Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Welcomes Tara Riley, Emma Morgan, Dr. Rich Blundell, RJ Turcotte, and Charles Johnson as March Science Speaker Series

March 11, 2025

NANTUCKET, MA—The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces that it will host Tara Riley, Emma Morgan, Dr. Rich Blundell, RJ Turcotte, and Charles Johnson, with moderator, Joanna Roche, for a panel discussion on monitoring Nantucket Harbor’s water quality for its March Science Speaker Series. The panel presentation will take place on Wednesday, March 19 at 7pm via Zoom. This event is free to all.

 

“Harbor Health: A Collaborative Approach to

Water Quality Monitoring on Nantucket”


Join us for an engaging panel discussion on water quality monitoring in Nantucket Harbor. The discussion will feature: the Town of Nantucket (ToN) Shellfish and Aquatic Resources Manager, Tara Riley; ToN’s Water Quality Specialist, Emma Morgan; MMA Scientist, Dr. Rich Blundell; Nantucket Land and Water Council Waterkeeper, RJ Turcotte; ToN Storm Water Manager, Charles Johnson; and be moderated by MMA Executive Director, Joanna Roche. During this panel discussion, you will learn about the Nantucket Harbor Monitoring Project, a 2024 water quality monitoring initiative launched by the MMA, now expanding in collaboration with the Town of Nantucket Natural Resources Department and Nantucket Land and Water Council. The initial project, generously funded by the ReMain Nantucket Fund at the Community Foundation for Nantucket, the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation, the Osceola Foundation, the Sociable Weaver Foundation, and through collaboration with the Town of Nantucket's Harbormaster, aims to establish a continuous water quality monitoring system for Nantucket’s lower harbor. The data collected thus far provides a vital baseline for ongoing environmental assessment and conservation efforts. Thanks to ongoing generous support from the Great Harbor Yacht Club Foundation, we’re excited to expand upon this project in collaboration with the Town of Nantucket and the Nantucket Land and Water Council and to continue our work to protect and preserve Nantucket’s beautiful harbor. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from local experts in resource and conservation management and learn more about how this project is helping to safeguard our treasured harbor for future generations. 


Tara Riley is the Shellfish and Aquatic Resource Manager, for the Town of Nantucket Natural Resources Department – Brant Point Hatchery. After obtaining a degree in Marine Biology and a Masters in Fisheries and Aquaculture, Riley has had twenty-five years of experience in the field of producing saltwater fish and shellfish for research, profit, and now restoration. She has been involved in regional and global hatchery renovations and has served as a consultant for WHOI for the development and operation of a hatchery in Zanzibar, Tanzania. Since coming to Nantucket in 2009, Riley has worked on the development and implementation of shellfish enhancement initiatives and water quality and habitat monitoring for Nantucket Island’s waters. By 2015, she had garnered enough community support and stakeholder buy-in to secure funding for the 2-million-dollar design and renovation of the Brant Point Shellfish Hatchery. As a hatchery specialist, she designed and installed the internal hatchery components to create a fully integrated year-round shellfish hatchery. Riley has been intimately involved in the development of the town’s first shellfish management plan and now the town’s first eelgrass management plan. She is passionate about everything related to recreational and commercial fisheries and strives to create a more sustainable and healthy future for Nantucket’s natural resources.


Emma Morgan is the Water Resource Specialist for the Town of Nantucket's Natural Resources Department. Morgan earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. Mary's College of Maryland, followed by a Master of Science in Applied Coastal Ecology from the University of Central Florida. Her job on Nantucket focuses on managing the Town's water quality monitoring program, which involves sampling the island's recreational waters, monitoring harmful algal blooms, analyzing water quality data and trends, and collaborating closely with science organizations on and off the island to maintain the health of Nantucket's water bodies.


Dr. Richard Blundell is the Visiting Scientist at the Maria Mitchell Association and is an ecologist and philosopher working at the convergence of art, science, nature and culture. As the founder of Oika, his research examines how transformation happens across the scales of person, place and planet. As a communicator, Rich tells a scientific story of the universe that includes art and human creativity as natural phenomena. Dr. Blundell’s research and work has received numerous grants and awards including, an ongoing TIDES innovators award, The National Science Foundation grant for Science Out There, the Michael Brinkman Award, The Deep Time Values video award for An Earth Story, The Macquarie University Innovation in Scholarship award for The Cosmosis1 Explorer app, an Oculus Creators Award for In the Light of the Forest VR, and nomination for the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival Best New Media for Saving Grey’s Zebra. Blundell’s creative video work has appeared on PBS, National Geographic and numerous social media platforms. He is currently the Visiting Scientist at the Maria Mitchell Association.


RJ Turcotte has worked for the Nantucket Land & Water Council for the last six years, first as Resource Ecologist and then as the Nantucket Waterkeeper. He started his career in Rhode Island with Save The Bay and the Blackstone River coalition, assisting with salt marsh restorations, environmental education, and heading a volunteer water quality lab. As Waterkeeper, he works on eelgrass restoration, water quality monitoring, coastal resilience and environmental advocacy across the island community.


Charles Johnson is the Stormwater Manager for the Town of Nantucket’s Sewer Department. Charles has recently been asked to oversee the Town’s Stormwater System for the Nantucket Sewer Department. He has been working for the Sewer Department for 7 years as Treatment Plant Operator and Engineering Compliance Officer. For the 17 years prior to working year-round on Nantucket, he taught Mathematics, Tech Ed. (boatbuilding and STEM classes) to high school students in New Haven and Bridgeport, CT. During that time, he coached sailing and coached and started a Girl’s Ice Hockey Program in Guilford, CT. with his daughter. Before returning to school for a Teaching Certificate in CT, he worked as an Environmental Engineer, first with the DEP’s for New Jersey and Connecticut, and then for private consulting firms. Charles graduated from Lehigh University with a degree in Civil Engineering, is a Registered Professional Engineer in the States of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and as a Grade 7 Wastewater Operator in Massachusetts. He was first taken in by the beauty and the water quality of Nantucket Harbor when vacationing with his family on Brant Point in 1970 and has vacationed here summers at his wife’s family summer cottage in Quidnet since 1975. He keeps his boat in Polpis Harbor and enjoys sailing, swimming and fishing.


Pre-registration is required to attend Zoom. To register for Zoom, use the registration link below: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_IIhpmYJIQmSb057MJoR0YQ#/registration

 

This series is generously sponsored by our lead sponsor, Bank of America.

 

The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first female professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages.

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For Immediate Release

February 18, 2025

Contact: Jónelle Gurley

jgurley@mariamitchell.org

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Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association Welcomes Kike Calvo as Featured July Presenter.

July 14, 2025
NANTUCKET, MA— The Nantucket Maria Mitchell Association (MMA) announces Kike Calvo, award-winning photographer, journalist, and author, as its featured presenter for its July Speaker Series. Calvo’s presentation, "The Power of Creativity: A Journey Through Storytelling, Exploration, and Hope," will take place on Wednesday, July 23 at 7pm at the Nantucket Atheneum’s Great Hall. This event is free. Join the MMA for an engaging evening with award-winning photographer, journalist, and author, Kike (Kee-Keh) Calvo. A Fellow of both the Explorers Club and the Royal Geographical Society, he has traveled to over 120 countries, photographing everything from belugas in the Arctic to traditional dances in Vanuatu. His work has been featured in National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, and more. In this engaging presentation, Calvo explores how creativity can be a catalyst for connection, storytelling, and meaningful change. From documenting remote villages to diving with great white sharks, from defying the odds as an author to inspiring thousands of children in the Amazon, Calvo shares the invaluable lessons he has learned along the way. As a National Geographic Certified Educator and Safina Center Fellow (2020-2023), Calvo combines his passion for photography with teaching, having lectured at prestigious institutions such as Yale University. A pioneer in drone photography for art and conservation, he founded the “Little Explorer, Big World” initiative, which brings education to remote communities and has donated over 35,000 bilingual books. Described by anthropologist Wade Davis as, "a fresh voice in visual anthropology," Calvo has a gift for capturing the intersections of human existence. Calvo’s new book, Luminous: A Field Guide for Visual Explorers and Storytellers, isn’t just a book—it’s an invitation to slow down, look deeper, and photograph with soul. It’s a roadmap where photography meets presence, anthropology meets art, and storytelling becomes a path to connection.  Discover how creativity can illuminate pressing global issues—such as plastic pollution—and empower each of us to make a difference. This presentation is free and open to the public, graciously hosted for the MMA by the Nantucket Atheneum in the Great Hall. No registration required. About the Maria Mitchell Association: The Maria Mitchell Association was founded in 1902 to preserve the legacy of Nantucket native astronomer, naturalist, librarian, and educator, Maria Mitchell. After she discovered a comet in 1847, Mitchell’s international fame led to many achievements and awards, including an appointment as the first professor of astronomy at Vassar College. Maria Mitchell believed in “learning by doing” and today that philosophy is reflected in the MMA’s mission statement, programs, research projects, and other activities. The Maria Mitchell Association operates two observatories, a natural science museum, an aquarium, a research center, and preserves the historic birthplace of Maria Mitchell. A wide variety of science and history-related programming is offered throughout the year for people of all ages. ###

The Work Begins

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • July 14, 2025
As we are now complete with the conservation of the historic Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory (MMO), I thought it would be good to post a series of blogs concerning it history and activities, as well as some of the remarkable people who have made it what it is over the last 100 plus years. Therefore, over the next few weeks, the focus will be on the MMO. And it is now open for tours – Monday through Saturday 11-1PM. In 1906, the MMA was given Maria Mitchell’s five-inch Alvan Clark telescope which Mitchell purchased with money raised by the Women of America in 1859. With the telescope, a fireproof observatory was needed to house it and the activities surrounding its use. A campaign was developed to raise the funds for an observatory and in approximately four months, a small observatory was built at a cost of $4,800.00. Completed in 1908, the Maria Mitchell Observatory now was in need of a permanent astronomer. An Observatory Committee was developed and chaired by Annie Jump Cannon. From 1909 through 1911, the MMA was able to employ an astronomer to teach classes, observe, provide lectures, and open the observatory for public observing for approximately a month each summer. As the demand grew, the MMA realized that a more extensive program was needed and the Astronomical Fellowship Committee began to raise funds for an Astronomical Fellowship Fund. With the support of many generous donors and a matching gift from Andrew Carnegie, by 1911 the MMA had the funds it needed to support the fellowship and began its search for an astronomer who would conduct research, provide lectures and classes, and conduct open nights for the public from mid-June through mid-December. The fellow would spend the remainder four months in research and study – every fourth year a full year of study would be spent in an American or European observatory. JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • July 7, 2025
July 31, 1883. I had two or three rich days! On Friday last I went to Holderness, N.H.. to the Asquam House; I had been asked by Mrs. T to join her party. There was at this house Mr. Whittier, Mr., and Mrs. Cartland, Professor and Mrs. Johnson, of Yale . . . The house seemed full of fine, cultivate people. We stayed two days and a half. And first of the scenery. The road up to the house is a steep hill, and at the foot of the hill it winds and turns around two lakes. The panorama is complete one hundred and eighty degrees. Beyond the lakes lie the mountains.  The Asquam House sat atop Shepard Hill and was built in 1881. A hotel, it has space for fifty guests, it was located near Squam Lake and became part of a summer enclave that developed there in the later part of the nineteenth century. Today, the area is a National Historic Landmark, but sadly, the hotel was demolished in 1948. Maria would have been familiar with these people seen here – and others I did not include – but particularly John Greenleaf Whittier who was something of a family friend. He was close to one of her younger brothers, William Forester. JNLF
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