Seeing Smithville, and Other Places in the Same Boat
By Rona KobellWith sea level rise, some places will be gone before we ever really had a chance to know them.
Dec. 2018 · Volume 17 Number 3 & 4
The Measure of a Marsh
Smithville Tries to Stem the Tide
An Eastern Shore hamlet looks to save its church and cemetery
By Rona KobellA few decades ago, this Eastern Shore hamlet had close to 100 residents. Today, only four remain. Economic pressures took their toll on the African-American community established around the time of the Civil War; now, a marsh threatens its historic church and cemetery. With the water coming, can Smithville hold on to its past?
The Place in Between
How a marsh holds life together
By Erik VanceToo dry to be bay, too wet to be forest, a marsh is the habitat that couldn’t make up its mind. But out of that indecision grows an ecosystem that’s indispensable to both water and land, and one of our best defenses against sea level rise and a changing climate.
We SET Our Sites on Collaboration
The Sentinel Cooperative Model
By Taryn SudolThe Chesapeake Bay and Coastal Bay marshes are sending out signals. At Maryland Sea Grant, our sentinel site coordinator is working on making sense of what the marshes are telling us about our changing climate.
Churches Take on Climate Change
Eastern Shore congregations emerge as a focal point on flooding and erosion
By Rona KobellUniversity of Maryland anthropologists are helping set up a formal assistance network for communities of faith on the water’s edge.
Meet the Extension Agent
Jennifer Dindinger
By Rona KobellA serendipitous phone call 15 years ago helped Jennifer Dindinger land her dream job as a watershed specialist on the Shore.
Suds, Scat, and Study
New research fellows get to work
By Alexandra Grayson and Ben AndersonMaryland Sea Grant funds fellowships for young scientists.
Maryland Sea Grant Interns
By Rona KobellMeet the students who help with communications.