Location: Millers River Environmental Center, Athol
Join Emily Volmar, TerraCorps service member at Mount Grace Land Trust, for an evening presentation on North Atlantic right whales (NARWs) — the most endangered whale species on the planet, with only about 380 individuals remaining.
In 2023–2024, Emily conducted research on NARWs, focusing on one individual in particular: Staccato. Staccato died in 1999 in Cape Cod Bay, and her remains are now housed at UMass Amherst. Emily’s research explores what Staccato’s life — and death — can teach us about the species’ ongoing struggle for survival.
Since at least 2017, more North Atlantic right whales have been found dead in Cape Cod Bay and the Gulf of Maine than anywhere else along their migration routes. During her presentation with the Athol Bird and Nature Club, Emily will discuss why this may be happening, what can be done to help, why right whales are so vital to ocean ecosystems, and the life story of Staccato.