With spring finally here and summer just around the corner, it's hard to believe that our third NH CoastWise cohort will be wrapping up their year in the program next month. This current group brings the total to 60 people who have now participated in NH CoastWise! As we look to the future, we are excited to share some program updates and to continue to connect with our partners, program alums, and future participants to ensure the NH CoastWise program meets the needs of our communities.
Highlights from our 2023-2024 Cohort
After our kickoff in August on Appledore Island (which focused on the larger regional context and marine systems), we changed things up a bit with this third cohort to try to avoid winter weather challenges for our inland activities. This meant we had a chance to visit both Manchester and Concord to explore the up-watershed connections to the coast. Thanks again to all of our partners and participants for great visits! See photos below. In mid-June, we'll reconvene in the Seacoast for site visits to Hampton, Portsmouth, Greenland, and Durham.
Next Cohort Application Cycle (2025-2026)
For those interested in participating in NH CoastWise, we will be shifting to hosting the program every other year, so there will not be a new group in 2024-2025. With that change, we plan to issue our next call for applicants in the spring of 2025 with the program running July 2025 - June 2026, then again in 2027-2028, and alternating years thereafter.
Other Updates
- Our team welcomed Jacob Winn in a program support role in September 2023. Jacob has already been a tremdous asset to CoastWise and all NH Sea Grant activities. Welcome, Jacob!
- CoastWise co-coordinator Lindsey Williams presented at the Social Coast Forum in Charleston, SC in February 2024. Lindsey shared about the CoastWise program and some lessons we've learned from the program's inception to where we are now (slides are available here). This was a great chance to reflect on the program to date as we gear up to spend time this coming year on evaluating the program, fine-tuning the program design, and focusing on alumni engagement.
- CoastWise was featured in the 2023 issue of UNH Extension's Radius magazine. Read the article here!
Photos clockwise from top left: Visiting the All-Persons Trail in Manchester, hosted by The Nature Conservancy-NH; touring the Manchester water treatment plant; visiting the NH State House in Concord; and checking out the Hopkinton-Everett Lakes Flood Management Project with US Army Corps staff.
Want to talk more about NH CoastWise? Reach out to the NH CoastWise team at CoastWise.Info@unh.edu.
