This summer, local rising freshmen through recent graduate high school students have an opportunity to learn about marine ecology while getting muddy in the Damariscotta River estuary. Sarah Risley, a University of Maine graduate student based at the Darling Marine Center, will lead a team of undergraduate and high school students to measure the population, type and size of shellfish, like soft shell clams and oysters, and their predators at several sites on the upper Damariscotta River intertidal zone.

The data that students collect will be used to estimate the populations of shellfish in the estuary and help inform future management by the Damariscotta-Newcastle Shellfish Committee in coordination with the state’s Department of Marine Resources.

The Darling Marine Center based research team is inviting high school students to apply to participate in shellfish surveys as part of a community science research project in the Damariscotta River estuary.

Please complete the form below to apply for this research opportunity. You will be notified via email if you are accepted. Detailed information on field days will follow acceptance.

** Students should live locally, as this is a day program only, and transportation and housing are not provided.