Welcome Semester 66!

It was a great pleasure to welcome the new students of Semester 66 to campus this past Sunday. Hailing from 15 different states, students enjoyed bright sunny weather and spent the day settling in and exploring campus, from Salt Marsh Farm down to the estuaries of Montsweag Bay, before regrouping for dinner and a chance to unpack and meet cabin-mates. 

Early Monday morning, we had an enthusiastic group descend on the Oxbow waterfront for a quick “Polar Bears” dip in water (a time-honored Chewonki tradition), and then straight into orientation and community-building exercises. We topped off the night at Campfire Circle as a whole community. On Tuesday, we dived into our first Field Lab (Thanks Team Science!) and the first chance to practice recording observations and phenology in our field journals. 

The first hints of spring are definitely in the air and there’s a lot more to look forward to this week with the start of academic classes, farm chores, and The Great Chewonki Race on Saturday. We’re off to a great start!