PEOPLE & 



PLACES 



"Hummingbirds flit from flower to 

 flower," says Jeannie Kraus, natural science 

 curator at the Maritime Museum. "JoAnne 

 flits from project to project." 



While leading a group of adults through 

 a marsh, mud flats and watering area for 

 feral horses, Powell walks fast and weaves 

 in some interesting tidbits about the fiddler 

 crab's mating cycle. 



"When a male crab mates with a 

 female, he seals the female off in a cham- 

 ber," she says. "When the female goes into 

 seclusion, the males protect her from being 

 killed or eaten by other critters." 



For more than 23 years, Powell has 

 been conducting field trips to Rachel 

 Carson, a complex of marshes, tidal flats and 

 dredge spoil islands between the mouths of 

 the Newport and North rivers. She initiated 

 the museum's first trip to the state and 

 federal reserve across from Beaufort. 



"It is a neat place to go because it 

 shows different aspects of a barrier island," 

 she says. "You can teach about the dunes as 

 well as the mud flats." 



Powell was one of the first environ- 

 mental educators in Carteret County doing 

 field trips, according to Kraus. "Now, there 

 are so many organizations that organize field 

 trips." 



Powell says that field trips give adults 

 an opportunity to learn about the state's 

 coastal system and appreciate it more. 



"Unless someone leads them, adults 

 usually can't figure out how the ecosystems 

 work," says Powell. "So many coastal 

 regulations are based on protecting the 

 environment. If someone has an understand- 

 ing of the environment, he can better 

 understand regulations or make sound 

 decisions that affect our future." 



Besides field trips, Powell has initiated 

 numerous museum programs for adults and 

 school children — from ancient coastal 

 environments to coastal birds. 



"loAnne is an outstanding educator 

 with more than 20 years of hands-on 

 experience with public programs relating to 

 the natural history of our coast" says George 

 Shannon, the Maritime Museum director. 



'Through her efforts, the museum has been 

 able to offer the public more than 300 public 

 programs a year." 



One of the most popular — a strange 

 seafood program — evolved into the 

 Strange Seafood Exhibition, which was held 

 for more than 20 years until it was discontin- 

 ued recently. Powell began the workshop in 

 1977 with colleague Judie Spitsbergen. 



"I had been to Europe and knew they 

 ate seafood that was not in the restaurants 

 here," she says. "So we made up recipes for 

 sea urchin, shad roe — a traditional North 

 Carolina dish — and other types of strange 

 seafood. We had over 100 people show up 

 for the first exhibition. After that we did it 

 free for a number of years." When the 

 festival expanded to over a thousand 

 participants and 150 volunteers, they added 

 a fee. 



Although Powell grew up playing on 

 California beaches, she didn't develop a real 

 interest in the marine environment until 

 attending the University of California at 

 Davis. 



"When I took biology, I knew that was 

 what I was going to do." 



After majoring in biology, Powell 

 landed a job sampling water for Orange 

 County, Calif. 



Shortly after that, she was recruited by 

 the New Hanover County School System to 

 teach oceanography in the high school and 

 marine science in a 4-H summer program. 



During that first summer, Powell 

 learned about the natural history of the 

 state's coast. She fell in love with the diverse 

 plants and marine life on North Carolina's 

 beaches and never left. 



In 1975, she began working part-time 

 at the Maritime Museum. 



"I started doing field trips, and it 

 mushroomed," she says. "We made a lot of 

 headway when the new museum was built 

 in 1985." 



In 1990, Powell was promoted to 

 director of the museum's education branch. 

 Her responsibilities include supervising 

 educational programs and special exhibits. 



She also coordinates the annual 



Summer Science School for children in 

 grades 1 through 10. The program, which 

 changes annually, offers educational 

 opportunities that children can't get in a 

 classroom. 



Last summer, youngsters took 

 overnight trips to Cape Lookout and studied 

 barrier islands, sea turtles and other wildlife. 

 In other courses, the students got to kayak, 

 surf and learn about coastal navigating and 

 model boat making. 



"We feel it is extremely important for 

 children to learn about their environment 

 while getting their feet wet and hands 

 muddy and having a hands-on experience," 

 she says. 



Powell's museum office reflects her 

 diversity as a marine educator and interna- 

 tional traveler. The walls are decorated with 

 a variety of artwork — from a fish batik to a 

 boat print. 



A cabinet top is packed with artifacts 

 donated to the museum, including a canoe 

 paddle and seed necklace from the Amazon. 

 She also displays wooden birds from her 

 birding trips to the Amazon and Trinidad, 

 known for its vibrant birds. 



"I have gotten to head trips to many 

 countries," she says. "In Trinidad, the guide 

 took us to birding hot spots. I saw hundreds 

 of birds that I had never seen before." 



Powell also shows off a champion loon 

 caller plaque given to her at the Waterfowl 

 Festival on Harkers' Island. Several years 

 ago, she learned to sing like a loon — a 

 large migratory waterfowl found on Core 

 Sound. 



"I was a world-class loon caller," she 

 says. "It been so long since I won that I 

 can't call like a loon very well anymore." 



As an avid birder, Powell says that she 

 would like to take groups on more interna- 

 tional birding expeditions, including 

 Trinidad, Tobago, Australia New Zealand 

 and the Pantanal — Brazil's great savannah. 



"It is wonderful to get the opportunity 

 to organize these trips for people who really 

 appreciate and enjoy learning about the 

 natural wonders and unique cultures of the 

 world," she says. □ 



26 WINTER 2000 



