Volunteers
Isle of Palms Citizen Group: Isle of Palms, SC
- Sites: Hamlin Creek 13th Ave. boat dock and Sea Cabins Oceanside of IOP
- Group Volunteer: Mary Pringle
- Description: The Isle of Palms Citizens group is made up of Mary Pringle, Carolyn Anderson, and Lynn Noyes, all of whom live on this island. We are all interested in the quality of our beach and water. Each of us has worked with the sea turtle nest protection project under SC Department of Natural Resources, so it is important to us that our ocean is a suitable place for Loggerheads and other sea creatures to inhabit.
Every week we monitor the water at the Sea Cabins pier which is the only fixed ocean pier in our area and at a private floating boat dock in Hamlin Creek behind the Isle of Palms. This picture of the pier was just after a morning sunrise when everything was golden. When we sample from the end of the pier, we usually encounter tourists and fishermen from all over the country who are curious about what we are doing and then are interested in the temperature, salinity, etc. There are sometimes surfers who want to know what is going on and why. They aren't supposed to be in the water near the pier, but that doesn't seem to stop them. The floating creek dock belongs to Dick and Jean Glave who are kind enough to allow us to use it once a week. As you can see in the picture behind the suspended white boat, there is a wooden flamingo who regularly dons seasonal costumes. She is now wearing an Uncle Sam hat for Independence Day but will soon change to her witch's hat for Halloween and then a Santa cap for Christmas.
Volunteering for the PMN has enabled us to get to know about phytoplankton, a subject we knew nothing about before, as well as to interact with many interesting and intelligent people. It is a good feeling to be on the "front line" of monitoring our water for algal problems, and we get to educate the curious public about our network.
