News

2019 Year in Review

2019 was a big year for Second Century Stewardship. We awarded three new fellowships for research in Acadia National Park. The fellowships act as a catalyst to strengthen relationships between park resource managers and the research community, while generating knowledge that is being applied to park management. We describe this in more detail in an […]

Announcing the Parks Stewardship Forum

Second Century Stewardship is featured in the inaugural edition of Parks Stewardship Forum, The Interdisciplinary Journal of Place-Based Conservation, published by the University of California Berkeley’s Institute for Parks, People, and Biodiversity and the George Wright Society. This new open-access journal will “serve the global stewards of parks, protected areas, cultural sites, and other forms […]

Dragonfly Mercury Project at Minamata Convention

The Minamata Convention on Mercury is a global treaty to protect human health and the environment from the adverse effects of mercury. Signatories met in Geneva, Switzerland in November 2019. The Second Century Stewardship film segment on the Dragonfly Mercury Project was shared with the conference of parties by the North American delegation. The Convention […]

Rocky shore with black crowberry and spruce tree, ocean in background

Finding refuge from climate change in the national parks

National Parks include within their boundaries pockets and patches where temperatures stay cool even when the surrounding landscape is heating up. Scientists call such places “climate change refugia.” Knowing how habitats and species will shift in the future can guide management of landscapes in the present. A recent article in The Working Waterfront featured the […]

Spera writes for The Conversation

2019 Second Century Stewardship Fellow Stephanie Spera wrote an article about her fall foliage research for The Conversation, an independent nonprofit journalism outlet that works with leading scholars across academia to share their knowledge with the public. Spera also spoke with scientist and science journalist Heather Goldstone, host of Living Lab Radio. SCS communications training […]

Communicating Nor’easter vulnerability for three New England parks

Over the next three years, Second Century Stewardship partners at Schoodic Institute will be working with researchers at University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island School of Design, and the National Park Service to help evaluate Nor’easter storm impact modeling results, visualization tools, and their potential uses and misuses, and working with each park to create […]

Scientists want your photos to study fall foliage in Acadia

BAR HARBOR, ME – Your old vacation photographs of Acadia National Park in autumn could help scientists research changes in fall foliage. Fall in Acadia seems to be arriving later, as warm temperatures extend longer into September and October. But are the leaves changing color later, too? Stephanie Spera, assistant professor of geography at University […]

Planning for the Future of the Dragonfly Mercury Project

The Dragonfly Mercury Project preceded the Second Century Stewardship initiative, but it is an exemplar of the type of science and stewardship the initiative supports and aims to grow—a project that engages the public (hands-on, in this case) and addresses issues critical to preserving our national treasures. The Dragonfly Mercury Project started at four parks […]

Request for proposals for 2020 fellowships

The partners of Second Century Stewardship have announced the Request for Proposals for fellowships to support research in Acadia National Park in 2020. Founded in 2016 by the David Evans Shaw Family Foundation, Second Century Stewardship is a partnership of Schoodic Institute at Acadia National Park, the National Park Service, and the National Park Foundation […]

Smetzer research in National Parks Traveler magazine

2018 Fellow Jenny Smetzer’s research on climate change refugia was featured in National Parks Traveler podcast. Editor and co-founder Kurt Repanshek participated in the science communication workshop at Acadia in July, sharing his insights on what stories resonate with his audience of park visitors and supporters.