Nicholas Olson

All of the interns from the different Extension offices across Maryland. Pictured after our farm tour in Dames Quarters at the diner “From Scratch”. I got a crab cake sandwich.

On Tuesday, all the interns returned to Harlem Park to practice the mapping aspect of our AUFPN project. Sally was kind enough to let us come back after being interviewed about a week earlier to work on figuring out the logistics of mapping an urban farm. Mapping requires sketching an outline, measuring garden beds, and identifying the different plant species. Efficient teamwork is essential to make sure that we collect data as accurately as possible, but also not be there all day. 

Wednesday to Friday was my first time going to Ocean City, Maryland. This may seem like an odd topic to talk about, but I went to meet the different extension agents from across the state, and even one from New Jersey. Like most years, the conference for the Maryland Association of County Agricultural Agents (MACAA) was in Ocean City and my mentor Neith offered to send a few of us down. I was joined by other interns, Bridget and Cai on my ride down Wednesday afternoon. Once we had our seafood dinner, I reached out to Shannon Dill who works in the Talbot County Extension Office. This is where my communication skills came into play despite being put in contact by Neith. Thursday we then carpooled to the Somerset County office with Shannon where we met even more agents and other interns as well. It was nice to meet so many people from all different backgrounds. One of the agents, Mariah, referred to everyone coming together to form a “motley crew”. 

Our first activity was to visit Dames Quarter which is a rural area that has been heavily affected by sea level rise. Ever since Hurricane Sandy, high tides have gotten much higher causing a decrease in the amount of livable housing, and arable land. The Macedonia United Methodist Church has a burial ground that contains eroded graves from invading saltwater. It is one thing to learn about climate change and sea level rise, but it is another thing to see it drive out almost an entire population and reshape the landscape. 

Second, we toured the Metompkin Bay Oyster Hatchery. We learned about their production practices and how they have had to compete with neighboring oyster hatcheries over the years. The most interesting part of the tour were the oyster aquaculture tanks. They essentially trick the oysters into thinking it is the time of the year to reproduce and then they release larvae into the river. They also have a soft shell crab aquaculture operation. They catch blue crabs and put them into tanks, and when they first shed their shell the crab is packaged up and sent away. 

Finally, we ended with a picnic in Stephen Decatur park where we enjoyed some nice barbecue and talked about our day with all of the other agents. This was where I met most of the people involved with UMD Extension, so I had a good time. The conference was a good opportunity to network, and it really made me think about visiting other research sites because there is no shortage of work being done.

Substrate made up of oyster shells which catches the larvae allowing them to grow. These can be found at the Metompkin Bay Oyster aquaculture operation.