Martha’s Vineyard Community Notes

0

Shark biologist to visit

Marine conservation biologist Samantha Whitcraft of the conservation group Shark Savers will speak to Island school children and community groups next week about a fish that has come to define Martha’s Vineyard in popular imagination, the shark.

MV Promotions Network is hosting the visit to mark the launch of JAWSFEST’s “Summer for the Sharks” initiative to help raise awareness and funds for shark conservation.

Ms. Whitcraft is scheduled to speak to children in the Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, West Tisbury, and Chilmark schools on March 13 and 14, according to a press release. She will explain the importance of sharks to marine life, dispel shark myths, and suggest ways that children and adults can act to help protect sharks.

Ms. Whitcraft is a freelance nature writer and community activist who has worked with sharks and other marine animals at the New England Aquarium and Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

JAWSFEST: The Tribute will be held August 9-12. More information on JAWSFEST: The Tribute and shark conservation is available at www.jawstribute.com. More information on Shark Savers is available at www.sharksavers.org.

Sheriff’s Meadow receives Edey Foundation Grant

Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation has received a $5,000 grant from the Edey Foundation to create an environmental education curriculum for Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary in West Tisbury.

“We are thrilled to receive this grant,” executive director Adam Moore said. “With this funding, we will hire a teacher to create an outdoor education program for Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary. We hope that what we create for Cedar Tree Neck can serve as an educational model for our other trails and properties.”

Sheriff’s Meadow will use the grant to hire a teacher who, in turn, will create a curriculum unique to the property, Mr. Moore said. “We intend for our program to reinforce the concepts being taught in the classroom,” said Mr. Moore. “We also believe that outdoor instruction can help those students who don’t learn as well in a traditional classroom setting.”

The Foundation has issued a request for proposals from qualified teachers. For more information, go to sheriffsmeadow.org or call 508-693-5207.