Nestled under the tree are gifts available at NMLC’s Gift Shop, 120 Main Street, Buzzards Bay.  Holiday shopping hours are 10 am – 5 pm December 4-5 and 11-12, or weekdays by appointment at 508-743-9888.

You can visit this and other beautifully decorated trees at the Holidays at Highfield, December 3-5.

NMLC Trustee Barb S. and Executive Director Kathy Z. decorate the tree.

The closest I got to seeing a moose in Maine.

A few months ago, I was in Bar Harbor, Maine for the Northeast Region Stranding Conference.  (Great conference and awesome group of people, by the way!)  While there, I visited the Bar Harbor Whale Museum.  It’s a fabulous place with lots of hands-on displays, beautifully articulated skeletons, and information on marine mammals and whale research in Maine.  I highly recommend visiting.

No trip to a museum is complete without stopping in the museum’s gift shop, and the Whale Museum is no exception.  While browsing, the first thing that caught my eye were these really cool doormats.  My natural fiber doormats had all but disintegrated and I was in the market for new ones.  And these were something else – doormats made from recycled rope!

Made from recycled lobster trap float rope, Down East Doormats are now available in the National Marine Life Center's Gift Shop

Handwoven from recycled lobster trap float rope, these “Down East Doormats™” are truly unique.  They are colorful, sturdy, reversible, quick drying, mold-resistant, and easy to clean.  Best of all, they are a fantastic story of recycling and environmental responsibility.

You see, Maine (and Massachusetts) recently outlawed the floating rope that was used to tether lobster traps together on the ocean floor.  It turned out that endangered Right Whales were becoming entangled in the rope as they swam through the water.  New, non-floating rope rests on the bottom and is safer for whales while still allowing fishing folk to easily retrieve connected lines of lobster traps.

But what to do with all the leftover float rope?  The Maine Float-Rope Company™ had a solution.  They made them into doormats!  In a win-win-win solution, the float rope is removed from the environment and the whales are safer, the Maine lobstermen receive income from their old rope, AND the old rope is kept out of the landfill.  Additionally, the Maine Float-Rope Company™ gives a percentage of its sales to the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation and other non-profit environmental organizations.

But does it work?  After using the new doormat for several weeks, I LOVED IT!  It scraped clean my shoes, never got soggy, and continues to look new.  Plus, it’s just fun to walk on.  I decided to buy another mat for my back door.

Genuine recycled Down East Doormats™ are now available in the National Marine Life Center’s Gift Shop.  Stop by and check them out!

Suzanne Tonaire, “Rock Babe” DJ and program director at PIXY 103 for Nassau Broadcasting, interviewed Kathy Zagzebski and Don Lewis about the National Marine Life Center for a show that aired on June 21st and again on July 19th.  This 30 minute rocking talkfest ran the gamut from construction of the new marine animal hospital at the gateway to one of America’s most active stranding hotspots to the social event of the season, the Mermaid Ball, scheduled for August 7th at Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Suzanne and Nassau Broadcasting graciously provided a copy of the audio file so that we could post it on the web site.  To enhance the radio interview for this visual medium, I layered a video track over the audio to provide a more visually compelling backdrop for the spoken words.  Since YouTube has a ten minute limitation on video clips, I’ve segmented the 30 minute interview into four parts.

Part One deals with building the new NMLC marine animal hospital.

Part Two covers the Turtle Guy and sea turtle strandings on Cape Cod.

Part Three presents exclusive footage of a pilot whale mass stranding in Cape Cod Bay and the distressed whale conversation between a frightened calf and its stranded mother.  Caution:  Once viewed this clip becomes viral and will compel you to support the building and the operations of the NMLC marine animal hospital.

Part Four describes the Discovery Center, introduces Marine Life After Hours, teases the Mermaid Ball and contains lots and lots of fun offerings.

Gulf of Maine Seals, WHOI May 28th-29th 2009

Kathy and Rogers attended the Gulf of Maine Seals conference sponsored by the WHOI Marine Mammal Center.

Dr. Williams presented findings on middle ear disease in seals from the Gulf of Maine as a potential indicator of environmental degradation and a process that can serve as a model for a common human disease.  Rogers also chaired the Disease Break-out session to identify the most serious health threats to the populations of seals in the Gulf.