Recent Events & Photos

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United Way's Spring Day of Caring
May 14, 2008
Cleanups at Hodgson Brook, Portsmouth & Hilton Point, Dover

This year's Day of Caring was a great success!  In the morning, we conducted our 3rd annual Hodgson Brook cleanup, and in the afternoon, we did a cleanup at Hilton Park in Dover Point (removing 107 pounds of trash, including over 600 cigarette butts!) Some photos are posted below...

Club Finz presented with Certificate of Appreciation

May 13, 2008 - Diane Hollingworth (L) from Club Finz, the Parrothead Club of Southern Maine and Seacoast New Hampshire, accepts a certificate of appreciation from Blue Ocean Society Director Jen Kennedy (R). 

We awarded Club Finz this certificate in recognition of their active commitment to ensuring a clean and vibrant Seacoast environment. Club Finz was the first group to Adopt-a-Beach (Wallis Sands) from us in 2004 and has been cleaning the beach each month for almost 4 1/2 years!  They also have supported BOS in a variety of other ways, such as with a benefit cruise, by adopting a local whale (Pinball) and will be joining us for a whale watch on June 28, 2008.

Marine Debris to Energy Project Kickoff on April 18!

Marine Debris to Energy Project Fact Sheet (PDF, 300kb)

We thank all who attended the event, particularly Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter who took time from a busy day to support our marine conservation efforts.

Holiday Festival of Trees

On Tuesday, November 13, we set up for the Holiday Festival of Trees. This event is sponsored by the Portsmouth Garden Club and is held at the Urban Forestry Center on Elwyn Road in Portsmouth.  Visit us the weekend of Nov. 16-18 and see our tree and many beautiful holiday displays!  Click here for more information.

Thanks to Patty Adell, Kristin Piper and Nate Piper for their help with the tree, and Andy Schulte for the great tree topper!

Putting up the tree topper	Patty and Kristin showing off the tree
The sun sets over Sagamore Creek (what a beautiful spot!)	Patty, Jen, Kristin and Dianna in front of the finished product

Philip Morris USA Conducts Cleanup

We thank the team from Philip Morris, USA who removed 275 pounds of marine debris from Foss Beach in Rye on Oct. 18 as part of the NH Coastal Cleanup.

One team member found a message in a bottle, dated 10/1, from a man fishing off Chatham.  He lives in Newburyport and asked that the bottle (which contained $1.65) be delivered to his 13-year old daughter. One of the team members was going to deliver it on his way home.

Blue Ocean Society Thanks Leo Gagnon for Commitment to Healthy Seacoast

Blue Ocean Society Director Jennifer Kennedy presents Leo Gagnon with a plaque recognizing his support of local marine conservation efforts.

Recognizing that wild dolphins are a living treasure of our planet, and that "to survive the 21st century, wild dolphins need clean and quiet oceans, marine protected areas and people who care," the UN Convention on Migratory Species, together with its specialized agreements on dolphin conservation ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS and the WDCS (the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society), declared 2007 the Year of the Dolphin. As stated on the Year of the Dolphin web site (http://www.yod2007.org), "Ultimately, human survival too depends on intact ecosystems and biodiversity." The Blue Ocean Society works to protect the Gulf of Maine as an important habitat for a variety of marine life, and the Society created this sponsorship to involve local individuals and businesses in partnering in this effort.

For more information on the Society’s programs, volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, and memberships, call (603) 431-0260 or visit www.blueoceansociety.org/sponsorship.htm.

Co-founders Jen Kennedy & Dianna Schulte receive
Gulf of Maine Visionary Awards from Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment
(9/19/07)

The following is excerpted from a press release issued by the NH Department of Environmental Services:

Local Companies Participate in NH Coastal Cleanup

Thanks again to Wal-Mart!
Below, Jen Kennedy receives a check from Seabrook Wal-Mart

Photos from August 13 Whale Watch
Taken by Research Coordinator Dianna Schulte aboard the Prince of Whales

Ocean sunfish, or Mola mola	"Tornado", a female humpback	Atlantic white-sided dolphins leaping

Thanks to Wal-Mart!

Jen Kennedy recently accepted a check from Wal-Mart that will be used to purchase much-needed beach cleanup supplies and refreshments.  Employees are also planning on participating in a half-day cleanup in August. Thank you, Wal-Mart! 

Blue Ocean Society interns and Research/Intern Coordinator Dianna Schulte are a visible presence at our weekly intern meeting (this one was held after our monthly Jenness Beach cleanup on 6/28/07)

Trigger, our adopt-a-whale, and calf, seen June 27!
Click here for more photos and whale sightings

Trigger and calf	Trigger's calf up close, showing the white lower jaw of the finback whale - their right lower jaw is while, while the left is gray!

Whale Watch on June 10, 2007
(aboard the Atlantic Queen)

Comet & Calf Comet is a finback whale and one of our Adopt-a-Marine Creatures.  She was seen for the first time with a calf this month!		Comet Comet was named for the white scars behind her dorsal fin.
Comet's Calf
Satula, humpback whale One of our Adopt-a-Marine Creatures!
	Clamp, a female humpback whale born in 1990.