Honoring the Past, Supporting the Future

John Munier and Dorothy Fitch first visited Appledore on a New Hampshire Audubon birding trip in 1988, where they were introduced to the island birds and the bird banding station. In 1994, they took “Dangle, Tangle, and Drudge,” which provided an introduction to bird banding, identification, and extraction. They quickly became regular assistants (band-aides) at the Appledore Island Migration Station (AIMS, the banding station), training under Sara Morris as she completed her graduate studies, and were soon licensed to run the station, which John did extensively in 1997. After building their skills on Appledore, they initiated several banding projects at NH Audubon's Massabesic property, including a continent-wide, collaborative effort to study bird breeding success and a nest box project to attract Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. Several of the people they trained on their projects migrated to Appledore and continue to be band-aides and banders there, including Lindsay Herlihy and Jeff Ott (so they can also take credit for the years Charlotte Ott served as SML head chef!)

 

Although they have moved to Arizona, they have remained interested in Shoals and the migration research on Appledore.  Wanting to ensure that the banding station could continue, they established an endowment at Cornell to support AIMS and avian migration research, and they have also developed a planned gift agreement to enhance the opportunities for others to train at the station and to support the banding activities and the Shoals Marine Lab into the future. Their endowment currently supports the hire of an intern throughout the spring migration season.

I own a cottage, called Saltcoats, on Nantucket Island. When I bought it in 1994, I was busy running the newspaper I owned and operated there and was very grateful to have survived years of the Nantucket Shuffle—living in mansions all winter and consigned to a bedroom or even a shed during the summer tourist months. Finally, I had a home of my own. But as the years passed, and so did the birthdays, the question of what to do with the cottage was a pestering one. With no children, I began a hunt for a non-profit that was both meaningful to me but also for whom my gift would be impactful, and not just swallowed up by some huge charitable organization.

 

Enter Jennifer Seavey, director of Shoals Marine Lab. She came to give a talk about the Gulf of Maine at a class I was taking at Harvard. She talked about Shoals. I think I knew immediately that I had found my answer. As an island girl, as a scuba diver, and as someone who has first-hand knowledge of the importance of our oceans to life on this planet, the idea of educating young people in marine science was beyond appealing. After I visited Shoals for the first time, where the level of passion and commitment among both students and educators was dazzling, I knew it was a very special place. I wanted to be a part of educating the next generation of marine scientists, especially women. Over the years of my involvement with Shoals I have seen with my own eyes how a summer college course on Appledore can change the direction of a young life, how it can open eyes and minds to the need to protect, sustain and maintain our oceans. When I met the recipient of the first scholarship at Shoals bearing my name, some years ago, I saw in her eyes and read in her impact statement an experience I wish had come my way when I was her age. The experience at Shoals changed her life, as it would have mine. The idea that Saltcoats, my little rose-covered cottage, will fund this scholarship well into the future makes me smile.