Collecting and Identifying Seaweed Workshop

Date/Time: Saturday, June 10th, 10am-12pm Description: The Coast of Maine is home to over 300 species of marine macroalgae, aka seaweed. Some species are so distantly related to each other that they’re in different kingdoms. Others are so similar, they can only be distinguished using DNA analysis. These fascinating sea-plants are able to withstand the extreme fluctuations of the intertidal zone, from freezing or sweltering air to complete submersion. They provide essential habitat for marine organisms, they sequester around 175 million tons of carbon around the world each year, and are used by humans as food, nutritional supplements, cosmetics, fertilizer, and numerous other applications. Join Naturalist’s Notebook manager Jordan Chalfant on the shores of Seal Harbor to learn the names, identifying characters, uses, and ecological roles of the seaweed species we encounter. The first hour will be spent in the intertidal, looking at seaweeds in their environment. The second hour will tak