COASTAL 



TIDINGS 



Vo 



Big Sweep Set 

 for September 



olunteers from the coast to the 

 mountains will roll up their sleeves on 

 Saturday, Sept. 20, to take part in North 

 Carolina Big Sweep, the annual statewide 

 waterways cleanup. 



Founded as Beach Sweep in 1 987 by 

 former North Carolina Sea Grant marine 

 educator Lundie Spence, the event has 

 grown from its original 1 ,000 volunteers 

 along ocean beaches. To date, more than 

 1 78,600 volunteers have collected more 

 than 3,132 tons of trash. 



Last year, more than 1 5,1 00 North 

 Carolina citizens collected 287 tons of trash 

 in the one-day effort And the Big Sweep 

 team covered more than 1 ,200 miles of 

 stream, river, sound and ocean shores. 



North Carolina Big Sweep Inc. also 

 sponsors the Adopt-A-Beach program and 

 provides a variety of educational resources 

 to encourage environmental stewardship. 



To join the volunteer team on Sept. 

 20, or to find out more about North 

 Carolina Big Sweep, go online to 

 www.ncbipweep.org, call 919/404-1698 or 

 e-mail ncbigsweep@mmdsprmg.com. — P.S. 



Visit Mitchell Exhibit 



W, 



men Gen. Billy Mitchell used a 

 military airplane to destroy decommis- 

 sioned battleships off the coast of North 

 Carolina in 1923, he established a 

 milestone in the use of air power. 



A special exhibit, "Mitchell On 

 Hatteras," is on display at the new 

 Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum in 

 Hatteras to honor the general's 

 achievements. 



Mitchell's theories on military air 

 superiority, coupled with his demonstration 

 of air power, contributed to establishing 

 the United States Air Force. 



As part of the 2003 Wright Brothers 

 Centennial Celebration, the exhibit opening 

 on Sept. 5 will include fireworks and a 

 barbecue. Other activities to honor 

 Mitchell are planned for Sept. 26. 



For more information, call 252/ 

 995-6956. — A.G. 



A 



Workshops Take Aim at Pollution 



series of coastal community workshops, 

 "Controlling Microbial Pollution in Your 

 Community," takes aim at the cause of shellfish 

 bed closures and swimming advisories. 



The workshops, which will run from 9 a.m. 

 to 4 p.m., will be held at four locations: Sept. 4, 

 Museum of Coastal Carolina, Carolina Beach; 

 Sept. 9, Duke University Marine Lab Auditorium, 

 Beaufort; Sept. 1 1 , Cape Fear Community College 

 Satellite Campus, Hampstead; and Sept. 1 6, 

 N.C. Aquarium on Roanoke Island. 



The series is presented by the N.C. Coastal 

 Nonpoint Source Program and the N.C. National 

 Estuarine Research Reserve. North Carolina Sea 



Grant is a cosponsor. 



Each workshop will address why microbial 

 pollution is a threat to public health and local 

 economies and introduce the latest science 

 behind management strategies. Participants 

 also will learn how to become involved in 

 microbial pollution prevention. 



Participation in the workshop is free, but 

 registration one week prior to the workshop 

 date is required. 



To register, contact Whitney Kurz at 

 whitney_kurz@ncnerr.org, or Lori Davis at 

 lori_davis@ncnerr.org. Or call 252/728-2170. 



-P.S. 



Get set. Go. 



TOP: CaH Classen, leader of the local Network 

 for Endangered Sea Turdes (NEST), gets 

 ready to release a loggerhead turde after its 

 rehabilitation at the NEST Rehabilitation 

 Facility at the North Carolina Aquarium on 

 Roanoke Island. BOTTOM: Volunteers cheer 

 as the 47-pound loggerhead, a threatened 

 species, makes a 'dash' for the ocean at 

 Coquina Beach on Hatteras Island. It is one of 

 1 8 stranded turdes treated by aquarium staff 

 and NEST volunteers this year. — P.S. 



Seafood Festival Oct. 3-5 



Jave the first weekend of October to 

 celebrate a taste of coastal tradition. The 17th 

 Annual North Carolina Seafood Festival is set 

 for Oct. 3-5 in Morehead City. 



The community event kicks off with a 

 Friday evening fish fry, and swings into high 

 gear on Saturday and Sunday with a host of 

 activities along the port city's waterfront — all 

 designed to celebrate the contributions of the 

 seafood industry to North Carolina. 



North Carolina Sea Grant will be among 

 the dozens of exhibitors in the Coastal Today 

 educational tent. With the theme, "Life at the 

 Edge of the Sea," visitors will get a sampling of 

 the ecological, commercial and social 



importance of seafood. Highlights include a 

 touch tank for kids of all ages, and the debut of 

 North Carolina Sea Grant's Mariner's Menu — 

 a seafood resource book by long-time Sea Grant 

 seafood specialist Joyce Taylor. 



The street festival activities include 

 seafood sampling, in- water demonstrations, 

 arts and crafts, street dances, music and 

 entertainment on outdoor stages. 



Sunday activities begin with a traditional 

 blessing of the fleet ceremony to commemorate 

 members of the fishing community who have 

 died. 



For more about the event, go online to 

 www.ncseafoodfestival.org. — P.S. 



4 AUTUMN 2003 



