Summer is coming... time to hear from our new interns!

Welcome to 2013! Like last year, we are very excited about and proud of our interns. They come to Rozalia Project from a variety of backgrounds, hometowns and colleges. They also come to us for a variety of reasons. This is the first in a series of twice weekly intern blog posts where our new interns will introduce themselves and tell us why they came to Rozalia Project. Check this blog every Monday and Thursday to meet a new intern as we get closer and closer to boarding American Promise and kicking off Mission Atlantic and Rozalia Project's cleanup, education and research this summer!

Our first intern in this series is Alyssa Lefebvre, a junior and Marine Biology major at the Florida Institute of Technology. Alyssa had a recent adventure SCUBA diving for trash as part of a Project Aware underwater cleanup!

If you are anything like me, it is likely that you are able to ramble out several ocean based facts such as, the oceans make up 71% of the Earth’s surface and contains 97% of the planet’s water, however roughly a 5% of these waters have been explored.  While I never was one for statistics, stats such as these catch my attention and tend to make me wonder.  If you are privileged to be SCUBA certified, (as I hope many of you get the chance to be one day) stop and think of all of the breathtaking places you have gone diving.  If you are more experienced, your list may go on and on.  But if you are somewhat new to the diving world, like am I, you may only be able to list a handful.  Regardless your number, realize that if at any point you think you have seen it all; remind yourself, with these percentages above, that you have come nowhere near seeing all that is out there.

My name is Alyssa Lefebvre, and I am thankful to be a part of the Rozalia Project’s 2013 internship crew.  I spent the first 18 years of my life living in Worcester, MA which is not far from Boston and the New England Aquarium.  Throughout my childhood, numerous trips to that aquarium were made and with each visit my passion for the oceans and its majestic creatures, grew.  For the past 3 years I have attended Florida Institute of Technology as I am pursuing a degree in Marine Biology.  Growing up in the north, the moment I moved to Florida it truly seemed like paradise.  I couldn’t (and still can’t) stop staring at all of the birds, the palm trees, the fish.  And the trash.

With beaches being mere miles away from my institution, I hate to admit to my parents that some days more of my time is spent on the beaches than in class.  However, the time I spend on the beach, I look for any obvious debris caught in the dunes or that have washed onshore.  Initially the large amounts of solo cups and McDonald’s wrappers astonished and disgusted me.  I had to remind myself that not everyone cares as much as some of us do.  I began picking up pieces of trash as I walked back to my car and quickly noticed that people saw what I was doing.  Many would approach me and commend my actions.  It was one day in particular, I turned around only to see a friend of mine picking up a piece of trash several steps out of our path, and glancing back at me with a smile.  At that moment I realized every person’s actions do matter.

As a member of the SCUBA club on campus, I help organize dives and take suggestions from fellow divers.  Dive Against Debris is a cleanup project organized by Project Aware which began in 1993.  They focus not only on having divers remove any pervasive debris that contaminates the reefs and sandy bottoms below, but they also require information that describes the underwater perspective to the problem and helps document underwater impacts of marine debris.  In February, I was able to participate in my first ever Dive Against Debris, and that led me to reach out to the Rozalia Project in hopes of being a part of their team.

Tires, golf balls, plastic bags and silverware all littered the reefs off the coast of Pompano, FL the day of our dive.  The group of us worked collectively to pick up the junk that had not yet become filled with marine invertebrates.  We piled the junk into our mesh bags which quickly became weighed down.  Not only did the vast amount of garbage fill me with the disgust and desire to never litter into the oceans, but also the amount of work it took to drag the heavy tires up to the surface from 40 feet below, helped me decide that no one should ever have to work this hard to keep our earth clean.

The Rozalia Project advocates that any action a person takes to help the ocean and the environment is important, and after getting the chance to see it and help clean it first hand, I fully supported it and wished to be a part of it.  No matter how big or how small, I want to help spread the idea that every action you partake in, truly does matter.  Let’s make actions as contagious as smiles.

Cleaning Vermont's Waterways: Hard working crews and recovering from Hurricane Irene

Rozalia Project put 41 people back to work and cleaned over 500,000 pieces of trash from along Lake Champlain and Vermont’s rivers as part of Irene recovery and partnership with the VT Dept. of Labor

Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean’s partnership with Vermont's Department of Labor,  employed 41 long term unemployed or hurricane affected people, during March through November 2012. Rozalia Project’s crews removed trash and hurricane debris from waterways throughout Vermont. Trash in our waterways, has multiple dangers from ingestion, entanglement to leaching toxic chemicals into Vermont's marine environment.

Here are our figures:

• 310.68 miles of Vermont's waterways cleaned
• 503,317 pieces of trash removed
• 88.5 tons of trash removed
• 41 employees put back to work
• 207 volunteers helped clean up 
• 488 clean up locations
• 161 exfoliant beads and resin pellets were found in one 6” by 6” sample at North Beach, Burlington

Locations Cleaned:

• Burlington crews cleaned the shores of Lake Champlain and the Winooski River
• Waterbury crews cleaned the Winooski and Dog Rivers
• Middlebury crews cleaned the Neshobe, Tweed and White Rivers, and southern Lake Champlain
• Randolph and Hartford crews cleaned along the branches and main-stems of the White River in West Braintree, Braintree, Randolph, Royalton, Hancock, Granville, Rochester, Stockbridge, Pittsfield, Bethel, West Hartford, and Hartford.

Vermont's Polluting Dirty Dozen: Thousands of the following items were removed by Rozalia Project’s cleanup crews who recorded every piece of trash recovered.

Food wrappers

Cigarette butts

Exfoliant beads

Building insulation foam

Beverage bottles

Beverage cans

Glass

Plastic bags

Bottle caps

Shotgun shells

Tires

Paper/tissue

Conclusions and Recommendations for a Clean Vermont:

Rozalia Project believes that we can clean Vermont's waterways and keep them clean for future generations to enjoy. We believe that a combination of  physical cleaning and modified practice will achieve Clean Water in Vermont.

Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean would like to see Vermont implement or grow the following programs.

1. Greater number of paired trash and recycling bins in public spaces along Vermont's waterways
2. Beverage bottle/can redemption program
3. Encourage biodegradable forms of exfoliant beads in cosmetics, face and body washes
4. Physical screening to stop exfoliant beads entering our waterways
5. Increased fines for dumping of trash
6. Education program at elementary school level, to the dangers of trash and how to dispose of trash and recycle responsibly
7. Tire recycling program
8. Single stream recycling
9. Hunter education

This program was made possible thanks to partnership with the VT Dept. of Labor and support from the Vermont Community Foundation, Waterwheel Foundation, Ben and Jerry’s Community Actions Teams, Lake Champlain Basin Program, Pomerleau Real Estate and dozens of nonprofit organizations, towns and individuals working very hard to make VT a better place than before the Hurricane.

Scientists, researchers and ocean advocates join us for 2013 expeditions!

Hello all,

Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean would like to invite scientists, researchers and ocean advocates on the subjects of marine debris, ocean pollution and climate change to join us for offshore expeditions in the North Atlantic May-July, 2013.

Rozalia Project conducts its  science expedition's from the 60' sailing research vessel American Promise. American Promise is crewed by licensed mariners, Rozalia Project staff and interns, she is capable of crossing oceans, with a maximum crew of 9 people.

Rozalia Project will be continuing its own research into marine debris and benthic habitat destruction during these 3-7 day offshore expeditions. The expeditions will be followed by over 5,000 children enrolled in marine based summer programs who will interact with the expedition and its work on a daily basis through web-based and satellite communication.

Rozalia Project is making 1-2 spaces available on each expedition for a guest scientist. Guest scientists will complete their own research alongside Rozalia Project's ongoing research and be a part of the daily interaction with our web based followers. American Promise is equipped with 2 ROV's capable down to 1000ft, side scan sonar, imaging sonar, 2 neuston nets, digital microscope.

There will be multiple, one week-long expeditions that will visit areas of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, Gulf Stream and other areas of the North Atlantic. Each guest scientist will be responsible for transportation of themselves and equipment to and from the departure location. We ask for $150/week food/supplies stipend, otherwise the spot is without charge.

Rozalia Project's selection committee will assess each application for an invitation to join Rozalia Project onboard American Promise in summer 2013.

This guest scientist program is designed to share resources, give scientists extremely low cost opportunities to conduct research, access to underwater technology and expertise, and give Rozalia Project interns exposure to high level research scientists and their methods while we all work toward a clean and healthy ocean.

For more information about Rozalia Project's guest scientist program for the summer of 2013, please email or call me. Contact details below.

We look forward to furthering ocean health with you.

For a clean ocean,

rzm

Rachael Z. Miller

Co-Founder/Executive Director

Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean

rachael@rozaliaproject.org

Mobile: 802-578-6120

Winter office: 802-767-3784

Web site:www.rozaliaproject.org

Blog: http://rozaliaproject.blogspot.com/

Photo Gallery on Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/rozaliaproject/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RozaliaProject

Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/rozaliaproject?feature=watch

To donate: http://www.rozaliaproject.org/donate/

Rozalia Project visits the windy city and gets national press!

Rozalia Project headed out to Chicago for 5 days of debris clean up, outreach, and research from October 9-14.  We began our trip working with 20 colloquium students from the Lindblom Math and Science Academy.  These eager and excited students visit the Judd Goldman Sailing Center, part of the Chicago Parks District, on Burnham Harbor, Lake Michigan each week to learn everything from how to sail, to environmental issue that affect their lake to soon, building their own Sea Perch ROVs! Rachael and I joined them our first full day in Chicago to pick up marine debris, introduce them to our state-of-the-art VideoRay ROV and run some of our STEM activities.

The first piece of debris we removed from the lake was a chair, lifted from the lake floor by the ROV and pulled onto the dock with our own hands to shrieks as mud, cold water, and zebra mussels dripped from this eerie piece of trash.  We continued trash hunting, removing cups, fishing lures, tires, and beach towels, but one of the coolest discoveries was when a crayfish crawled out from inside a tire that we removed.  While the students yelped, I lifted the small creature up to allow everyone to examine the important aquatic animal that had made its home out of marine debris. 

Following our underwater trash hunt, the students removed 731 pieces of debris from off the land and after a wind shift, the students bravely laid on their bellies on the dock unable to stop themselves from picking up over 40 pieces of debris floating on the surface of the water using their hands.  We had so much fun working with these students and look forward to hearing about their continued efforts to pick up marine debris and as they make their own ROVs!

Later that afternoon we worked with 10 more students at the Judd Goldman Sailing Center from the Afterschool Matters program wrapping up the day with a very intact and useable fishing pole recovery.  The next day we journeyed to Philip Rogers Elementary School where we worked with over 200 students and heard some great, intriguing questions from the students about marine debris.  Following the elementary school, Rozalia Project went to Chicago Yacht Club to work with 60 high school sailors.  Again, the enthusiastic students helped us remove over 300 pieces of debris from the land surround the yacht club and about 20 pieces of debris from the water, a majority of it plastic cups (yes, many of them with the CYC logo).  That evening we presented our work to the Chicago Yacht Club members who then joined us to remove even more plastic cups from the water using the ROV.

On Friday, we had the unique opportunity to work with The McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum and The Friends of Chicago River.  Though it was quite cold, and of course very breezy, we removed plastic bags, sunglasses, and a broken street lamp from the Chicago River and worked with close to 100 Chicago residents and visitors who stopped by our tent outside the museum.  The river was a beautiful setting to trash hunt and the museum and Friends of Chicago River were gracious hosts who we can’t wait to work with again in the future!

In the afternoon on Friday, Rachael, our newest intern Carly, Karen from US sailing and I rigged up our neuston net on a whaler from Columbia Yacht Club to research floating microplastics in Chicago’s urban waters of Lake Michigan.  We found very few pieces per square kilometer, though this could be due to the fact that this is not the busy season for the city and there was an onshore breeze instead of an offshore breeze.  As always with Rozalia Project, this work was very eye-opening, rewarding and so much fun.  Lake Michigan is a wonderful place to do research and the shoreline of Chicago is stunning, especially decked out in Fall colors.

That night, NBC Chicago featured our work on the evening news and on their website with this excellent video: http://www.nbcchicago.com/video/#!/multimedia/Underwater-Robot-Collects-Trash/173790191

and then NBCnews.com picked up the story: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/12/14393529-trash-hunting-robotic-submarine-dives-into-chicago-river?lite

Our final two days in Chicago were spent at Coloumbia Yacht Club where we worked with students from Rickover Naval Academy, the yacht club’s junior sailors, and Program Directors who were attending the regional US Sailing Programs Meeting.  Saturday evening we had another great opportunity to set up a table and work with participants as part of the US Sailing Speaker Series where Dave Perry came to discuss racing tactics.  Over two days at Columbia Yacht Club we picked up a shoe, a glove, more plastic bags and cups and rounded out our visit by removing another chair from the waters around the yacht club!

Rozalia Project had a very successful trip to Chicago and we are thankful for the hospitality and collaboration of our hosts: The Lindblom Math and Science Academy, the Judd Goldman Sailing Center, Philip Rogers Elementary School, Chicago Yacht Club, The McCormick Bridgehouse and Chicago River Museum, The Friends of the Chicago River, Columbia Yacht Club, the Rickover Naval Academy, Carly, Jeanie, Judy and Linda.  We can’t wait to return to the windy city and look forward to continuing our National Trash Tour in California in two weeks! 

Check out photos and videos from our trip on facebook.com/rozaliaproject, youtube.com/rozaliaproject and pinterest.com/rozaliaproject. 

              

Many Hands Make Light Work

This summer, Rozalia Project learned that the people we work with make our organization as great as it is.  The interns that joined us this summer took our breath away with their perseverance, integrity, creativity, and professionalism.   In every location we visited, our partners commented on the high quality of the Rozalia Project interns.  We would not have been able to pick up over 40,000 pieces of debris (nor count or sort them) without the tireless efforts of our interns. 

Other than just their hard work, the interns made this summer fun, upbeat, and a truly memorable experience.  From dancing in immersion suits (viewable here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMF7LeK_L5w&list=UUyGuOwTKG35ofRdtruO-qHw&index=2&feature=plcp to jokes around the dinner table to squeals of excitement over interesting sea creatures, we were never short on laughs or good times. 

Happily, the interns felt the same.  Please read on to see what the interns had to say when reflecting upon their time with Rozalia Project this summer: 

“Entering the Rozalia Project late in the summer, I was both excited and anxious. I wondered if the crew would be intimidating, or the tasks overwhelming. I knew virtually nothing about sailing! Instead, I was warmly welcomed by the crew, and indeed, did jump right into work! My responsibilities, although new, were interesting and fun, and I never felt overwhelmed. After the first week in New York, I felt comfortable with caring for and driving the ROV and was ready to learn everything I could about sailing while on American Promise. Rachael, Rebecca and all the crew were so patient and helpful, I tackled sailing in no time! It’s an exhilarating experience, which I’m sure I will continue as a hobby. Another activity I’m sure I will never stop doing, is picking up debris! Just the other day, I found myself collecting a Styrofoam packing peanut off the ground and whispering under my breath: “Shipping material” as if another intern was beside me, keeping tally on a Rozalia Project data sheet. As an action/science intern, I feel that I walked away with skills that will allow me to reach my career goals, and experiences and friends that I will never forget. During our last day on American Promise, as we headed back to Kittery, Maine with no wind to sail, our spirits were lifted as we encountered a marine mammal extravaganza of a lifetime! We had Minke whales breach close enough to look us in the eye, and numerous dolphins and seals gliding past the boat just feet away from us. It was an amazing end to an equally amazing internship.”  – Sarah Kollar

“There is much about the Rozalia Project that defies characterization. It is tempting to call the work that I did for Rozalia an internship, but it was really a lot more than that. While I was on board the American Promise, I was learning, living, adjusting, and growing in ways that cannot be triggered by a simple internship. Similarly, it is tempting to describe Rozalia as a conservation group, but they are actually something more complex. I had the pleasure of being surrounded by new places, new people, new wildlife, and new ideas for the duration of my time with the project. I learned how to work and live in tight quarters with a group of people I barely know, I learned to look at the ocean and the world in a more critical way, and, perhaps most importantly, I realized the importance of safeguarding the world’s ocean. Thanks so much!” –Conor Grant

“Things I Learned With the Rozalia Project

·      Reprovisioning isn’t just a necessity, it’s a skill.  Feeding eight people, anticipating the week’s meals, making sure it will all fit in the reefer, AND that everyone’s Wheat Thins needs are met isn’t for the faint of heart.  That being said, no matter how often you’ve been, how much you’ve planned out your trip, or how quickly you need to be done, reprovisioning WILL take three hours, Sam’s Club WILL be overwhelming, and you WILL get at least seven bags of Veggie Sticks.

·      You have to be a jack-of-all-trades to start and run a non-profit. The number and range of challenges that Rachael and James, and consequently all the crew, face each day can, indeed, be daunting.  Today, the sump pump stopped working. Tomorrow we have to go to Staples and make six posters for a booth. Wednesday, you’re on dinner and have to walk the dogs. 

·      Networking is key.  The only way the Rozalia Project (or any non-profit, or any company, or any person) can grow and progress in the world is to network.  Even what seems to be an insignificant meeting could pan out to be something big.  And if it doesn’t, it’s always nice to have 10 more people in the world telling their friends about the Rozalia Project. 

·      Real science takes time and often doesn’t work.  Sometimes you have a great idea and get really excited about testing it and think it’s going to work as soon as you throw it in the water.  When the Basker took its first plunge, however, this clearly wasn’t the case.  Although it takes a while, the tweaking, testing, and perfecting can be extremely satisfying. You may even have to get hoisted along the spinnaker pole to make it happen.

·      There is trash in the ocean.  A lot. Most of it is small, hard to see by the casual passerby, and easily consumed by animals.  Even extremely remote locations such as Frenchboro, ME can have their pristine coastlines ruined by rusty traps, lobster bands made in Canada, and colorful bits of microfiber. 

·      Trash hunting is addicting.  What cleaning up trash lacks in glamour, it certainly makes up for in fun.  Amidst the scenery of the open ocean or the rocky beaches of Maine, who wouldn’t enjoy bending over and picking up other people’s litter?! Once you start you literally can’t stop (especially Kyle!). I was overcome with pride and respect for our team during the first day of the Frenchboro beach clean-up. Despite incessant rain the eight of us went to work without a single complaint.  We literally had to drag ourselves away from the beach, and THAT is awesome.

·      We can predict where high densities of trash will be and find it!  One of the more exciting discoveries during my month on the AP was that trash accumulates along “tide lines” where two bodies of water either from different currents or of different temperatures converged to form mats of sticks and seaweed.  Our first “tideline” tow collected 384 pieces of plastic!  The large lines we passed on the sail to Frenchboro had bottles, cans and buckets floating on them.  If we can find these convergence zones and tidelines, we can get even more garbage out of the ocean.

·      Red Solo Cups sink.  They may be great for parties, but these little devils shoot straight to the bottom.  It proves that everything we drop into the water, everything we lazily leave on the dock to get blown into the ocean, everything we throw on the ground to get swept out with the rain WILL sink.  While it may be out of sight, out of mind, it still poses problems for our aquatic friends.  Without the ROV, how would we know they were even there?!

·      There is hope for the world.  We can clean up the trash!  We can use plastics responsibly! We can recycle and properly dispose of our garbage! And the beauty of it all is that children understand this!  After watching groups of kids run enthusiastically between the ROV in the Fort Adams basin and the Rozalia Project tent on shore, gnarly-looking PVC pipe held triumphantly overhead, I believe that a change will happen.  These kids know that we cannot have trash in the ocean. They know the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling.  They know that their individual actions will make a difference.  This is what can and will solve the world’s problems, and I am proud to have been a part of it.”  –Blais Hickey

“During my internship I managed to fall overboard while at a dock, destroy my phone, tell my mom the wrong day to pick me up and then drop her keys into the ocean!   It was by far the most enjoyable internship ever! From sailing for the first time, to waving at seals, to picking up trash on far away islands there was no experience quite like it.  Even though things may have not gone perfectly, I realized there’s nothing more valuable then packing up and trying something new.  All the crazy things that will happen along the way just might surprise you.”  –Andrew Randazzo

“So often we, being The Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean, are described as the people who pick up trash.  And yes, this is true; we pick up a lot of trash, but we also do so much more than that.  This summer, as part of the Rozalia Project team, I learned that cleaning the oceans begins with the removal of one piece of marine debris.   While this seems like a basic concept, if you really think about it if every person in the world picked up one piece of trash a day (either from land or the water – all trash on land will become trash in the water), the world would already have over 7 billion less pieces of garbage littering the surface daily.  If we each picked up more than one, imagine what we could do.  As a science/action intern I spent a large portion of my time working on data sheets, organizing what Rozalia Project and our partners pick up.  Analyzing these numbers made me realize how much we can really do about this issue.  There was one day where Marina and I spent about 2 hours cleaning 2 or 3 blocks in Providence, RI and with just the two of us in this short period of time, we collected close to 900 pieces of garbage.  Everyone knows that marine debris exists, but working with Rozalia Project taught me that awareness is not the only thing we need.  What we, as a population need, is the inspiration to pick up that wrapper or piece of paper and toss it in a garbage can or a recycling bin.  With Rozalia Project, I feel that not only do I now have the will to eliminate marine debris, but I feel that I have also inspired others to do the same.” –Laura Migliaccio

Thanks again for an amazing experience!!! I thought I would share some things I learned and journaled while on American Promise:

1. Don't be afraid to ask questions. If you're learning something new, take advantage of the  

    opportunity.

2. Keep a positive mindset and positivity will follow.

3. Remember the big picture. All small things and actions are 

    leading you there.

4. Be spontaneous even if it's scary.

5. Don't loose hope in mankind, inspire children.

6. There is no rush in life, you will reach your goals when  

    you're ready.

8. Don't be shy, there is no reason to be.

9. Everything happens for a reason.

Hope everyone got home safely and the next round of interns are ready for a once in a life time experience with amazing people! - Marina Maze

Some other anonymous quotes from our interns:

“This experience was significant for me in that I completely removed myself from every life comfort and familiarity. I put myself in a totally unfamiliar place and it made me step out of my shell. I became more confident and have realized I am not as shy as I used to be. It taught me to take every moment as an opportunity to learn something about myself and about life.”

“This internship was one of the best experiences I have had; it is extremely unique. I love that the second you arrive you jump right in with whatever project is happening in that moment. The bond that forms between everybody on the boat is so special and you really feel like an important part of something great.”

“I will continue to be active in my marine debris removal, just like the Rozalia Project is. I will also not be afraid to contact organizations that I am interested in and voice my opinion, or ask to get involved. After the internship, I feel more independent, flexible, spontaneous, creative and pro-active.”

“This internship helped to solidify my desire to pursue further education and a future career in oceanography. It was a great way to test the waters of this field of study. After spending time on American Promise, I am now also interested in doing vessel research.”

If you, or know someone who might be interested in an internship with Rozalia Project, please check the “join us” section on our website or e-mail Rebecca@rozaliaproject.org.

As always, make sure to “like” us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @rozaliaproject, and check out our pictures on pinterest.com/rozaliaproject to see the excitement of Rozalia Project’s Fall Tour!

For a Clean Ocean,

Rebecca Inver Moffa

Director of Outreach

Jumping right in: A new Intern's Perspective

I arrived in New York on Sunday evening, joining the Rozalia Project crew, along with another new intern, Zane. We quickly discovered that we have a bit in common, we are both from Michigan, and both go to Eckerd College in Florida. Most importantly, we are both passionate about finding and removing marine debris in any way that we can! The next day, we jumped right into duties as Rozalia Project spent the day at Larchmont Yacht Club. Throughout the day, we educated young sailors on marine debris and its impact on our oceans and waterways. I learned some shocking statistics from Rebecca as she presented- it takes around 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down into tiny microplastic! Kids and adults alike were enthusiastic in taking part in the  ROV navigation and were even more excited to pull up some trash. Our most interesting find was a fire extinguisher (Rachael and I accidentally discovered that it still works!). Zane and I were even able to practice driving the ROV on our very first day!

We spent our second day in New York at Beach Point Yacht Club and American Yacht Club. We had 3-year-olds, our youngest participants ever, at Beach Point in the morning. In the afternoon, we showed more students the ROVat American Yacht Club and pulled up a broom! Zane and I experienced our first Trash Race on shore with the kids and it was a whirlwind of trash and fun!

Wednesday brought a change of scene as we joined sailing students aboard the schooner Quinnipiack in New Haven, Connecticut and launched the ROV from her deck. Overall, we collected more than 286 pieces of marine debris and worked with 300 people of all ages over those three days!

The Rozalia Project crew is now in Portland Maine, where we will be educating, ROV-ing and collecting for the next few days. I am psyched to set sail towards Boston later in the week, as I am a beginner at sailing and I'm curious to see what debris may be awaiting us at the bottom of Boston Harbor.

Sarah Kollar, Rozalia Project Intern

A lot of marine debris and amazing interns!

Rozalia Project 2012 Summer Trash Tour: Session 1 Recap

What an amazing start to the 2012 Summer Trash Tour!  Starting June 3^rd, we boarded American Promise: Captain Kyle Vowels, first mate Sloane Suciu, interns Kayla Lubold, Laura Dunphy, and Blais Hickey, Rozalia Project’s director Rachael Miller and me, the Science and Education Coordinator.  Over the next few weeks we towed our nueston net off the Isles of Shoals, removed thousands of pieces of trash from beaches on Frenchboro Island and beaches around Kittery, ME and Portsmouth, NH.  We also tested out our new low bycatch neuston tow device called a Baleen Basker (bioengineered design based on a basking shark and baleen whale).   During the first few weeks of this session we also had some other interns assist us with our marine debris removal, research and education:  Andrew Randazzo and Connor Grant.  At the end of June, we attended the America’s Cup World Series races in Newport, RI and a new intern joined us: Marina Maze.  After the America’s Cup, we got another new intern, Laura Migliaccio and had to say goodbye to some interns who had been with us for the first portion of the summer session.  Next we began our education-intensive portion of the summer doing outreach programs in Edgartown, MA, Providence, RI, Newport, RI and finishing up with a week of education in Boston. 

In Boston we docked at our usual spot at Courageous Sailing Center on Pier 4 in Charlestown Navy Yard and hundreds of sailing students helped us remove trash from the bottom of Boston Harbor with our ROV.  Besides our visits at Courageous Sailing Center and Community Boating Inc., we worked with some new outreach partners in Boston this year and went to new locations, namely Harbor Discoveries Camp at the New England Aquarium, Camp Harborview on Boston’s Long Island, and Jamaica Pond in Jamaica Plains.  We were able to remove many bottles, cans, tires, ropes, and other miscellaneous pieces of marine debris from Boston Harbor, the Charles River, and Jamaica Pond.  We are very excited to be heading back to Boston August 18-24 when we will again dock in Charlestown Navy Yard and run programs at Camp Harborview, Courageous Sailing Center, Community Boating Inc. and Jamaica Pond!

We wouldn’t have been able to remove 24,039 pieces of debris and work with 2,945 people this summer already without the tireless efforts from all of our interns.  They endured through seasickness, heat, cold and rain to help us further our mission of removing marine debris.  Our fearless interns piloted the ROV, sailed at night, got covered in plankton, sand, and mud all to take trash out of our waterways and dispose of it properly. Their enthusiasm buoyed us all and their passion for our work is an inspiration.  I can’t speak highly enough about their professionalism; we never heard a single complaint out of any of them!  I feel lucky to have gotten to meet every single one of them and we couldn’t be happier to have them as part of the Rozalia Project team.

We also had some special visitors onboard American Promise throughout our first session who also aided us in our mission and gave us indispensable support and their expertise.  Thank you Martha Fisher, Art and Nancy Glidden, Sean O’Hallaran, and Allyson Wilson!

The next portion of the 2012 Summer Trash Tour will kick off with underwater trash hunting and STEM education with the VideoRay ROV Larchmont, American and Beach Point Yacht Clubs in New York City and with Schooner, Inc. on the tall ship Quinnipiac in New Haven, CT.  We will have a few more interns join us and some previous interns will be back to help us at various locations.  From August 10-12 we will have a table in the Ecozone! and operate our ROV as part of the Lake Champlain Maritime Festival in Burlington, VT.  Following that, we will sail with American Promise up to Portland, ME before returning to Boston to finish up our summer with more outreach programs and research of the density and distribution of marine debris in Boston Harbor.

We look forward to many more breathtaking sails, incredible interns, excited students, and meaningful marine debris removal in the month to come.  Keep checking back to read our new blogs as well as visit us on facebook.com/rozaliaproject, youtube.com/rozaliaproject, pinterest.com/rozaliaproject, and follow us on Twitter.