All posts by Erica Moulton

STEM Center offers big experiences for interns

red tide under a microscope
Biology, Marine Biology, Science

Fluorescence, algal blooms, Geographic Information Systems, seagrass and habitat studies are all on the agenda for this summer’s interns at St. Petersburg College’s Bay Pines STEM Center!   

Summer Term is almost here, and now that we have completed our Living Shoreline work, it is time for a deeper dive into the aquatic habitats here at the STEM Center campus. Starting next week, our STEM Center summer interns will be working on an analysis of the aquatic habitats of our campus’s lagoon area, known as Hurricane Hole. 

Our four interns will start off the term learning about red tide and how scientists from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) collect and observe samples using electron microscopy.  Students will visit the team at FWC and work with their scientists to collect samples from Hurricane Hole throughout the summer, making the location an official part of the FWC public database for Red Tide Status alerts.  

Interns will also participate in a Seagrass Transect training program with our partners at the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP). Interns will spend the day in the field with TBEP scientists, learning about the local macroalgae of our region, completing transects of known seagrass beds in Tampa Bay. They will also become registered partners in the online TBEP database to support our Tampa Bay area Water Atlas. A goal of this component of the internship will be to add the STEM Center shoreline data to the online Water Atlas by the end of the summer so that we can continue to add to the knowledge of aquatic plants in Tampa Bay.  

In conjunction with the STEM Center interns and the team at TBEP, students working with Gibbs Professor Ray Menard will collect samples from the red tide monitoring stations and the seagrass survey sites to determine if these locations contain other harmful algal blooms (HABs). TBEP scientists are looking into potential connections between HABs and seagrass loss in Tampa Bay, so their work is a vital component of understanding what is occurring in our habitats. 

SPC students seeking science degrees who are required to complete an internship can reach out to STEM Center Director Erica Moulton at moulton.erica@spcollege.edu for information on opportunities.

Dinner with a Scientist

large crowd mingles sitting at round tables
Science

On Thursday, November 3, more than 65 St. Petersburg College students had the opportunity to sit down with eight STEM professionals at the Bay Pines STEM Center for the fourth annual A Night with Science.  The annual event is popular among students and Bay Area professionals, as most see this event as an opportunity to get to know our students, connect with potential interns, and even look for new employees. 

Participants began the evening with a dinner sponsored by SPC Student Life and Leadership and a keynote speech about the direction of STEM careers delivered by NBC News Climate Specialist and Chief Meteorologist Jeff Beradelli, locally seen on News Channel 8. Beradelli challenged students to look for connections between their passion in the STEM fields and the local needs of this community.

speaker speaks at podium

“Match your passion to your talents and a need in society, and this will help guide you to a fulfilling career,” Beradelli advised.

He also spoke in depth about career paths directly related to climate and things that cannot be imported, such as wind, solar and wave energy, as they have to be created and used locally, becoming the job market of the next generation. 

After dinner, participants joined round table discussions with professionals representing a wide range of fields and industries. Companies included Solar Source, the Clearwater Aquarium, the City of Oldsmar, Pinellas County Water Services and Blue Ring Imaging. Topics and career discussions covered aspects of sustainability, chemistry in the brewing industry, and geographic information systems (GIS).  

A Night with Science Promises Enlightening Evening

Featured, Science

St. Petersburg College‘s fourth annual A Night with Science is back in person, and dinner will be served!  We are excited to welcome you back to the STEM Center at Bay Pines on Thursday, November 3 at 6 p.m. for this fabulous evening of professional connections with STEM professionals from around Tampa Bay. 

First timer? What is A Night with Science all about? The evening is a unique opportunity to have dinner and personal conversations with STEM Professionals from the Tampa Bay area.   Participants will hear a keynote from NBC’s Climate Scientist and Chief Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli and then will have the opportunity to talk with industry professionals in the areas of Brewing, GIS, Solar, Marine Mammal Rescue, Civil Air Patrol, Public Utilities, Sustainability, AR/VR, Marine Technology and more. See the full roster of expected speakers in this attachment.

Past participants have made connections for internships and employment, but this evening is all about the opportunity to speak to a professional in the areas of STEM that interest you, and discover their career and education path, while being able to ask for any tips, tricks and advice to help you reach your career goals.  

As always, registration is free, but space is limited, so you must sign up in advance. The SPC STEM Center is located at 4723 Bay Pines Terrace, St Petersburg. Register by scanning the QR code below, or by filling out this survey.

Casual/Professional dress is recommended.  Questions?  Please feel from to contact the STEM Center Director Erica Moulton at 727-344-8043 or moulton.erica@spcollege.edu

SPC STEM Center nurtures ecosystem

the water of hurricane hole meets the living shoreline at SPC STEM Center
Biology, Environmental Science Technology, Featured, Marine Biology, Science

Have you ever heard of a living shoreline/ How about a hurricane hole? If you know, then you may be surprised to know that St. Petersburg College‘s STEM Center has both! 

Natural infrastructure

NOAA defines a living shoreline as a protected, stabilized coastal edge made of natural materials such as plants, sand, or rock. Unlike a concrete seawall or other hard structure, which impede the growth of plants and animals, living shorelines grow over time. 

These natural infrastructure solutions provide wildlife habitat, as well as natural resilience to communities near the waterfront. They are an innovative and cost-effective technique for coastal management.  

SPC’s living shoreline has one of the last salt tern habitats in Pinellas County, so our Living Shoreline project protects and enhances a very special relationship, in which the salt tern and living shoreline come together to preserve the base of a food chain. Whether it be a fisherman or a shorebird looking for a meal, estuary life in mangroves relies on that ecosystem.

Shelter from the storm

looking across Hurricane Hole with an old pier in the foreground, the sun starting to set behind
Hurricane Hole

The National Park Service defines a hurricane hole as a protected area located far enough inland that one can avoid surge and winds. They are ringed by protective mangroves and offer coverage and protection for vessels and other property. The hurricane hole at SPC’s STEM Center is the water body that reaches the shores of our living shoreline. Since the 1930’s, locals have used to the area to shelter boats during hurricanes. After years of work, all of the derelict vessels have now been cleared, so the area can now do what it does best: protect the fragile community of the living shoreline.

SPC educates and supports

SPC’s STEM Center is getting attention. The University of Florida Cooperative Extension Office in Pinellas County will be using the SPC STEM center for images and support as they create their upcoming guides and documents for homeowners and residents, and the Pinellas County Environmental Management Division is working on a Pinellas County Water Atlas website to engage citizens in understanding the watershed and its resources. The SPC STEM Center and its living shoreline will be featured on their website.  

Want to see for yourself? Come check out the living shoreline, on Hurricane Hole at the SPC STEM Center this summer!   

STEM Center Returns Native Plants to Habitat

two women dig in soil to put new plants in.
Biology, Science

Although the end of Spring Break 2022 arrived with lots of rain, wind and colder temperatures, it didn’t deter the 30 committed volunteers prepped and ready to help restore the salt-tern habitats of the St. Petersburg College’s Bay Pines STEM Center.

A component of the Tampa Bay Environmental Restoration (TBERF) Living Shoreline Grant awarded to the STEM Center has been focused on the removal of invasive and exotic plants over the past 18 months. Additionally, supporting the resiliency of salt-tern habitat through removal of the seawall and derelict boats has been completed. So on Saturday, March 5, the STEM Center marked a milestone by returning the native, salt-tolerant plants to the habitat.  

The salt tern, also known as a salt barren, on the STEM Center property is a vital habitat to Tampa Bay, where up to 60 percent of these types of hypersaline habitats have been lost since the 1960s. Volunteer restoration work is a fundamental component of the best practices for preserving and promoting the salt barren habitats, which are an intricately designed web of producers, consumers and decomposers in the food web that supports Tampa Bay. 

Two women, one in a black hoodie and one in a red hoodie, dig a hole in order to plant.

The Ocean Conservancy’s generous sponsorship of Keep Pinellas Beautiful allowed for the allocation of $1500 worth of plants for the Living Shoreline project. Volunteers from the Ocean Conservancy, the Environmental and Land Use Law Section of the Florida Bar and Keep Pinellas Beautiful worked from 9 a.m. until noon to establish the plants, including new mangroves, sea grapes and buttonwood, in their new homes.

All of the plants were purchased from a locally-owned native plant shop, Wilcox Nursery, and a frequent STEM Center guest speaker, native plant specialist Davis Burkit, attended to be sure we had the right plants in the right place during the event.

Spring is here – and we’d love to show you the sea oxeye daisy in full bloom. Stop by the STEM Center soon at 4723 Bay Pines Terrace, St. Petersburg.

Storm Debris Removed by Volunteers

flatbed trailer, loading gate in the down position. Trailer is nearly full with sections of lumber gathered from around the STEM Center shoreline.
Science

On Saturday, January 22, 2022, more than 40 volunteers gathered at the SPC’s Bay Pines STEM Center at the Wood You Give a Day event to help remove wood and lumber debris from the STEM Center shoreline. This event, sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, is the third time a volunteer team made up of community members and SPC students, faculty and staff has gathered to help remove this type of storm debris that came ashore in Tropical Storm Eta.

Volunteers really make the magic happen. Most of the larger components of the  habitat restoration work at the STEM Center has been funded by grants, including derelict vessel removal and the seawall removal, but the remarkable changes happen when people help improve the habitat. There is nothing better than a quiet walk along the shore after the debris is gone.

Saturday’s event yielded 6,000 lbs of lumber that was then hauled away by SPC partners at Keep Pinellas Beautiful. As a an additional opportunity, volunteers were encouraged to learn methods to re-use and re-purpose the collected lumber. SPC’s Engineering, Manufacturing and Building Arts Director Sid Martin and faculty member Greg Lewis supported the day with tools, fasteners and lessons on building. Some of the lumber collected will be used to make pollinator condos and planter boxes, and we look forward to seeing how attendees who took some lumber home will use it.

Volunteers were rewarded for their efforts with AquaBucha beverages from locally owned Mother Kombucha and a Cuban lunch from Pipos Restaurant – all donated by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program!

Big days like this are just amazing. The difference is remarkable, and I can’t wait until we our Living Shoreline project is complete and ready for the entire community to enjoy.

Want to volunteer at the STEM Center? Interested in helping to clean up?  We are always looking for volunteers, and we can add you to our email list. Please message me, STEM Center Director Erica Moulton, at moulton.erica@spcollege.edu, or follow us on FB at @SPCSTEMCenter.

Mother’s Day with Mother Ocean

Featured, Science

Under an SPC Titan Grant, students have been working on cataloging, documenting and processing the flora and fauna on the property of world famed oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle.

An SPC Alumni herself, Dr Earle is working to change the zoning and permitting of her family homestead in Dunedin, Fl. A portion of that process involves knowing what is there, what is invasive and what can be enhanced to encourage more natives. Dr Earle was recently in town to address fines assessed to her property as well as the need for green space. She spoke to a packed audience at the Dunedin Library on Saturday, May 11th. In recognition of their efforts conducting the biological assessments the SPC students were invited to her home on Sunday, May 12th, Mother’s Day, for an evening with Dr Earle and her family.

Bird Banding and Survey Work

Science

Student volunteers are helping to catalog the bird species at SPC’s Bay Pines STEM Center.

Under the permitted work of ornithologist Jim McGinity and funded through an SPC Titan grant, the efforts have logged 22 species of birds in the Cornell/Audubon curated “ebird” program.

Fellow birders can follow along on the e-bird app or website and receive updated lists of bird species that are identified here at the STEM Center. Students are also learning how to use the Merlin Bird ID App to properly identify species through feather color, body characteristics, habitat and observed behavior. These birds are also adding to the curated list for the STEM Center.

Student work on this project involves every level of observation, from binoculars to permitted deployment of mist nests and eventual bird banding. Students will then complete the survey at the STEM Center and move onto another habitat in Dunedin, Fla.

SPC and Mote Marine Lab Collaboration

Biology, Environmental Science Technology, Marine Biology, Science

Marine debris has become an increasing problem impacting Florida’s wildlife and habitats.  In early 2017 FWC and Florida DEP released a draft version of the Florida Marine Debris Reduction Guidance Plan for stakeholder review and input.  This document was created after 3 years and several meetings of multiple collaborating agencies and non-profits including Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota.  The purpose of the Marine Debris Reduction Guidance is to highlight strategies and actions to achieve desired goals – reducing impacts on wildlife and critical habitats.

Ms. Bassos-Hull, a Senior Biologist at Mote also currently serves as co-lead of the Wildlife

Student volunteers learn how to identify and catalog marine debris.

and Habitats Impacts Group within this guidance plan and is working with SPC’s Dr Erin Goergen to bring this work to Pinellas County.  SPC’s STEM Center at Bay Pines is pleased to be their initial location.

Why? One critical need that was addressed in this plan was to identify trends and hot spots by collecting data on marine debris in specified areas.  The areas around St Pete College and the new marine lab provide excellent areas to engage students in targeted collection of marine debris data (and to participate in cleanups) along with asking students to brainstorm debris reduction measures and outreach in the community.  Students have begun training

Mote Senior Scientist Kim Bassos-Hull gives SPC student participants instruction on how to use the marine debris tracking app.

Quick field lesson on how to collect and catalog debris collected in the field.

to conduct marine debris surveys and cleanups using the Marine Debris Tracker App and identify problem area hotspots.  Communication of results to community and regional park and waste managers will be required of students through a CAPstone (Community Awareness Project).  While this proposed research is a start, eventually it can be expanded to look for microplastics in both gut contents of fish and invertebrates as well as in water samples from around the St Pete area.