Topics Related to Tidal Flat

Hugs, handshakes, and smiles filled the auditorium of the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory in early December as we welcomed Training and Engagement (TE) Coordinators – from across the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) – to the NC Reserve in Beaufort for their annual meeting. All 30 NERRs have a TE Coordinator, and this gathering was a chance to connect, learn, and strengthen their collective work.  

We're wrapping up an incredible year of research, education, training, and stewardship at our 10 North Carolina Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve sites.<

Spread the word! The North Carolina Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve has four internship positions open. Interested applicants can learn more about the Reserve on our website and our social media channels.

Interns in our Northern, Central, and Southern offices completed their internships this month. We asked them to reflect on their summer experiences. Keep reading to hear how their internship experiences shaped them, they've got some great stories to share!

The afternoon on the second day of our Teachers on the Estuary workshop involved games and candy money. Our Training Coordinator, Whitney Jenkins, brought out her favorite game to teach folks about watershed management.  

Read part 1 here.Mina Surprenant is the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve’s 2024-2026 Margaret A. Davidson fellow. This two-year fellowship funds a graduate student's research that addresses a key reserve management need, helping scientists and communities understand coastal challenges. Mina, a PhD student in the University of North Carolina - Wilmington’s Wetland Ecology Lab, is studying the effects of sea-level rise on our tidal marshes using drones to visualize change. 

Playing games? Learning about science? And receiving a stipend for it? That’s what 13 North Carolina teachers got to do for two days in June at the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort, N.C.  

Each year, North Carolina Sea Grant and the North Carolina Coastal Reserve & National Estuarine Research Reserve team up to award an NC graduate student the Coastal Research Fellowship. Grace Loonam, a Masters student with Drs. April Blakeslee and Rachel Gittman at East Carolina University, wrapped up her fellowship in May 2025 and shared her research and experience with us.

Please join us in welcoming our 2025 summer interns!

Research was conducted on the east end of Carrot Island, one of five islands that make up the Rachel Carson Reserve. Experiments were conducted in the maritime forest, salt marsh, shorelines and on the living shoreline structure. (Photograph by Josh Himmelstein)