Marine Reserves Celebratory Summit

The Nature Conservancy hosted and organized a 10-year marine reserves celebratory summit in late April on the central coast. Community teams, managers, scientific partners, and organizations gathered to reflect on their progress in Oregon’s marine reserves and look towards the future of science and community engagement.

Marine Reserves Program staff attended the summit and connected with collaborators, legislators, and community groups. It was a great opportunity to celebrate the progress made in our program and communicate about goals moving forward.

Program Leader Lindsay Aylesworth presented on the past 10 years of science, partnerships, community engagement, and human dimensions research in Oregon’s Marine Reserves Program. Lindsay also shared projected goals for the next 12-18 months of the Marine Reserves Program as we continue to navigate staff changes and the on-going session of the Oregon Legislature.

In addition to celebrating 10 years of the marine reserves, the summit also highlighted the connection between art and science. Presentations by artists Duncan Berry and Josie Iselin, and an installation in the sand brought this connection to light. Engaging communities through art and science can illuminate a sense of place between marine reserves and the surrounding communities.