Upcoming Lectures
Cape Cod’s Marine Food Webs, by Agnes Mittermayr of the Center for Coastal Studies
Sunday, December 19th, 2:30pm via Zoom and Facebook Live
Life is all connected, each organism playing its part in huge, complex food webs. At the center of each web is a ‘keystone’ species, without which the web would change
dramatically or collapse entirely. Learn more about the marine food webs surrounding Cape Cod and how they are dealing with climate change!
Dr. Agnes Mittermayr is a marine ecologist at the Center for Coastal Studies, specializing in the ecosystem on the bottom of the ocean. She holds a PhD in Biological Oceanography and is particularly interested in how ecosystems react to and recover from human caused disturbances.
Sea Turtle Rescue, with Bob Prescott of Mass Audubon
Sunday, January 2nd, 2:30pm via Zoom and Facebook Live
Each fall hundreds of cold-stunned, juvenile sea turtles strand on Cape Cod Bay beaches. Learn about why this happens, Mass Audubon’s rescue efforts, and about sea turtle biology, behavior, and conservation.
Bob Prescott recently retired after 37 years as director and is now Sanctuary Director Emeritus of Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. He has been leading sea turtle rescue efforts on Cape Cod for over 40 years and is the Massachusetts coordinator for the Northeast Sea Turtle Stranding Network.
Walk in the Water: The Golden Age of Steamboat Travel by CCMM's Executive Director Elizabeth York
Sunday, January 16th, 2:30pm via Zoom and Facebook Live
Prior to the early 1800’s, there was little in the way of comfortable and fast transportation between the cities of New England and New York State. With the arrival of steamboat travel came an era of glamour and speed. Join us to learn all about these early paddlewheel boats, and get a glimpse into the fabulous interiors these palatial steamers had to offer.
Elizabeth York is Executive Director of the Cape Cod Maritime Museum. She has an Masters in Museum Studies from John F. Kennedy University, and a Bachelors in Art History from Ithaca College.
Sailing to Freedom: Maritime Dimensions of the Underground Railroad, by Dr. Timothy Walker of UMass Dartmouth
Sunday, January 30th, 2:30pm via Zoom and Facebook Live
Maritime escape episodes figure prominently in the majority of North American fugitive slave accounts. While past scholarship on the Underground Railroad has focused on overland escape routes, Dr. Walker will discuss how freedom was achieved by sea, and what the journey looked like for many African Americans.
Dr. Timothy Walker is Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He is also a guest investigator at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a contributing faculty member of the Munson Institute of Maritime Studies, and Director of an NEH “Landmarks in American History” workshop series.
Wampum Belts and the Law of the Land, with Hartman Deetz (Mashpee Wampanoag)
Sunday, February 13th, 2:30pm via Zoom and Facebook Live
Join us for a look at wampum as one of the original mechanisms of Native legal tradition, and record keeping. We will explore Original Title, Original Jurisdiction, and how wampum is an important legal foundation for a land exchange in Native New England land tenure.
Hartman Deetz is an enrolled member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. Deetz has been a long-time advocate for Indigenous rights and the environmental movement.