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Marine Education in the Field

Guided Hikes

Cape Cod offers exceptional opportunities to view
marine wildlife. Throughout the year, CCS educators
and researchers lead guided outings, allowing
participants to observe local marine wildlife,
including viewing critically endangered right whales
from the shore in early spring, the best and only way
to view these federally-protected animals. CCS also
offers guided hikes to seal haul-outs, where visitors
learn about these animals while observing them
safely and respectfully in their natural environment.

Right whales visible from the beach on a CCS guided hike.
Over 250 people attended CCS whale and seal walks in
2024.

Bringing Hands-On Coastal Science
to Local Youth

Jesse Mechling, Director of the CCS Education Program,
has been offering his water quality monitoring program
at local schools for 14 years. The program takes 5th and
6th graders out of the classroom and into the field to
conduct hands-on experiments in Cape Cod waterways
and explore the region’s marine ecosystems. This year
alone, more than 200 students and 11 teachers from five
schools participated in the ever-expanding program.
The Land-Sea Interaction Program’s Coastal
Oceanography After School Team (COAST) Program is
a six-week after school program for girls and gender-
expansive youth that engages students with the world
around them through hands-on activities, including
field trips, sample collection, and lab work.
After a successful pilot survey season in spring 2024, this
fall’s team is focusing its explorations on Duck Harbor
in Wellfleet. Students will use a variety of techniques
to survey the geologic and biologic aspects of Duck
Harbor, including sediment traps, seine surveying, and
sediment cores.

Nauset Regional High School students deploy sediment traps
and use an RTK-GPS during the first 2024 session of the
Coastal Oceanography After School Team (COAST) Program

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