtle Point, Lieutenant Island, Wellfleet, MA. The tiny turtles weighed only 5.5 grams when they were brought to NMLC last October, after having hatched too late in the season to survive the winter in the wild. Now an average of 56 grams – a ten-fold increase! – the turtles were eager to return home.

NMLC volunteers gather before release

Volunteer Barb getting ready to release Mr. Green Jeans

Volunteer Coordinator Jackie getting ready to release Blueberry

Volunteer Linda getting ready to release Brownie

Volunteer Ashleigh getting ready to release Blackie!

Released terrapins running under the "under brush" of the Salt Marsh! Go Terrapins Go!!

Thank you to all the volunteers and interns who helped to take care of these little guys! Through your hard work and dedication, marine animals of all sizes have a second chance.

Diamondback Terrapin Release! June 25, 2009

Joanne Nicholson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:55:41 +0000

Please join us in releasing our four headstart Diamondback Terrapins June 25, 2009 5pm, Lieutenant Island, Welfleet. We will meet at the one lane bridge and then continue as a group to turtle point for the release as a group.

Please join us in releasing:

Blackie

Blueberry

Brownie

Mr. Green Jeans

Directions:

Take Route 6 to just beyond the 98 mile marker, take a left on to Lieutenant Island Road. (Rookies Restaurant on right, Grace Chapel on left). Meander for 1 mile, until you hit the one lane bridge, park on left before bridge, we will move as a group to Turtle Point for the release.

For more information please call the National Marine Life Center at (508)743-9888.

Thank you for your support!

*** A little birdie has told us that there maybe nesting Diamondback Terrapin females while we are out there!