Welcome to Coastweeks 2016, the annual celebration of Rhode Island’s coast!

Every autumn, Coastweeks events celebrate building awareness, understanding, and improved management of the coast. Rhode Island Sea Grant and the Coastal Resources Center at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography and the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) invite you to take part in any of the listed events below. More events coming soon!

Pre-registration required for all events. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6805 or rhodeislandseagrant@gmail.com to reserve your place.

Misquamicut Coastal Erosion Walking Tour

Friday, September 23, 9:30 to 12 p.m.
Misquamicut State Beach, 257 Atlantic Avenue, Westerly

Take a walking tour of this south coast beach with Janet Freedman, R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council coastal geologist, and Bryan Oakley, assistant professor of environmental geosciences at Eastern Connecticut State University, and revisit how the Misquamicut shoreline has changed – both in natural and manmade ways – four years after Superstorm Sandy. Participants will also learn what to expect in the future with changing climate conditions, and learn about what the CRMC is doing to help coastal communities plan for the future.

Sponsored by the CRMC and Rhode Island Sea Grant. Pre-registration required. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6805 or rhodeislandseagrant@gmail.com.

Monitoring Aquatic Invasive Species at Point Judith

Friday, September 30, 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Point Judith Marina, 360 Gooseberry Road, Wakefield

Join Kevin Cute, R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council marine resources manager, and monitor the docks at Point Judith Marina for aquatic invasive species (AIS). It will be a hands-on educational experience for attendees who will walk away with a good deal of knowledge on AIS in general, and their impacts on Rhode Island’s coastal ecosystems. Wear clothes and footwear that can be dirtied.

Sponsored by the CRMC. Pre-registration required for all events. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6805 or rhodeislandseagrant@gmail.com to reserve your place.

Marsh Tour: Sachuest Point Salt Marsh ***FULL***

Monday, October 3, 1:30-3 (or 3:30) p.m.
Third Beach Road, Middletown (park at the southernmost lot after bearing right on Third Beach Road)

Wear weather appropriate clothing, and boots or sturdy shoes that can get wet and muddy. Visit and tour Sachuest Point salt marsh, the site of a recent marsh restoration and elevation project designed to help the fragile marsh better withstand the forces of sea level rise and coastal storm surge. Learn about this project and our fragile Rhode Island salt marshes from Coastal Resources Management Council policy analyst Caitlin Chaffee and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service project coordinator Jennifer White.

Pre-registration required. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6805 or rhodeislandseagrant@gmail.com. ***FULL***

A panoramic view of the marsh restoration and elevation enhancement work done by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge in Middletown.  Last winter, the USFWS conducted the project at Sachuest with funds from the US Department of the Interior. There, sand from upland sources and offsite dredge projects was brought in by trucks, spread by machinery over the marsh surface and planted with marsh plant species. So far, the results of that project are promising.

Newport's Historic Waterfront Walking Tour

Thursday, October 6, 4:30 to 6 p.m.
Seamen’s Church Institute, 18 Market Square, Newport

This walking tour will look at the vulnerability of historic assets in Newport to coastal flooding and sea level rise. The tour will begin at the Seamen’s Church Institute and Bowen’s Wharf, then continue north along Newport Harbor to Bridge Street in the Point Neighborhood of Newport. The tour will end at Storer Park, where walkers can enjoy the 6:19 p.m. sunset over Narragansett Bay.

Sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant. Pre-registration required. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6805 or rhodeislandseagrant@gmail.com.

Illustrating Science with David Macaulay

Thursday, October 27, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
URI Coastal Institute Auditorium, Narragansett Bay Campus

Talk followed by reception with light refreshments and book signing.

Illustrator and author David Macaulay will speak at the Coastal Institute about his use of research, illustration and humor to explain the intricacies of science, technology, architecture and anything else he knows very little about. His update to the worldwide bestseller The Way Things Work, titled The Way Things Work Now, is being published in October, and will be available for purchase at this event. The book features new material including touchscreens, flat screens, hybrid cars, and 3D printers. Mr. Macaulay has earned many accolades including a Caldecott Medal and two Honor Awards, a MacArthur Fellowship (“Genius” Grant), and the Bradford Washburn Award, presented by the Museum of Science in Boston to an outstanding contributor to science. Mr. Macaulay is a graduate, former professor, and trustee emeritus of the Rhode Island School of Design.

This talk is sponsored by the Coastal Institute at the University of Rhode Island. RSVP here: https://form.jotform.com/coastalinstitute/david-macaulay-talk-rsvp

Sponsors Rhode Island Sea Grant and the Coastal Resources Center are located at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is the coastal management program for the state of Rhode Island and its primary responsibility is for the preservation, protection, development and where possible the restoration of the coastal areas of the state.