Project ASCO at Frazer Point

Please join Schoodic Institute’s Project ASCO research team on July 1, 2024 from 11:30am – 1:30pm at Frazer Point (Winter Harbor, Maine) as we head into Maine’s rocky intertidal to collect data on rockweed, a foundational seaweed. Please register for this volunteer event below.

We will begin the field day with a refresher training and then work together to collect along the shore at each site. To find our training videos, please visit our Project ASCO page.

Participation in this event includes working with Schoodic Institute researchers in the rocky intertidal, a place where slips, trips, and falls can be a concern due to wet or unsteady rocks and seaweed. Please come prepared with weather appropriate field gear, long pants, close toed shoes, and enthusiasm for learning about Maine’s rocky intertidal ecosystem!

Project ASCO is a participatory science research initiative designed to get interested participants out into the intertidal zone to collect data about rockweed while exploring the beauty of the rocky coast between the tides. Rockweed (Ascophyllum nodosum, or “Asco”) is the dominant species in most of the rocky intertidal zone of Maine and provides habitat for other species living in and visiting the intertidal zone. Rockweed is currently harvested in Maine and sustainable management requires knowledge of the total amount of rockweed throughout the state. Participants in Project ASCO can help answer the question, “How much rockweed is there?” The data collected by Project ASCO participants will be analyzed and shared by scientists at Schoodic Institute to inform resource management.

If you have any questions about Project ASCO or this in-person volunteer event, please email projectasco@schoodicinstitute.org.