Tidepool Clinic

Athena Crichton, left, leads a CoastWatch training session.\Photo by Alex Derr.

Join CoastWatch for a “tidepool clinic” in Lincoln City on Wednesday, May 16, at 8:30 a.m.  Meet at the N.W. 15^th St. beach access.  The free event is open to all. 

Fawn Custer, CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, will lead the excursion.  She will be joined by Athena Crichton, an experienced marine educator at the Hatfield Marine Science Center who has assisted CoastWatch by leading training sessions in the past.

For the second year, CoastWatch is joining forces with the Lincoln City Visitor & Convention Bureau to sponsor a series of tidepool talks and field trips this spring. 

The “clinic” will provide an introduction to rocky shore ecosystems.  The session begins with a brief talk, before Custer and Crichton take participants on a field trip to the tidepools to identify the inhabitants, including sea stars, sea anemones, sea urchins and mussels.  The clinic lasts about an hour.  Questions are encouraged.  While aimed at the general public, the event will also be a good refresher for CoastWatchers with rocky shores on their adopted miles.

The clinic takes place on the beach at the 15th St. access in Lincoln City. To get there, from Highway 101 turn west onto 15th street (at the Jasmine Thai Restaurant) and continue west towards the ocean. There is ample street parking as well as a public parking lot nearby. Parking is also available at the Sea Gull Beachfront Motel near the beach access. Participants should plan to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early and dress in layers for Oregon Coast weather.  Rubber gloves, a rain jacket, and sunscreen would all be advisable.  For more information on the tidepool clinics, call (800) 452-2151 or visit http://www.oregoncoast.org/tide-pool-clinics/.

In case of inclement weather, check with Fawn at (541) 270-0027, fawn@oregonshores.org, to make sure whether the walk is still taking place.