In 2002, Sea Grant MET member and expedition team leader, Natalie Springuel, embarked on a five-month sea kayaking journey called the Gulf of Maine Expedition. She and six additional team members and program staff organized the journey along the entire coast of the Gulf of Maine, from Provincetown, MA, to Cape Sable Island, N.S. The trip was intended to raise awareness and caring about the ecology and cultural legacy of this vast international watershed and to promote low-impact coastal recreational practices, safety, and stewardship principles. In addition, data gathered during the expedition provide a permanent “snapshot” of the ecological and cultural condition of the coast of the Gulf of Maine during these five months of 2002. This can all be found in the 90-page Gulf of Maine Expedition 2002 Final Report.

While underway, the group kept systematic records of weather patterns, salinity, phytoplankton, water clarity, birds, plants, marine mammals, shoreline type and condition, and human activity. They stopped to talk with people using the water and shores for commerce and recreation to see what they think about the present state of their home areas, and collected stories, songs and other cultural information. Their records include photographs, digital still and video images, drawings and watercolors, environmental data, and written reflections.

During scheduled stops at towns and cities, the group met with local communities and gave formal and informal presentations on their objectives, experiences, and observations to date. They showed slides, discussed low-impact recreation and ecotourism, provided information on safety and navigation, and initiated discussions of local coastal conditions and issues.

Springuel and the expedition team established a nonprofit organization called The Gulf of Maine Expedition Institute to support ongoing and future expedition-based learning and citizen stewardship programs in the Gulf of Maine, and as a “home” for the data and cultural information gathered through the 2002 journey. Currently under re-construction, the Gulf of Maine Expedition Institute Web site will serve as a host for information and educational materials and as a communications tool for several other expedition-based learning programs that were recently launched in different parts of the Gulf of Maine.

For more information on the 2002 journey or ongoing plans for Gulf of Maine Expedition Institute, please contact Natalie Springuel, or visit the Gulf of Maine Expedition Institute Web site.