Become a Seagrass Steward
Please Participate in the Save Our Seagrass Movement!
~ Do more good with your beach time ~
We are looking for year-round and seasonal residents of Fishers Island, ages 14 and up, to take part in gathering information that will help with seagrass conservation efforts. You don’t need any experience; training will be provided. Community service hours are also available.
Human Uses Monitoring
The FISM Coalition is partnering with MPA Watch, a California-based volunteer monitoring program, to monitor human uses of seagrass areas around Fishers Island. Volunteers will walk or boat along a pre-determined transect and record any activity within the seagrass area (swimming, boating, fishing, etc.) using equipment and data sheets provided by the Coalition. Transects take less than an hour to complete and can be monitored anytime.
Read a summary report of data collected during the 2019 and 2020 seasons here
If volunteers have boat access, we are also introducing a new survey method this year that can be done from the water.
Water Quality Monitoring
From May to October, volunteers take water quality samples at two sites on Fishers Island in partnership with the University of Rhode Island’s Watershed Watch Program. Volunteers will collect water samples at either site between 7-10 am and then process dissolved oxygen and chlorophyll samples at the HL Ferguson Museum. This process can take up to two hours, including sample collection and processing.
We are planning to start monitoring with the Unified Waters Study in 2024. This fantastic program will give us the tools to do more fine-scale monitoring of the water quality around Fishers Island to ensure residents and visitors have access to safe, clean waters!
For more information please get in touch with Hannah Vagts, FISM Project Coordinator, via email at fishersislandseagrass@gmail.com or (631) 788-7153.