We were grateful ☺️ to be able to discuss water💧 quality and explore coastal pond ecosystems with the 3rd grade students at the Edgartown School. On the last day of this 3-day program the students learned about our science 🔬 equipment, what a healthy pond ecosystem looks like, and ways to keep our coastal ponds thriving. To end the day the students built their own pond ecosystems in a jar🫙 ! Thank you 👏to the 3rd grade students for joining us and sharing your knowledge 🧠and enthusiasm 🤩about our ponds! #science #youth #3rdgrade #students #edgartown #coastalponds #ponds #greatpondfoundation #waterquality #healthywater #ecosystems #craft #jars #fish #plants #learn #teach #grateful #school #marthasvineyard #science #explore

Edgartown Great Pond remains open 👏 as of this morning (6/12/25). Thank you, @danagainesart for this cut footage 📸 from your kayak! Stayed tuned for more updates and data 📈 on the cut! For more information check out our EGP cut status page on our website! 🔗 in bio!

CUT CHECK: The cut of Edgartown Great Pond remains open. As of 3pm on Monday, June 9th, the Pond was draining to the Atlantic Ocean 🌊. The breach was large and the weather calm. Let’s all hope for an excellent tidal exchange. Our thanks to the Town of Edgartown and Shellfish 🦪 Constable Rob Morrison for cutting the Pond when it needed it most. Pre-cut salinity🧂 was ~14 ppt (eelgrass prefers >20 ppt, but can still thrive >15 ppt). Going into the warm season with a cool, clean, and salty pond is the best way to ensure the ecosystem’s resilience this season. Stay tuned, more updates and data 📈 to come. Should you have cut photos and videos, please send them our way via Instagram tags or by emailing science@greatpondfoundation.org. #greatpondfoundation #marthasvineyard #water #science #edgartowngreatpond #capeandislands #edgartown #waterquality #summer #beach #barrierbeqch #ocean #atlanticocean #southshore #sand #saltlife #islandlife #tide #drain #tidal #tidalflush

A cut is underway at Edgartown Great Pond. The Town of Edgartown cuts the pond 3-4x per year. They use an excavator to cut a channel in the barrier beach that drains the Pond and then allows the ocean to flush the estuary. With each tidal cycle 🔄 nutrient rich brackish water 💧 is flushed with cool, clean, and salty 🧂seawater 🌊. Cuts of the Pond are the management tool that has the most direct and immediate #impact on the health of the Pond. These regular cuts are essential for the Ponds #resilience. #greatpondfoundation #marthasvineyard #edgartowngreatpond #water #ocean #barrierbeach #beach #atlanticocean #southshore #excavator #dig #sand #edgartown #waterquality #management #estuarymanagement #estuary #news #cut #cutunderway #underway

MV CYANO maps for #TisburyGreatPond #ChilmarkPond #EdgartownGreatPond and #SquibnocketPond. Chilmark Board of Health has issued a Bloom ADVISORY 🔴 for the southeastern corner of Squibnocket Pond. This cyanobacteria bloom was identified by the @wampanoagnrd Wampanoag Environmental Lab and they report that it is isolated to this region of the pond. The algal mat is visible at the surface and edges of this cove of the pond. #greatpondfoundation #marthasvineyard #water #science #edgartowngreatpond #edgartown #waterquality #mvcyano #Chilmark #squibnocket #westtisbury #bloom #cyano #cyanobacteria #cynanohab #hab #harmfulalgalbloom

A very busy week for these young👩‍🔬scientists! After the 3rd graders collected biodiversity 🐠🦀🦐data on Monday, we joined them in the classroom 📚yesterday to analyze and graph 📊 their data! We also delve deeper into defining water💧quality and the different parameters we measure📏 to determine it. The students focused on water clarity and made their own Secchi disks ⚫️⚪️. They then got to test them in different water turbidity levels. #science #youth #3rdgrade #students #ponds #greatpondfoundation #waterquality #healthywater #clarity #turbidity #edgartownschool #learn #teach #getoutside #data #graphing #bargraph #secchidisk #craft #school

Today we met up with the 3rd graders from the Edgartown School for a seine net event at Sengekontacket Pond💧. This was the intro to our 3-day youth outreach program titled “Is Our Water Healthy”. The students learned about water quality and biodiversity 🐟🦀🐚 within Sengekontacket Pond. The students did a great job identifying 🔍species and collecting biodiversity data📈 ! Tomorrow we will join them in the classroom to analyze 📊 the data they collected and discuss more about what makes a healthy pond ecosystem! #greatpondfoundation #grateful #marthasvineyard #oakbluffs #net #fish #crabs #biodiversity #seinenet #beach #beachseine #community #summer #june #class #students

This week our science team had their first nutrient day of the field 🛶 season! We collect nutrient samples 💧once a month 🗓️ and send them to @mblwoodshole for filtering and processing 🧫 to find out the nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the ponds. ➡️Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential to life, but with too much🚫of these nutrients in the ecosystem, algal 🦠 blooms can form. This round of nutrient sampling included Edgartown Great Pond, Watcha Pond, and Chilmark Pond! Bottom feeders were also prepped and deployed in the ponds with conductivity and DO sensors! 😁Happy field season! #nutrients #greatpondfoundation #sampling #waterquality #nitrogen #phosphorus #team #outside #fieldseason #sampling #edgartowngreatpond #chilmarkpond #watchapond #marthasvineyard #capeandislands #boat #pond #shore #bottomfeeders #sensors